HESI MATH A2 STUDY GUIDE| VERIFIED GUIDE

HESI MATH A2 STUDY GUIDE Introduction to Fractions 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 3 cups of milk, Mike ate 2 of a cake, Sarah run 3 of a mile, John repaid 4 6 4 4 of a loan. 5 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 3 of the pizza. 4 As we can see from the above example, a fraction has two components, which are called numerator and denominator. For example, if we consider 1 of a cake, then 1 is the numerator and 4 is the denominator. 4 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 7, we are talking about 7 equal parts such that 4 of them make up a whole; 4 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 2 of that amount when 5 we reserve the trip. How much we need to pay during the reservation? Solution. All we need to do is to calculate 2 of the cost of the trip. 5 Since the denominator of the fraction 2 is 5, we understand that the cost is divided into 5 equal amounts: 5 $4,500 = $900 + $900 + $900 + $900 + $900 The numerator of the fraction 2 (which is two) tells us how many of those equal amounts we have to 5 pay to reserve the trip: $900 + $900 = $1,800 Answer. So, we need to pay $1,800.