QUICK LINKS

STUDENT
TEACHER

Adding & Subtracting Fractions Calculator

QUICK LINKS

STUDENT
TEACHER

Adding & Subtracting Fractions Calculator

Adding and Subtracting Fractions

We've always found that the easiest way to understand adding and subtracting fractions is by seeing 👀 fractions in action.

Pick whichever you vibe with more:

CALCULATOR
—

Adding & Subtracting Fractions Calculator

Use the LCM

We have some questions for you! Help us out through this
INTRO
—
Think of a fraction like this:
The
denominator
,
, tells us the size of the slice. The
numerator
,
, tells us how many slices we have of that size.
So, let's say we have
big pizza, and we eat
of it.
Peep 👀 how the sizes of the slices (denominators) don’t match. So we need to do some extra work before we can subtract.
We can split up the
whole pizza into
equal slices.
See how the amount of pizza hasn’t changed, we still have
whole pizza, but now it’s split into
slices.
Nice! Now, we can easily take the
“sixth-sized” slices and subtract the
“sixth-sized” slice we ate.
Yum! Looks like we still have
“sixth-sized” slices or
of pizza left to eat! 🤤
We only subtracted the numerators, and left the common denominator alone! That’s because we needed to subtract the number of slices (numerator) not the size of the slices (denominator).
Check out our
Calculator
or explore our
Lesson
and
Practice
sections to learn more about how to find the area of triangles and test your understanding.

You can also use the Quick Links menu on the left to jump to a section of your choice.

You can also use the Quick Links dropdown above to jump to a section of your choice.

KEY STEPS
—

How to Add & Subtract Fractions

Use the LCM

Step 1. Check the denominators. If they match, skip to Step 4.

Step 2. Multiply the numerator and denominator of fraction 1 by the denominator of fraction 2.

Step 3. Multiply the numerator and denominator of fraction 2 by the denominator of fraction 1 from the original equation.

Step 4. Add/subtract the numerators, and keep the denominator the same.

LESSON
— Multiplying by the Denominators
PRACTICE
— Multiplying by the Denominators
LESSON
— Using the LCM
PRACTICE
— Using the LCM
CONCLUSION
—
Leave Feedback