nuMber AnD AlgebrA real numbers

If fractions do not have the same denominator, use equivalent fractions to make the
denominators the same.

WorkeD exAMple 14
5 1
Find 6
- 12 , expressing the answer in simplest form.

Think WriTe

1 Find multiples of each denominator. Multiples of 6 are 6, 12 . . .

Multiples of 12 are 12 . . .
2 Find the lowest common multiple (LCM) of 6 and LCM is 12.
12 (12).
5 1
3 Rewrite the fractions if necessary so that they both 6
- 12
have the LCM as the new denominator. 52 1
=
6 2 12
10 1
=
12 12
9
4 Subtract the numerators since the denominators are the =
same. 12
3
9
5 Simplify your answer if possible by cancelling the = 4
highest common factor (9 3 = 3, 12 3 = 4). 12
3
=
4

With practice, many of these steps can be done in your head and the solution written as
follows.
1
5
6
- 12 = 10
12
1
- 12
= 129
3
=
4

reMeMber

1. Fractions can be added and subtracted if they have the same denominator.
2. If fractions do not have the same denominator, use equivalent fractions to make the
denominators the same.

eXerCise
4D Adding and subtracting rational numbers
fluenCy
inDiViDuAl
PatHWaYs 1 We13 Find:
1 3 9 3 3 2
eBoo
eBookk plus a
5
+ 5
b
11
- 11 c 6
+ 6
20 11 15 6 12 1
Activity 4-D-1 d
50
+ 50
e
25
- 25 f 12
- 12
How much honey?
5 1 3 4 5 3 33 7 11
doc-1709 g
8
-8+ 8
h
7
+7-7 i 100
+ 100 - 100

106 Maths Quest 7 for the Australian Curriculum

 nuMber AnD AlgebrA real numbers

2 Find the following, expressing the answers in simplest form.

inDiViDuAl 4
5 1 7 3 9
PatHWaYs a
12
+ 12 b
16
- 16 c
15
- 15
9 4 2
eBoo
eBookk plus
d
37 13
+ 100 e
4
- 47 f
7
+ 75 - 7
100
Activity 4-D-2 13 11 10 21 21 30
How fast is it?
g
16
+ 9 - 10
16
h 28
+ 28 i
81
+ 81 + 81
16
doc-1710
3 We14 Find the following, expressing the answers in simplest form.
Activity 4-D-3
1 1 1 1 1 2
How much milk? a + b
2
-
4
c
3
+ 21
2 4
doc-1711
1 20 9 1 17 1
d + 32
e
18
+6 f
40
+ 2
8
7 8 31 3 8 28
g
9
- 27
h
35
-7 i
10
- 70

4 Find the lowest common multiple of each of the following pairs of numbers.
a 2 and 3 b 3 and 5 c 5 and 10
d 4 and 6 e 5 and 6 f 9 and 6
g 4 and 8 h 6 and 8 i 7 and 5
5 Using the lowest common multiples that were found in question 4 as denominators, add or
subtract these fractions.
2 3 3
a
1
2
- 13 b
2
3
- 5
c
5
+ 10
3 1 4 1 1 5
d
4
- 6
e
5
- 6
f
9
+ 6
1 3 5 3 5 2
g
4
+ 8
h
6
- 8
i
7
- 5

6 Answer the following questions by first finding the lowest common denominator. Simplify
your answer if necessary.
a
2
3
+ 14 b
5
7
- 83 c
4
5
- 43 d
7
10
+ 152

5 5 7 1 5 7
e
8
- 12 f 9
- 2
g
12
+ 29 h
11
+ 14
4 5 7 1 7
i
5
2
- 11 j
6
+ 10
k
3
10
- 20 l
8
- 35
3 5 2
m
2
3
+ 45 n
5
7
+ 4
o 9
- 27 p 3
1
- 13
11 7 4 5 4 2 6
q 12
- 10 r
7
+ 6
s
5
-3 t 11
- 13
1 1 1
eBoo
eBookk plus 7 MC a The lowest common denominator of 3 , and 6 is:
4
a 16 b 24 c 18 d 12 E 72
Digital docs
Spreadsheet 1 1 1
b The lowest common denominator of , and 5
is:
Adding and 2 4
subtracting a 8 b 10 c 20 d 30 E 40
fractions
doc-1726
WorkSHEET 4.1
understanding
doc-1721
8 Answer the following:
3 4 1 7 3 4 11 8 3
a
1
+ 1 - 14 b 10
+ 15 - 6
c 8
- 4
+ 6
d
12
- 15 - 20
2 3
1 1 1 5 7 1 1 2 3 3 1 5
e 16
+8+4 f 6
- 18 - 9
g 2
+ 3
+ 4
h
4
+3+ 6

9 Angela was a little hungry the day before her birthday, and spied the cake to be eaten the
following day. She decided that if she ate only 101 of it, her Mum might not notice. However,
she was still hungry and took another 16 .
a How much of the cake did Angela eat before her birthday?
b How much of the cake was left for her birthday?

Chapter 4 rational numbers 107

 nuMber AnD AlgebrA real numbers

3
10 Bread needed to be cooked at 200 C for hour then a further
4
1
hour at 150 C. What is the total cooking time in hours?
2
11 Robert, Jason and Luke play football in the same team.
Last Saturday, Robert kicked 1 of the teams goals,
4
Jason kicked 13 and Luke 125 . What fraction of the teams
goals were kicked by:
a Jason and Luke?
b Robert and Jason?
c the three boys together?
12 Jacinta and her friend decided to climb the tree in
her Nans front yard. It took her 10 minutes to climb
halfway up, 10 more minutes to climb another sixth of the
way and yet another 10 minutes to reach a further tenth of
the way. Here she sat admiring the view for 5 minutes
before beginning her descent.
a What fraction of the height of the tree had Jacinta
climbed after 20 minutes?
b What fraction of the tree did Jacinta climb in total?

refleCTion
What difficulties might you experience when
adding and subtracting fractions with different
denominators? How could you overcome them?

4e Multiplying rational numbers

It has been seen in an earlier chapter that multiplication by a whole number can be thought of
eBook
eBoo k plus
as repeated addition.
Interactivity For example, 5 6 = 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 30
Repeated
addition The same principle applies to multiplying a whole number by a fraction.
int-2738 For example, 1 6 = 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 1
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
To multiply two fractions we need to use an alternative approach.
To multiply fractions, multiply the numerators and then multiply the denominators.
It is important to note that the denominators do not need to be the same.

WorkeD exAMple 15

Find 15 43 .
Think WriTe
1 3
1 Write the question. 5

4

2 Write as one fraction. 13

=
54
3
3 Multiply the numerators, then the denominators and = 20
simplify your answer if appropriate.

Before being multiplied, fractions can be simplified by dividing both the numerator and
denominator with their highest common factor.

108 Maths Quest 7 for the Australian Curriculum