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Answers.everydaycalculation.com » Compare fractions

Compare 1/2 and 21/5

1st number: 1/2, 2nd number: 4 1/5

1/2 is smaller than 21/5

Steps for comparing fractions

  1. Find the least common denominator or LCM of the two denominators:
    LCM of 2 and 5 is 10

    Next, find the equivalent fraction of both fractional numbers with denominator 10
  2. For the 1st fraction, since 2 × 5 = 10,
    1/2 = 1 × 5/2 × 5 = 5/10
  3. Likewise, for the 2nd fraction, since 5 × 2 = 10,
    21/5 = 21 × 2/5 × 2 = 42/10
  4. Since the denominators are now the same, the fraction with the bigger numerator is the greater fraction
  5. 5/10 < 42/10 or 1/2 < 21/5

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