Mathematics Tutoring: Mastering Fractions

I hate fractions!" That's a very common statement from so many people. Even for people who do enjoy math, fractions is often regarded as their least favorite mathematical concept. This book guides and explains, in great detail, everything one needs to know to master this frustrating area of mathematics. It also provides different types of fractions problems, including word problems, to practice and to check for understanding. Whether you, your child, a relative, or friend needs refreshing, is learning fractions in school for the first time, wants guidance, or desires a quality reference, look no further. Mastering Fractions is the ideal tutorial, even for those who have struggled with fractions for decades. This learning tool is sure to help the user see fractions in a new way, and to hopefully not "hate" them quite as much.

Why do we need to learn fractions? Why are they important? These are just two of the questions that are frequently asked when dealing with this frustrating concept. There are many answers to these questions. However, to sum up the answers into one universal answer, we learn fractions because they are found everywhere. Fractions are all around us. We are surrounded by them. We use fractions in almost everything we do in life. This tutorial is perfect for anyone who struggles with this mathematical concept, or learned fractions many years ago but forgot the rules and all the tricks to solve them. Whatever the reason is, this tool will help anyone learn or relearn fractions, possibly saving hundreds of dollars in tutoring costs.

Mastering Fractions includes fractions terms and definitions along with 13 learning modules that provide step-by-step guidance to solve fractions problems, offering many examples prior to the practice problems. There are a total of 320 practice problems, plus a 100 problem end of the book assessment to check for mastery of the content. Also included are answer keys to both the learning modules and the assessment. It is my hope that you find this tutorial extremely helpful in learning fractions.

Chapter 1 Intro: Reducing Proper Fractions to Simplest Form
Remember, a proper fraction is when the numerator is smaller, or less than, the denominator. When simplifying fractions, the final answer always needs to be in “proper” or simplest form. A fraction is reduced to its simplest form when there are no common numbers (factors), other than one (1), that go into both the numerator and the denominator evenly, without a remainder.

Simplifying fractions is the part that can be really frustrating for some. Why do we simplify fractions? The short answer is because we need to. Life works in “reduced” fractional form. If I need a wrench to tighten a nut on a bolt I will never find a 6/8ths wrench, or socket, in my toolbox. It will always be a 3/4ths. The 10/16ths wrench will be a 5/8ths, and so on. It is extremely important to master this skill. Once fraction reducing is proficient, and becomes second nature, and it will with patience and much practice, the world of fractions becomes a lot easier to understand and much more likeable.

Let’s look at this example regarding pizzas...

Chapter 8 Intro: Multiplying Fractions
Multiplying fractions is probably the easiest of the four basic operations when solving fractions, so we’ll start here first. When multiplying fractions, the numerators are multiplied together, followed by multiplying the denominators. 1/2 x 3/4 = 3/8. Also, 1/3 x 1/5 x 2/3 = 2/45. This is a very simple process...