<PRE><B>Question 177999</B>
This is fairly straight forward if the fraction you are subtracting is smaller than the fraction your subtract it from 
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let say 12 1/2- 9 1/8
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that would be 3 when subtracting the whole numbers. for the fractions 1/2-1/8, we need a LCD which is 8 in this case. 4/8-1/8=3/8 ...so you have 3 3/8 for an answer 
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but what if the fraction being subtracted is greater than the fraction from which it being subtracted from 
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such as:
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29 1/3 - 22 3/8
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you can subtract 22 from 29 and get 7
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then you have 1/3-3/8...you must make them like terms with a common denominator
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24 would be the LCD
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8/24-9/24=-1/24
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which means you have to subtract that from 7 and that makes 6 23/24
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for adding 
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adding the fraction parts that are less than one is straightforward but if you add two fractions that end up greater than one then you have to add one to your whole answer and then add what is left over to the new whole number.
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such as 
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10 3/8+ 12 7/8
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22 for the whole part 3/8+7/8=10/8.  subtract one which is 8/8 from this and add it to your whole answer of 22+1=23 and you have 2/8=1/4 left over
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so 23 1/4
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