What is 1/2 minus 1/4?

Looking for the result of 1/2 - 1/4? Follow this step-by-step guide to understand how to subtract these two fractions.

How to subtract 1/2 by 1/4?

1 2 − 1 4 = (1 × 4) − (1 × 2) 2 × 4 = 2 8 = 1 4
  1. Multiply the numerator of the first term, with the denominator of the second term: 1 × 4 = 4
  2. Multiply the numerator of the second term, with the denominator of the first term: 1 × 2 = 2
  3. Subtract both of these results together to form the new numerator: 4 − 2 = 2
  4. Multiply both denominators together to form the new denominator: 2 × 4 = 8
  5. Combine the results to get the new fraction: 2/8
  6. Simplify the fraction (2/8) by dividing both the numerator and the denominator by their GCD (2):
    • 2/2 = 1
    • 8/2 = 4
  7. This gives: 1/4.

The result of subtracting 1/2 and 1/4 is : 1/4 (or 0.25 in its decimal form)