Question

Please express the fraction in the simplest form 8/14

Answer 1

Expressing a fraction in the simplest form means to simplify common factor in the numerator and the denominator.

To do so, let's find the prime factorization of both:

$8=2^3=2\cdot 2\cdot 2,\quad 14=2\cdot 7$

So, we can write the fraction as

$\dfrac{8}{14}=\dfrac{2\cdot 2\cdot 2}{2\cdot 7}$

We can simplify (i.e. cancel) a factor 2 appearing both in the numerator and denominator. We're left with

$\dfrac{8}{14}=\dfrac{2\cdot 2}{7}=\dfrac{4}{7}$