20/36 in simplest form
Understand the Problem
The question is asking how to simplify the fraction 20/36 to its lowest terms. To do this, we need to find the greatest common divisor (GCD) of the numerator and denominator and divide both by that number.
Answer
$\frac{5}{9}$
Answer for screen readers
The simplified form of the fraction $\frac{20}{36}$ is $\frac{5}{9}$.
Steps to Solve
- Find the GCD of 20 and 36
To simplify the fraction, we first need to find the greatest common divisor (GCD) of the two numbers, 20 and 36. The factors of each number are:
- Factors of 20: 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20
- Factors of 36: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36
The common factors are 1, 2, and 4. Therefore, the greatest common divisor is:
$$ GCD(20, 36) = 4 $$
- Divide the numerator and denominator by the GCD
Now that we have the GCD, we can simplify the fraction. We divide both the numerator (20) and the denominator (36) by the GCD (4):
$$ \frac{20 \div 4}{36 \div 4} = \frac{5}{9} $$
- Write the final simplified fraction
After performing the division, we can write the simplified fraction as:
$$ \frac{5}{9} $$
The simplified form of the fraction $\frac{20}{36}$ is $\frac{5}{9}$.
More Information
Simplifying fractions is useful in many areas of mathematics, including algebra and geometry. Simplified fractions are easier to work with and help in understanding ratios and proportions.
Tips
- Not finding the GCD accurately: Be sure to list the factors or use the Euclidean algorithm to find the GCD correctly.
- Forgetting to divide both the numerator and the denominator: Remember to apply the same operation to both parts of the fraction after finding the GCD.
