To first find the answer to this, let's find a common denominator between each fraction. The denominator is the bottom number of a fraction. To find the common denominator, let's factor out each of our denominators 5 times to see if they have a common number. 4: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 2: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 They both appear to have the smallest common denominator of 4, so let's use 4.
We already have 1/4 with a denominator of 4, but not 1/2. 2 x 2 = 4, so multiply the numerator and the denominator of 1/2 by 2. 1 x 2 = 2 2 x 2 = 4 Your new fraction is 2/4.
Our expression now is: -2 1/4 + 5 2/4 or (in simpler terms) 5 2/4 - 2 1/4
