One of my most recent fraction calculators is a calculator to add fractions. Adding fractions is an important skill for everyday activities. When creating a calculator to add fractions, I wanted it to be simple and descriptive. The whole point of creating this calculator is to help students understand the basics of adding fractions, and to check their work. Because this is a very basic operation, creating the calculator was pretty simple.
Adding Fractions Calculator
Creating the calculator page for the Adding Fractions Calculator was pretty straight-forward. I have a simple input form and calculate button for the actual operation. I also included a brief description of the steps needed to add fractions to aid in students who are learning to add fractions manually. Because the most difficult parts of the operation is to simplify the fractions once the operation is complete, there is also a link to the Simplifying Fractions Calculator.
The Operation for Adding Fractions
The first step for adding the fractions was to create like denominators. The denominators for each fraction must be the same to properly add. I have an operation that finds the lowest common denominator that is used in this calculator as well as the Greatest Common Factor Calculator. Once the two fractions are converted to have the same denominator, the numerators can be added then the resulting fraction is converted to it’s simplest form for the answer.
Adding Fractions Calculator Example
On the calculator page, the example used is 1/3 + 1/5. The two fractions are converted so that the denominators are equal. In this case, the lowest common denominator is 15. This converts the fractions to 5/15 + 3/15. Now the numerators can be added to come up with a resulting fraction of 8/15. Since this is the simplest form of the fraction, 8/15 is the final answer.
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