4.8+Fraction+Coefficients

Section 4.8 - Fraction Coefficients
(I don't think this section will be needed in the future. Could be rolled into the solve for x section.)

If you think of a fraction as just a number, it could be a coefficient just like any whole number. But a coefficient is actually a number being multiplied by one or more variables, so you could see it as a product of the number and the variable. For whole numbers, there is no difference. For fractions, though, when you multiply, you have a numerator and a denominator. If you multiply a fraction, such as 2/3 in the example below, you would actually come out with a rather different looking fraction.



There are times when the coefficient in front of the variable will be better, others when the combined form at the end of that example will be more appropriate. It is not practical to make a list for each, but just to understand that they are the same term and that they can be converted to the other form relatively easily. The same logic applies to the following example, which is also quite common.



A final note, I guess. If you have a mixed number as a coefficient, you are probably better off converting it to an improper fraction in order to do any math operations with it.

**Where to from here?**
4.1 Greatest Common Factor 4.2 What is a Fraction? 4.3 Equivalent Fractions 4.4 Multiplying Fractions 4.5 Dividing Fractions 4.6 Adding and Subtracting Like Fractions 4.7 Adding and Subtracting Unlike Fractions 4.8 Fraction Coefficients 4.9 Solving for X with Fractions Chapter Four Review Chapter Four Homework