A fraction expresses part of a whole quantity. For example, if you cut a whole pie into six equal pieces, and then eat one slice, you've just eaten 1/6th of the pie. Working with fractions is easy if you understand the concept.
Turn your whole number into a fraction by putting it over the number "1." For instance, 24 will become "24/1."
Multiply 1/6 by 24/1. When multiplying fractions, there is no need to find a common denominator. The top part of the fraction, the numerator, is multiplied straight across, where 1 x 24 = 24. The denominator is also multiplied straight across, where 6 x 1 = 6. The final fraction is 24/6.
Divide your numerator by your denominator to get your answer. In this case 24/6 = 4, meaning that 4 is 1/6th of 24.
Multiply 1/6th of a fraction by another fraction without changing the denominator. For example if you need to find 1/6th of 3/4, then you multiply the two as follows 1/6 x 3/4 to get 3/24.
Simplify 3/24 by dividing with a common denominator. In this example, the common denominator is 3, which is the highest number that divides evenly into top and bottom number. So, 3/24 divided by 3/3 equals 1/8. So 1/6th of 3/4 is 1/8.
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About the Author
Thomas McNish has been writing since 2005, contributing to Salon.com and other online publications. He is working toward his Associate of Science in computer information technology from Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla.