How do you turn a mixed number into a improper fraction?
Let’s say the mixed number is 1 and 1/3 (one and one third). The whole number part is 1, the fraction part is 1/3 (one third). The denominator for you answer should be 3. You need to express the whole number part (which is 1) as a certain number of thirds: that would be 3/3. Now you just add 3/3 + 1/3. Because you made the denominators the same, it’s easy: 3/3 + 1/3 = 4/3. (Three thirds plus one third equals four thirds.) Your answer is 4/3. If you like pictures, draw a pizza, and next to it another slice of pizza that is one-third the pizza. Imagine dividing the whole pizza into three equal pieces, each one the same as the one-third slice on the side. You now have four thirds of a pizza. Okay, that was too easy, what happens if the whole number is greater than one? Say the mixed number is 5 and 2/7. The fraction tells you the denominator will be 7. The whole number 5 is the same as 5 times 7 = 35 sevenths. (Picture: five whole pizzas, each cut into 7 equal pieces) 35/7 + 2/7 = 37/7. S
