Is 3/8 greater than 9/4?
To compare two fractions, such as 3/8 and 9/4, there are two main common methods: the first one involves finding a common denominator, and the other one is to convert the fractions directly into decimal values.
1) Using the same denominator
- Multiply the numerator of the first fraction with the denominator of the second fraction: 3 × 4 = 12
- Multiply the numerator of the second fraction with the denominator of the first fraction 9 × 8 = 72
- Multiply the denominators of both fractions together: 8 × 4 = 32
- Rewrite both fractions with the new common denominator:
- 3/8 = 12/32
- 9/4 = 72/32
With a common denominator, the comparison becomes much simpler.
Since 12 is smaller than 72, we can conclude that 3/8 is less than 9/4.
2) Converting to decimal
We can also simply convert the fractions into decimal values:
- 3 divided by 8 is equal to 0.375
- 9 divided by 4 is equal to 2.25
Since 0.375 is smaller than 2.25, it means that 3/8 is less than 9/4.