How to Convert -0.85 to a Fraction for an 18-Year-Old

A detailed guide on converting decimal numbers to fractions, specifically focusing on -0.85.

PDF

To convert the decimal number -0.85 into a fraction, follow these step-by-step instructions:

  1. Understand the Decimal: The number -0.85 means negative eighty-five hundredths.
  2. Write it as a Fraction: You can express -0.85 as -85/100 since there are two decimal places.
  3. Simplify the Fraction: Now, we need to simplify -85/100. To do this, we find the greatest common divisor (GCD) of 85 and 100.
  4. Finding the GCD: The factors of 85 are 1, 5, 17, and 85, while the factors of 100 are 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, and 100. The largest number they share is 5.
  5. Divide Both Numerator and Denominator by GCD: Divide both the numerator and the denominator by their GCD:
    • -85 ÷ 5 = -17
    • 100 ÷ 5 = 20
  6. Final Fraction: Therefore, -0.85 can be expressed and simplified to -17/20.

So, the fraction representation of -0.85 is -17/20.

Ask a followup question