Lamar UniversityNURS 1373HESI_A2_Math_Study_Guide_

Lamar UniversityNURS 1373HESI_A2_Math_Study_Guide_ A fraction is a mathematical tool which helps us to count in terms of equal parts of a whole. For example, a recipe requires 2 cups of milk, Mike ate   of a cake, Sarah run of a mile, John repaid  of a loan. A fraction is any number of equal parts. For example, if we cut a small size sausage pizza into 4 equal slices, then 3 such slices of the pizza are the same as: 3 out of the 4 equal slices of the pizza, or three fourth of the pizza, or of the pizza. As we can see from the above example, a fraction has two components, which are called numerator and denominator. For example, if we consider of a cake, then 1 is the numerator and 4 is the denominator. A denominator tells us a number of equal parts that make up a whole while a numerator tells us how many of them we are considering. For example, when we say  , we are talking about 7 equal parts such that 4 of them make up a whole; in other words, we divided a whole into 4 equal parts and now considering 7 such parts. Both numerator and denominator of a fraction are integers; however, denominator cannot be zero (we cannot divide a whole into zero parts). Exercise 1. The cost of the vacation trip is $4,500 and we are required to pay   of that amount when we reserve the trip. How much we need to pay during the reservation? Solution. All we need to do is to calculate   of the cost of the trip. Since the denominator of the fraction   is 5, we understand that the cost is divided into 5 equal amounts: $4,500 = $900 + $900 + $900 + $900 + $900 The numerator of the fraction   (which is two) tells us how many of those equal amounts we have to pay to reserve the trip: $900 + $900 = $1,800 Answer. So, we need to pay $1,800.