Subtracting fractions with common denominators

Subtracting fractions with common denominators Fractions are very commonly used in most of the branches in math. A fraction number if on the form p/q. Where p is the numerator and q is the denominator. The denominator of a fraction cannot be equal to zero i.e. q 0. There are different mathematical operations to simplify and solve the fractions such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. While subtracting fractions there should be a common denominator. Here are some examples for subtracting fractions with a common denominator: Example 1: Simplify and find the answer by adding the given fraction numbers 9/7 - 4/7 - 1/7? Solution: The first step is to check the denominator of the given fractions. We have a common denominator of 7 for all three fractions. Since the denominator of the fractions is same, subtract the numerators of the given fractions. This gives 9/7 - 4/7 - 1/7 = (9 - 4 - 1) /7 = 4/7. Therefore, the answer for 9/7 - 4/7 - 1/7 = 4/7. Question: Multiple choice question (Pick the correct option.) What is the answer for subtracting the two fractions 9/5 - 4/5? a) 3/5 b) 1 c) 6/5 d) None of these. Correct answer: option b. Here the fractions 9/5 and 4/5 have the same denominator 5. Since we have the common denominator we can subtract the numerators. This gives 9/5 4/5 = (9 - 4) /5 = 5/5. The fraction 5/5 can be further simplified. Hence the solution is 5/5 = 1.