Comparing fractions calculator

In short, you can enter integers, decimals, fractions, e.t.c and compare them to the same kind of numbers or cross-compare e.g comparing negative integers to fractions.

Comparing fractions:

Comparison between two positive integers is easy because we have a good idea of which number is bigger than which. Such as a child who learns to count can tell that 16 is bigger than 15. 

But the problem comes when you have to compare fractions like ⅓ to ¼. 

Someone who does not know fractions really well might think that ⅓ is smaller than ¼ by simply comparing the denominators 3 and 4. Because 3 is smaller than 4 when both are numerators. But it is different when it comes to fractions.

How to compare fractions?

It is important to learn how fractions work if you want to compare them. A fraction is defined as: “Specific part of a whole”. For understanding see the illustration below

This means you write the number of total parts as the denominator and the numerator tells how much the current thing represents or makes up for the total thing.

So, if we go by this method you can see that ⅓ is greater than ¼ because if we divide a circle into 3 parts then its pieces will be larger than the pieces of a circle which is divided into 4 parts.

One way to tell which fraction is bigger is by converting fractions to decimals. This way you can easily identify the greater fraction. Using this method eliminates any chance of miscalculation.

The second method is to cross multiply the fractions. We will explain this through an example later on but first, see a solved example using the first way or method.
 
Example:
Compare the fractions ⅔ and ⅘.

Solution:
Step 1: Convert the fractions to decimal. 

⅔ = 0.67
⅘ = 0.8

Step 2: Write both values with a box in between.

0.67 □ 0.8

Step 3: See which number is greater and place the ‘greater than’ symbol accordingly.

0.8 is greater.

0.67 < 0.8 

Hence, ⅘ is greater than ⅔. Now, let’s an example using the cross multiplication method.
Example:
Which fraction is greater, 7/10 or 1/2? 

Solution:
Step 1: Write both fractions with a box in between.

7/10 □ 1/2 

Step 2: Cross multiply.

7 x 2 □ 1 x 10
14 □ 10

Step 3: Place the ‘greater than' symbol. 

14 > 10 

Hence 7/10 is greater than 1/2.