 Let's talk really briefly about reducing fractions So I have here two fourths and I have one half now the top number in a fraction is the numerator The bottom number in a fraction is the denominator The denominator tells how many pieces we have in this first fraction. We have four equal pieces now Mind you my drawings a little shady, but that's what you happen when you get with your finger The top number the numerator tells how many pieces you are shading you use you've eaten whatever So two fourths my top number two numerator tells me I'm going to shade two pieces Let's look at one half. We have the denominator of two equal pieces I'm going to shade one of them and if you look at these two drawings if They're the same amount of area that's been shaded regardless of whether I only shaded one chunk here or I shaded two The area is the same so these two fractions are the same fraction One is just reduced into simplest form When you reduce fractions to their simplest form what you're really doing is dividing a number out of both the top and the Bottom and this is the same number so for instance in two fourths So what we're doing is we are dividing by the top and the bottom by the number two Two divided by two is one four divided by two is two so that's where we get the number one half in The bottom example we have the fraction three-ninths. I know that I can divide both the top and the bottom by three Three divided by three is one nine divided by three is three. So this is my reduced fraction Let's do a couple examples. So this top one we have nine twelfths I know that I can divide a three out of both the top and the bottom Nine divided by three is three twelve divided by three is four. So this reduces to three fourths on the bottom fraction I know that I can reduce by two. It's an even number. You can always reduce by two six divided by two is three Fourteen divided by two is seven. So this fraction reduces to three sevenths