How to Multiply Fractions - Teach me! How to?

# How to Multiply Fractions

When we talk about studies, the first name that comes to our mind is Maths and our hatred towards it. It is that part of our life which we cannot separate. No matter how much we cringe at the name of it, we have to study it because it is important! The reason for our hatred is lack of understanding.How to Multiply Fractions

The only way to love it is to learn the methods and practise, practise and PRACTISE! One such part of Mathematics is- Fractions. It may look like the most difficult thing on the planet but it is easiest when you understand and learn the basics and of course, practise as much as you can. There are different methods of multiplying fractions which you can study below:

• Multiplication of fractions with the whole number
• Multiplication of fractions with like denominator
• Multiplication of fractions with unlike denominator

Method 1: Multiplication of fractions with the whole number

1. Reframing the whole number as a fraction: Rewriting a whole number as a fraction is very simple, all you have to do is write the whole number over 1. For example, if your whole number is 5, rewrite it as 5/1. The new number thus formed has 5 as numerator and 1 as the denominator. Placing 1 below the numerator doesn’t change its value.
2. Multiplying the numerators of both the fractions: The next step is to multiply the numerator of the first fraction with the numerator of the second fraction.
3. Multiplying the denominators of both the fractions: Just like you did with the numerators, you have to multiply the denominator of the first fraction with the denominator of the second fraction to get your final fraction. This fraction is your final fraction with the new numerator over the new denominator.
4. Simplification of the new fraction: Simplification of fraction means writing the fraction in its lowest terms. This can be done by dividing the numerator and denominator by the same factor. If your fraction does not have the same factor then leave the fraction as it is.

Method 2: Multiplication of fraction with like denominator

• Multiplying before simplification:
1. Multiplication of numerators of both the fractions: After writing down the problem by aligning the numerators with their denominators, the numerators of the fractions are multiplied with each other. For example, if your fraction is 3/ 6 * 3/ 6, then you have to multiply 3 with 3 to get 9.
2. Multiplication of the denominators of both the fractions: Now, multiply the denominators of both the fractions, here for the example used above; you will get 36 as your denominator. Your answer from the example is 9/36.
3. Simplification: The process of simplification requires dividing the numerator and denominator by the largest number that can go into both numbers evenly. So for this fraction 9/36, 9 is the largest number. Divide 9 with 9 and 36 with 9 and your new fraction will be1/4.
• Simplifying before multiplication:

1. Simplify the first fraction: For this method, you have to simplify both the fractions one by one. To simplify 3/ 6, divide the numerator and denominator by the largest number that can go into each number. Here, divide it with 3 and your new fraction is 1/2. It is equivalent to 3/6. You can also find the greatest common factor (GCF) of both numbers to get the largest number that divides both the numerator and denominator. Write down all the factors of those numbers, and choose the largest one that both share for finding the GCF.
2. Multiplication of two enumerators: Multiply both the numerators of the fractions 1/2 and 1/2, to get 1 (1 * 1).
3. Multiplication of the two denominators: Multiply both the denominators of the fractions 1/2 and 1/2, to get 4 (2 * 2).