Solve the Fraction Subtraction: 4/10 - 1/4 Step-by-Step

Question

Solve the following equation:

$\frac{4}{10}-\frac{1}{4}=$

00:00 Solve

00:02 We want to find the least common denominator

00:05 Therefore we'll multiply by 2 and 5 respectively to find the common denominator 20

00:08 Remember to multiply both numerator and denominator

00:18 Let's calculate the multiplications

00:30 Subtract under the common denominator

00:34 And this is the solution to the question

We must first identify the lowest common denominator between 4 and 10.

In order to determine the lowest common denominator, we need to find a number that is divisible by both 4 and 10.

In this case, the common denominator is 20.

We will then proceed to multiply each fraction by the appropriate number to reach the denominator 20

We'll multiply the first fraction by 2

We'll multiply the second fraction by 5

$\frac{4\times2}{10\times2}-\frac{1\times5}{4\times5}=\frac{8}{20}-\frac{5}{20}$

Finally we'll combine and obtain the following:

$\frac{8-5}{20}=\frac{3}{20}$

$\frac{3}{20}$