A rational number expressed in the form (in-line notation) or (traditional "display" notation), where is called the numerator and
is called the denominator .
When written in-line, the slash "/" between numerator
and denominator is called a solidus .
A mathematical joke states that 4/3 of people don't understand fractions.
A proper fraction is a fraction such that , and a reduced
fraction is a fraction with common terms canceled out of the numerator
and denominator .
The Egyptians expressed their fractions as sums (and differences) of unit fractions . Conway and Guy (1996) give a table of Roman notation
for fractions, in which multiples of 1/12 (the uncia ) were
given separate names.
The rules for the algebraic combination of fractions are given by
Note however that the above results will not necessarily be reduced
fractions .
See also Adjacent Fraction ,
Anomalous Cancellation ,
Common Fraction ,
Complex
Fraction ,
Continued Fraction ,
Denominator ,
Egyptian Fraction ,
Farey
Sequence ,
Golden Rule ,
Half ,
Improper Fraction ,
Matrix
Fraction ,
Mediant ,
Mixed
Fraction ,
Numerator ,
Pandigital
Fraction ,
Proper Fraction ,
Pythagorean
Fraction ,
Quarter ,
Rational
Number ,
Reduced Fraction ,
Solidus ,
Unit Fraction Explore this topic in the MathWorld classroom
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References Conway, J. H. and Guy, R. K. The Book of Numbers. New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 22-23, 1996. Courant,
R. and Robbins, H. "Decimal Fractions. Infinite Decimals." §2.2.2
in What
Is Mathematics?: An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods, 2nd ed. Oxford,
England: Oxford University Press, pp. 61-63, 1996. Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha Fraction
Cite this as:
Weisstein, Eric W. "Fraction." From MathWorld --A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Fraction.html
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