Question 19676: when you have an equation like 1/4x+5=28, and you have to find x, how do you get rid of the fraction? Answer by MelanieBCC(40) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! There are two possible ways to get rid of the fraction. One is to turn it into a decimal, but this only works some of the time. For a fraction like this will work. A fraction is just another way to express division. The numerator (on top) divided by the denominator (on bottom) will give you the decimal form of the fraction. (ie. 1 divided by 4 equals .25)
Warning! This will not work for many fractions, such as
The other way is to multiply everything in the equation by the denominator of the fraction. In the problem you list: you'll multiply every term in the equation by 4: which gives you
The denominator is cancelled out because multiplication is the inverse of division (ie. 4 times 1 divided by 4 equals 1)
This way will work no matter what the fraction is.
I hope this helps!
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