Solve the Fraction Subtraction: 3/5 minus 1/3

Question

Solve the following exercise:

3513=? \frac{3}{5}-\frac{1}{3}=\text{?}

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Solve
00:03 We want to find the smallest common denominator
00:06 Therefore we'll multiply each fraction by the second denominator to find the common denominator
00:10 Make sure to multiply both numerator and denominator
00:20 Calculate the multiplications
00:28 Subtract with the common denominator
00:34 Calculate the numerator
00:37 And this is the solution to the question

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve the subtraction of fractions 3513 \frac{3}{5} - \frac{1}{3} , follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Find the Least Common Denominator (LCD)
    The denominators are 5 and 3. The least common multiple of 5 and 3 is 15. Thus, the common denominator will be 15.
  • Step 2: Convert fractions to have the same denominator
    For 35 \frac{3}{5} , multiply both the numerator and the denominator by 3 to get:
    35=3×35×3=915\frac{3}{5} = \frac{3 \times 3}{5 \times 3} = \frac{9}{15}.
    For 13 \frac{1}{3} , multiply both the numerator and the denominator by 5 to get:
    13=1×53×5=515\frac{1}{3} = \frac{1 \times 5}{3 \times 5} = \frac{5}{15}.
  • Step 3: Subtract the numerators
    Now subtract the equivalent fractions:
    915515=9515=415\frac{9}{15} - \frac{5}{15} = \frac{9 - 5}{15} = \frac{4}{15}.
  • Step 4: Simplify the fraction
    The fraction 415\frac{4}{15} is already in its simplest form.

Thus, the solution to the problem is 415\frac{4}{15}.

Answer

415 \frac{4}{15}