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Printjmc
prealgebra senior
Problem
Express as a fraction in lowest terms:
Solution
We begin by realizing that , so . (Note that this can be done because there is no carrying involved.)
To express the number as a fraction, we call it and subtract it from : \begin{array}{r r c r@{}l} &100x &=& 12&.121212\ldots \\ - &x &=& 0&.121212\ldots \\ \hline &99x &=& 12 & \end{array} This shows that .
But that isn't in lowest terms, since and share a common factor of . We can reduce to , which is in lowest terms.
To express the number as a fraction, we call it and subtract it from : \begin{array}{r r c r@{}l} &100x &=& 12&.121212\ldots \\ - &x &=& 0&.121212\ldots \\ \hline &99x &=& 12 & \end{array} This shows that .
But that isn't in lowest terms, since and share a common factor of . We can reduce to , which is in lowest terms.
Final answer
\frac{4}{33}