Question

How do you simplify `1/4-2/3`?

Answer 1

See a solution process below:

Explanation:

To add or subtract fractions they must be over common denominators. We can simplify this expression by first multiplying each fraction by the appropriate form of `1` to get each fraction over a common denominator. In this case `12`

`1/4 - 2/3 => (3/3 xx 1/4) - (4/4 xx 2/3) =>`

`3/12 - 8/12`

We can now subtract the numerators over the common denominator:

`3/12 - 8/12 => (3 - 8)/12 => -5/12`