Question

Find the difference -3/4 - 15/16 = ? Simplify answer .break it down fully pls

Answer 1

The difference is:

$\frac{-3}{4} - \frac{15}{16} = \frac{-27}{16}$

Solution:

Given expression is:

$\frac{-3}{4} - \frac{15}{16}$

We have to find the difference

To find the difference, make the denominators same

Find the least common multiple of 4 and 16

List all prime factors for each number.

Prime Factorization of 4 is:  2 x 2

Prime Factorization of 16 is:  2 x 2 x 2 x 2

For each prime factor, find where it occurs most often as a factor and write it that many times in a new list.

The new superset list is

2, 2, 2, 2

Multiply these factors together to find the LCM.

LCM = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 16

Make the denominators as 16

$\rightarrow \frac{-3}{4} - \frac{15}{16} = \frac{-3 \times 4}{4 \times 4} - \frac{15 \times 1}{16 \times 1}\\\\\rightarrow \frac{-3}{4} - \frac{15}{16} = \frac{-12}{16} - \frac{15}{16}\\\\\rightarrow \frac{-3}{4} - \frac{15}{16} = \frac{-12-15}{16}\\\\\rightarrow \frac{-3}{4} - \frac{15}{16} = \frac{-27}{16}$

Thus the difference is $\frac{-27}{16}$