Simplifying Fractions

11+ Maths, topic 2.1.1

Simplifying Fractions

You need to know how to 'cancel down' fractions to their simplest forms.

Example - simplify 20&frasl;24

Example - simplify ²⁰⁄₂₄

$How to simplify the fraction$

How to simplify the fraction

To simplify the fraction ²⁰⁄₂₄, we need to find the largest number that we can divide both 20 and 24 by.

Numbers that 20 can be divided by

Numbers that 20 can be divided by

The factors of 20 are 1, 2, 4, 5, 10 and 20.

Numbers that 24 can be divided by

Numbers that 24 can be divided by

The factors of 24 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24.

Find the largest shared number

Find the largest shared number

The largest common factor is 4.
So we need to divide both 20 and 24 by 4 to simplify the fraction.

Divide 20 and 24 by 4

Divide 20 and 24 by 4

The simplest form of the fraction ²⁰⁄₂₄ is ⁵⁄₆

Test yourself on Simplifying Fractions

Which number do you need to divide the top and bottom numbers by to write the fraction ¹¹⁄₂₂ in its simplest form?
Which fractions are in their simplest forms?

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