Question

Answer? Please make sure you answer it as a simplified fraction.

Answer 1

Answers:  

a = 4

b = 11

The fraction is 4/11

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Work Shown:

Let x = 0.363636...

The "36" pattern goes on forever as indicated by the three dots.

Multiply both sides by 100 to get 100x = 36.363636...

Effectively, multiplying by 100 moves the decimal point over 2 spots to the right. The "36" goes on forever here too. The key is to match up the infinite sequences of "36"s and cancel them out through subtraction

36.363636... - 0.363636... = 36

while

100x - x = 99x

So after subtracting the equations, we end up with 99x = 36

From here we solve for x by dividing both sides by 99 and reducing the fraction

99x = 36

x = 36/99

x = (9*4)/(9*11)

x = 4/11

As a check, use your calculator to find that

4/11 = 0.36363636...

so the answer is confirmed

Note: your calculator may display something like 0.3636363636364, that 4 should not be there. It's a result of rounding (due to the next digit being a 6). Keep in mind that rounding error is often a possibility when it comes to approximate calculations. The calculator only has so much memory and display space.