Prealgebra for Two-Year Colleges/Appendix (procedures)/Finding equivalent fractions

Equivalent fractions represent the same number, although they are written differently. For example,

and

represent the same amount.

You can find and equivalent fraction by multiplying the numerator and denominator by the same number. For example,

and

and


When you are adding fractions or subtracting fractions, you will want to find an equivalent fraction with a certain denominator. For example,

In this case, you can see that you need to multiply the numerator and denominator by 9, because 45 divided by 5 is 9. So


You are also allowed to divide the numerator and denominator by the same number. We usually call this reducing fractions.