fractions


 * __Fractions__**

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 * Fraction** (from the Latin //fractus//, broken) is a number that can represent part of a whole.

The earliest fractions were reciprocals of integers, symbols representing one half, one third, one quarter, and so on. A much later development were the common or "vulgar" fractions which are still used today, and which consist of a numerator and a denominator, the numerator representing a number of equal parts and the denominator telling how many of those parts make up a whole. An example is 3/4, in which the numerator, 3, tells us that the fraction represents 3 equal parts, and the denominator, 4, tells us that 4 parts make up a whole. A still later development was the decimal fraction, now usually called simply a "decimal", in which the denominator is a power of ten, determined by the number of digits to the right of a decimal separator. In English-speaking and many Asian and Arabic-speaking countries, a period (.) or raised period (•) is used as the decimal separator. In most other countries, however, a comma is used. Thus in 0.75 the numerator is 75 and the denominator is 10 to the second power (because there are two digits to the right of the decimal). Thus the denominator is 100.

A third kind of fraction still in common use is the "per cent", in which the denominator is always 100. Thus 75% means 75/100.

Other uses for fractions are to represent ratios, and to represent division. Thus the fraction 3/4 is also used to represent the ratio 3:4 (three to four) and the division 3 ÷ 4 (three divided by four).

Here is a picture of a fraction:



These are some links:

[|http://images.google.com/imgres? imgurl=http://www.amphi.com/teachers/brobeson/images/35164A5698BB450BA63A205476D41DF5.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.amphi.com/teachers/brobeson/MathFractionsDecimals.html&usg=__0CU-JqwfN5aX8yf5sBkN9QdAGVc=&h=428&w=600&sz=29&hl=en&start=12&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=mTGsXnVns5zylM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfractions%2Bpictures%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7GWYA%26um%3D1]

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