How To Add Similar Fractions

we're asked to subtract andsimplify the answer, and we have 8/18 minus 5/18. so subtracting fractionsis very similar to adding fractions. if we have the same denominator,the denominator

How To Add Similar Fractions, in the difference is goingto be the same as the denominators in the twonumbers that we're subtracting, so it'sgoing to be 18. and our numerator is going to bethe difference between the

numerators. so in this case, it is 8 minus5, and this will be equal to 3 over 18, which is the answer,but it's not completely simplified, because both 3 and18 are divisible by 3. so let's divide themboth by 3. so you divide 3 by 3, you divide18 by 3, and you get 3 divided by 3 is 1. 18 divided by 3 is 6,so you get 1/6. and just to see this visually,let me draw 18 parts.

let me draw 18 parts here. so it might be a little bitof a messy drawing. i'll try the best i can. so let me draw six inthis direction. so that is three right there. we have another three,so that's six parts. and then let me split thisinto three columns. so there we go. we have 18 parts.

now 8/18 is equal to one,two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. that's 8/18. and now we want to subtract fiveof the eighteenths, so we subtract one, two, three,four, five. now, what do we haveleft over? well, we have three of theeighteenths left over, so you have that right there. you have three of theeighteenths left over.

now, if you turn three of theeighteenths into one piece, how many of those biggerpieces do you have? this is one of thosebig pieces. now, where are the other ones? well, this is another bigpiece right here. this is another big pieceright here, another one, another one, and another one. if you had 18 pieces and youmerged three of the pieces into one, then you actually endup with only six pieces.

you end up with six pieces. hopefully, you see that each rowis one of the pieces now, and the blue is exactly oneof the six, so 3/18 is the same as 1/6.