What is a mixed number?

Besides natural numbers , prime numbers , square numbers , etc., mixed numbers also appear in mathematics. So what are mixed numbers? How to convert mixed numbers to fractions? Please read the article below to better understand this mathematical knowledge.

Mixed number

• What is a mixed number?
  • How to read mixed numbers 
• How to convert mixed numbers
  • How to convert fractions to mixed numbers
  • How to convert mixed numbers to fractions
• How to add, subtract, multiply and divide mixed numbers
  • How to add and subtract mixed numbers
  • How to multiply and divide mixed numbers

What is a mixed number?

A mixed number is a combination of a whole number and a fraction.

The fractional part of a mixed number is always less than 1.

For example: You have 1 apple and half an apple, which is 1/2 an apple. Normally, you would say you have 1.5 apples, but in maths you would use a mixed number to represent this quantity.

How to read mixed numbers

The components of a mixed number include the integer part and the fractional part. When reading a mixed number, we read the integer part first and then the fractional part.

How to convert mixed numbers

How to convert fractions to mixed numbers

To convert a fraction to a mixed number, follow these steps:

• First take the numerator and divide it by the denominator.
• The integer part will be the integer in the mixed number.
• The remainder will be the new numerator of the fraction.
• The denominator remains the same.

For example: Given the fraction 9/2, express the above fraction as a mixed number.

How to do it:

• Step 1: Take the numerator and divide it by the denominator, that is, take 9 : 2 = 4 and the remainder is 1.
• Step 2: The result of the division by 4 is the integer part of the mixed number, the remainder is 1 and will be the new numerator.

The mixed number obtained is:

Note:

• Any fraction with a numerator larger than its denominator can be converted to a mixed number and vice versa.
• However, if the numerator is equal to or less than the denominator, it cannot be done.

How to convert mixed numbers to fractions

To do this, follow these steps:

Step 1: Take the denominator and add the result to the denominator.

Step 2: Replace the result in step 1 into the new numerator, keeping the same denominator. We get a new fraction from the given mixed number.

Example: Convert the following mixed number to a fraction.

Note:

All mixed numbers can be converted to fractions.

How to add, subtract, multiply and divide mixed numbers

Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division can be performed on mixed numbers in two ways as follows:

How to add and subtract mixed numbers

Method 1: Convert mixed numbers to fractions and then calculate.

Convert mixed numbers to fractions and then perform calculations.

For example:

Method 2: Add the integer part with the integer part, the fractional part with the fractional part

We separate the integer part to perform addition or subtraction, then perform the same calculation with the fraction part. This method only applies if the 2 mixed numbers are not negative.

How to multiply and divide mixed numbers

• Add or subtract mixed numbers by writing the mixed number as a fraction and then adding or dividing the fraction.
• When multiplying or dividing a mixed number by a whole number, we can write the mixed number as a sum of a whole number and a fraction.

For example: