Q&A for How to Estimate Fractions

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I have 5 5/8 cups of flour and my sister has 1 1/3 cups of flour to make a cake. How do I estimate how many cups of flour there are in all?

Donagan

Top Answerer

A quick way of doing this is to recognize that 5-5/8 is slightly more than 5½, and 1-1/3 is slightly less than 1½. So if you add 5½ to 1½, you'll get a close estimation of 5-5/8 plus 1-1/3. 5½ + 1½ = 7 cups. (The actual amount is 5-5/8 + 1-1/3 = 5-15/24 + 1-8/24 = 6-23/24.)

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Question

How can I estimate 12 3/11 divided by 2 7/12?

Orangejews

Community Answer

Start low by rounding 12 3/11 down to 12 and 2 7/12 up to 3. 12/3 =4. That's a low estimate and a pretty bad one. How about the other direction. Round number up to 12 1/2 and denominator down to 2 1/2. 12.5/2.5 = 5. We now know for certain the quotient is between 4 and 5, and informally suspect it's a lot closer to 5 since that was the better estimate.

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How do I simplify 943/2865?

Cluster_Ducky

Community Answer

It is already simplified. The numerator and denominator cannot be simplified any further.

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Question

How can I estimate 11 1/2 + 12 3/4?

Donagan

Top Answerer

The fastest way is to round 11½ down to 11, and round 12¾ up to 13, then add 11 plus 13.

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How do I estimate 4 2/5 - 1 7/9?

I_l1ke_gam3s

Community Answer

2/5 is less than 1/2, so put that to 4, and 7/9 is greater than 1/2, so round up to 2. 4-2 = 2. Your final approximated answer is 2.

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