Fractions vs. Decimals: Decimal numbers are important because people use them in their day to day life in various situations, such as looking at temperature and humidity on a particular day, glancing at price tags while shopping, reading the digital blood pressure monitor or analyzing their favorite basket ball match. The decimal system is a way to express large and small numbers by utilizing the decimal point. But decimals are not quite handy in many real life situations. For instance, if you want to fabricate a bench, you might need to have it five feet three and a half inches long (5' 3 1/2"). Assuming that you cut the wooden board bit longer and your supervisor asks to cut off an eighth of an inch, being good at fractions in that situation would make it easier to comprehend the instructions. In making strong foundations for basic mathematics, we need to have strong walls. Algebra serves the purpose of those walls that keep the roof of mathematics lifted up. And if the math house is to have a sustainable roof in the future, it needs a really strong algebra. And for algebra to be strong you need to be good at fractions. Academically, almost all sorts of tests have a large portion of questions from the topic of fractions. Apart from academics, fractions and applying different arithmetic operations on them, are an essential part of our daily lives. Let it be dividing a cake pie or making up space by separating a large room, where ever be the need for division, without the skill of fractions things would get messed up. The Method:
To multiply two fractions, we multiply the numerators to get the new numerator and multiply the denominators to get the new denominator. Then the final step involves the simplification of a fraction, in case they are not in their lowest terms. When multiplying a fraction with a mixed number or multiplying two mixed fractions, the first step is to change the mixed fraction into an improper fraction. Then simplify the terms if possible, and the same process of multiplying the numerator by the other counterpart and denominator from the other one is performed. Finally, simplify and put the result in simplest terms if applicable. Examples: The practical implication of multiplying fractions can be observed in the fields of construction, map scaling, surveying, salary payrolls, house hold jobs such as cooking, distance and volume calculations, family budget estimation, etc. For instance, a family uses 1/3 of its monthly income for housing and utilities on average. If the family’s monthly income is $100, what is spent on housing and utilities? What amount remains? Evaluating the result would be really easy and fast if one is familiar with fractions. The family's income is $100. So as stated in the problem, it spends 1/3rd on housing and utilities. Therefore '$100 / 3' i.e. ~$33 are spent. The remaining amount can be calculated by subtracting the spent amount from total income. That comes out to be as $100 - $33. The remaining amount would be $67 on average. Hence the skill of multiplying fractions comes in as a handy tool in solving day to day mathematical problems quickly.
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