Hi.

Here is some review material, arithmetic stuff, that you are already
supposed to know. Please read this as a refresher, and make sure you understand
everything clearly.

An integer is a positive or negative whole number or 0. You have seen the

number line with 0 at the center and the positive whole numbers depicted to the
right (1, 2, 3,…) and the negative numbers (-1, -2, -3,…) to the left, all equally
spaced.

I will deal with this material slightly differently than how you might have
learned it, to jive with algebra ideas that we will be using. Rather than talking
about adding and subtracting integers, we will talk of “signed numbers” and
“combining signed numbers”. These same rules apply when we deal with
algebraic expressions.

The sign of a number is what appears to its left. If there is no sign, we agree that
the number is positive or +. The number 0 has no sign.

When you say “subtract a from b”, this means b-a, and NOT a-b. So if you
“subtract 5 from 12”, the answer is 12-5 = 7.

Rule 1: If two numbers have the same sign, add and keep the sign.

Consider the expression 3 + 5. There are two numbers here: 3 and +5. Both are
+. So add and keep sign, to get +8, or simply 8.

How about -4 -9. Here the two numbers are 4 and 9, and both are -. The rule is
to add and keep sign, so add 4 and 9 to get 13, and keep the – sign, to get the
answer -13.

Rule 2: If two numbers have opposite signs (one +, the other -), subtract the
smaller one from the larger one and keep the sign of the larger one.

-9+5: here there are two numbers, the 9 and the 5. The 9 is – and the 5 is +. So
subtract the smaller from the larger, i.e. subtract the 5 from the 9, to get 9-5=4,
and keep the sign of the larger number, the 9, which is a -, to get answer -4.

-12+15: the two numbers are 12 and 15; the 12 is - and the 15 is +. Subtract
smaller from larger, so 12 from 15, to get 15-12=3, and keep sign of the larger,
15, which is a +, so the answer is +3, or 3. Remember that we omit to write the
+ on the left of a positive number if there is no confusion.
Also note that in a case like +5-5, the rule says subtract smaller from larger, but
here both are the same, 5, so the answer is 0. Similarly, 6-6=0, -9+9=0 etc.

Rule 3: For more than two numbers, combine them two at a time going left to
right.

-5+8-10: there are three numbers, the 5, 8, and 10. The 5 is -, 8 is + and 10 is -.
Combine the first two: -5+8 (rule 2) = 3 so it becomes 3-10, and again using
rule 2, get the answer as -7.

Observe that you could have done this in a different order. Let’s combine the
negatives first, the -5 and the -10, to get (rule 1) -15, so the problem is now +8-
15, so use rule 2 to get -7.

So really, you can combine signed numbers in any order.

-10+7-15+8: here there are four numbers, 10, 7, 15 and 8. The 10 and 15 are –
and the 7 and 8 are +. Let’s first combine them 2 at a time, going left to right. -
10+7= -3 (rule 2), so it becomes -3-15+8. Now do -3-15=-18 (rule 1). So it
becomes -18+8, which is -10 (rule 2). Or we could have combined the positives
and the negatives separately, and then combined the two resulting numbers. So -
10-15 gives -25 (rule 1), and +7+8 gives +15 (rule 1) and it becomes -25+15, so
now use rule 2 to get -10.

All roads lead to Rome.

Now try these problems:

1. 12+28
2. -13-29
3. -4+9-13
4. 6-7+8-10
5. -16+9+1-14
6. -14+31-9+17
7. 7-13-19+28+3
8. 123-234+345-456
9. 1-2+3-4+5-6
10. -11+12-13+14-15-16+17+18

Multiplying and dividing integers. The rules are:

Positive x positive = positive. Positive ÷ positive = positive.

Negative x negative = positive. Negative ÷ negative = positive.
Positive x negative = negative. Positive ÷ negative = negative.
Negative x positive = negative. Negative ÷ positive = negative.

One way to remember this is: if two numbers are of the same sign and you
multiply or divide them, the answer is positive. If two numbers are of opposite
signs and you multiply or divide them the answer is negative.

NOTE: There is a saying that “two negatives give a positive”. This is a sloppy
statement, since it doesn’t say what is being done to the two negative numbers.
If you multiply two negatives, the answer is positive. But if you combine two
negative numbers, the answer is negative. Please note this carefully. Best not to
use that saying.

-3 x -4 = +12. But -3 -4 = -7.

When it comes to denoting multiplication, one can use “x” or “*” or “.” or
parentheses. But use of the “.” is tricky, since if you write the “.” in the same
line as the numbers, it denotes a decimal, not multiplication. So 2.5 is “two
point five”, which means two and a half. If you are trying to say “2 times 5”
then the “.” has to be written in the center. So best to write 2x5 or 2*5 or 2(5).
So -3(-4) is +12.

Next let’s look at a very important issue that you have to understand very well
since it will show up many times in this class. When you see an expression like
“-a”, this means “-1 times a”. So -blah means -1 times blah. -4 means -1 x 4. An
expression like –(-3) means -1 times -3, so the answer is +3 (- times - = +).
What does –(-3+1) mean? First do what’s inside the parentheses, -3+1=-2. So
the expression becomes –(-2) so the answer is -1 times -2, which is +2.

Similarly, +a means +1 times a. So +(4) means +1 x 4 = 4. Remember that the 4

inside the parentheses is a +, though we didn’t write the + sign. So +(+4) is the
same as +(4). In the same way, +blah means +1 x blah. +(-5) means +1x(-5), so
the answer is -5 since + times - is -. In this problem, you cannot write +1-5
without the parentheses around the -5, since then it appears you are combining
the two numbers +1 and -5, and the answer would be -4. If you want to indicate
that you are multiplying, you have to put the parentheses: +1(-5) means +1 x (-
5). But +1-5 means you are combining +1 and -5. Please note this very carefully
and appreciate the importance of the parentheses.

Now that we have these rules, we can subtract integers. Remember that
“subtract x from y” means y-x, NOT x-y.
Subtract 4 from -3: this means -3-4, so the answer is -7.

Subtract -3 from 4: this means 4-(-3). First note that we have to write the
parentheses around the -3, otherwise it looks like 4 - - 3 which doesn’t make
sense. There are two numbers in play here: the 4, and the –(-3). The 4 is a +.
The –(-3) means -1x-3, which is +3. So the expression becomes 4+3=7.

Subtract -5 from -8: this means -8 – (-5). The 8 is -. The –(-5) is -1 x -5 = +5. So
it becomes -8+5=-3.

Let’s now apply all the above rules together.

4-(-9)+6: there are three numbers in play: the 4 which is a +, the –(-9) which
becomes +9, and the 6 which is a +. So the expression becomes 4+9+6= 19.

-5+4-(-6): the 3 numbers in play are -5, +4, and –(-6). The –(-6) becomes +6. So
the expression becomes -5+4+6=5.

1-(-2)-(-3): the three numbers in play are 1, -(-2) and –(-3). The second and
third become +2 and +3. So the expression is 1+2+3=6.

-2+(-3)-(-4) = -2 – 3 + 4, because the +(-3) means +1 times -3, which is -3. So

the final answer is -1.

Now try these problems:

1. 3-(-4)+(6)
2. 12+(-9)-15
3. 6-(-7)-13
4. -3-(-9)-4+(9)-(-6)
5. 1-(-2)-3+4
6. -3-(-5)-(-7)+(-9)
7. 4+(-9)-10+(-15)
8. 6-7-8-(-9)+10+11-(-12)
9. -1+(-2)-(-3)+4
10. 14-(15)-(-16)+(-17)-18

Let’s now turn to exponents. When you write a3, this means a*a*a. The “a” is
called the base and the “3” is the exponent. If a = 4, this means 4x4x4=64. If a
= -2, this means (-2)(-2)(-2). The first (-2)(-2) gives +4, so the expression
becomes +4(-2) to give the final answer as -8.
The most important thing to remember regarding exponents is that the exponent
applies only to the base above which it is written, and does NOT apply to
anything that comes before. So if you write -52, the 2 applies only to the 5, and
not to the – sign. Remember that -52 looks like -blah, so it really means -1 times
52. So the answer for -52 is -25. If we wrote (-5)2, now the exponent 2 applies to
all of -5, since the -5 is in parentheses, and this means (-5) times (-5), so the
answer is +25, or 25. Understand this carefully.

-43 means -1 times 43, which is -64. Note that 43 is NOT 4x3, but 4x4x4=64.

(-2)4 means (-2)(-2)(-2)(-2) which is +16.

Now we can turn to Order of Operations. Since there are many operations such
as addition subtraction multiplication division and exponents, we need to agree
on what order the operations are to be done so everyone gets the same answer.
Some of you must have seen acronyms like PEMDAS or BODMAS to
remember the order of operations. In this country we usually use PEMDAS. But
it is important to remember that, PEMDAS, as written, is wrong, and you have
to understand it carefully. The operations are Parentheses, Exponents,
Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction. Everything is left to right
(with apologies to Hebrew or Arabic speakers). So do P first, then E. Now the
most important thing to remember is regarding M and D. It does NOT mean do
M first and then D. After P and E are done look at the Ms and the Ds, and do
in the order whichever comes first, going left to right. Once P, E, M and D are
all done, do A and S, in any order, not necessarily left to right, and we’ll see
that in examples.

To illustrate the M and D issue, consider the expression 20÷5x2. If you did M
first and then D, you would get 20÷10 = 2. This would be wrong. You have to
do M and D in the order in which they appear, going left to right, so first do
20÷5 to get 4, and then 4x2 = 8. So 20÷5x2 is 8, not 2.

PEMDAS is taught in elementary school to remember the order of operations,

but the M and D issue is often not explained properly. Please understand it
carefully. NOT M first and then D, but in order of appearance of Ms and Ds,
going left to right.

Let’s look at examples of Order of Operations.

-(3-5)2: do what’s inside the parentheses first: 3-5=-2. So it becomes –(-2)2. The
outside – sign means it’s -1 times (-2)2. Now (-2)2 is 4, so the final answer is -
1x4 = -4.
2-(4-7)3: first do (4-7) since it’s inside the parentheses. So the expression
becomes 2-(-3)3. Next exponents, the (-3)3 = (-3)(-3)(-3) = -27. So it becomes 2-
(-27). Note that you cannot write 2 - - 27 since that is meaningless, so you have
to write 2 – (-27). There are two numbers here in play: the 2 and the –(-27).
What does –(-27) mean? It means -1 times -27, so that becomes +27. So finally
we have 2+27=29.

Regarding exponents, note that every pair of – gives a +. So what is the value of
-199? What does this mean? It looks like -1 times blah. The blah part is 199,
which means 1x1x1x1…x1, 99 times. So that is still 1, since any number of
times you multiply 1 by itself you get back 1. So the final answer is -1 times 1,
which is -1.

How about –(-1)99? This looks like -1 times blah, where the blah is (-1)99, which
is -1 multiplied by itself 99 times. There are 99 – signs. Every pair of – signs
becomes + since -x-=+. There are 49 pairs for 98 negative signs, and all of that
becomes +. There is one – sign left at the end. So the blah part, (-1)99, equals -1.
So the final answer is -1 x -1 = +1.

What is –(-1)100? Note that the two – signs don’t talk to each other, so don’t
think it’s -x- = +. This is -1 times (-1)100. The exponent 100 applies to the (-1),
not to the – sign on the outside. (-1)100 is -1 multiplied by itself 100 times, which
is simply +1 since there are 50 pairs of – signs which will all become +. So the
final answer is -1. If you considered the 2 – signs that look like they are placed
next to each other and think -x-=+, it will be wrong.

How about (-1)1000? This means -1 multiplied by itself thousand times. Here
there are 500 pairs of – signs , and each pair becomes +. So the final answer is
simply 1. What if it’s –(-1)1000? The (-1)1000 as we saw above is +1, so the final
answer for –(-1)1000 is -1 times +1, so =1. Check that –(-1)1001 = +1.

Now consider -225. This looks like -blah, so it means -1 times 225. Note that 225
is NOT 2x25!! It means 2 times 2 times 2 times 2 times 2….25 times. This is a
large number. Regardless of the value of 225, we know that the sign of the final
answer will be -.

What if it was –(-2)25? The (-2)25 will be negative, since there are 12 pairs (24)
of – signs, each pair giving +, and then one more – sign. But there is also one –
sign outside which means -1, so the final sign will be +. The value is 2 to the
power of 25, which is whatever it is. Similarly –(-2)26 will have the sign of the
final answer – and the value whatever 2 to the power of 26 is (it’s not 52!!)
Remember that parentheses are used for multiplication. So 2(3) means 2 times
3. You can also write 2x3 or 2*3 etc. 3(1-8) means 3 times (1-8), so 3 times -7,
so -21. We saw that -blah or +blah means -1 times blah or +1 times blah. But if
there’s a number in front and not just a sign, then it’s obvious: -2(4-9) means -2
times (4-9), so -2 times -5, giving +10 or simply 10.

Some more examples for order of operations:

2-(-3+5)3 = 2-(2)3 = 2 – 8 = -6.

1-[2-(3-5)3]. Now here we have two types of parentheses, so do the inside ones
first and then the outside ones: 1-[2-(-2)3] = 1-[2-(-8)] = 1-[2+8] = 1-10 = -9.
Now this problem could also have been written as 1-(2-(3-5)3), where you have
to carefully note which parentheses are paired.

(4-9)3 ÷ (5-10) = (-5)3 ÷ (-5) = -125 ÷ (-5) = 25.

4 -10(3-5)x6 ÷ 4x2+10 = 4-10(-2)x6÷4x2+10 = 4 + 20 x 6 ÷ 4 x 2 + 10 = 4 +

120 ÷ 4 x 2 + 10 = 4 + 30 x 2 + 10 = 4 + 60 + 10 = 74.

-(3-9)2 ÷ (-9+5) +2(6-9)x(-2) = -(-6)2 ÷ (-4) + 2 x(-3)x(-2) = -(+36) ÷ (-4) + 2x(-

3)x(-2) = -36 ÷ (-4) + 2x(-3)x(-2) = +9 + 2x(-3)x(2) = +9 + (-6)x(2) = +9 + (-12)
= +9 – 12 = -3. Note that in the second step 2(6-9) means 2 times 6-9, so I put
the x for extra clarity.

Next is Absolute Value. The absolute value of a number a, denoted by |a|, tells
you how far a is from 0 on the number line. Since the definition says “how far”,
it’s a distance, so the answer is always positive since distance cannot be
negative. So |3| = 3 since 3 is 3 units away from 0. Similarly |-5| = 5, since the
point (or integer or number) -5 is 5 units away from 0 on the number line. Let’s
get comfortable with this.

|3-10| = |-7| = 7.

3 - |10| = 3 – 10 = -7.

3 - |-10| = 3 – 10 (since |-10| = 10) = -7. Just like with exponents, -|-2| is NOT +
2 since the -x-=+ rule does not apply here!! Because | | denotes absolute value,
not multiplication. So -|-2| is -1 times |-2|, which is -1x2, which is -2.

|-5-14| = |-19| = 19.

|-5| - |14| = 5 – 14 = -9.

-5 - |-14| = -5 – 14 (since |-14| = 14) = -19.

2|3-8| means 2 times |3-8| so 2(-5) = -10.

Note that (2-5)3 is (-3)3, which is -27. But |2-5|3 means 33 which is 27.

Just as 3(5) means 3x5, similarly 3|2-9| means 3 times |2-9| which is 3x|-7|
which is 3x7=21. So –(-3) is -1 x (-3), which is +3, but -|-3| means -1 x |-3|,
which is -1 x 3, which is -3.

One thing I want to emphasize is that you should not conclude general rules
about these operations. It all depends on the problem, where the parentheses are
put, where the exponents are put, where the absolute value sign is etc. Always
make sure you understand and remember the basic rules properly and do the
problem carefully.

Now try these problems on Order of Operations. Note that x means

multiplication.

1. 3 – (4-9)2 ÷ (1-6) x (23 – 4) + (6-10)

2. –(8-11)3 x (1-3) + (1-32) ÷ (2-4)
3. 5 – 3|4-9| ÷ (2-7) x (23 – 32)
4. 2 – 22 x 23 ÷ 24 - 25 + |2-6| ÷ (-|2-4|)
5. 3 x (3-6) x (1-3) + [2 – 32 x (2 - |3-5|)]
6. –(2-3)100 + (2-4)5 ÷ (-42) x (5 - |-3| - |-3+1|)

Finally you have to learn the important concepts of factors, multiples, prime
numbers, GCD and LCM. These same ideas will be used when we deal with
algebraic expressions.

First note the even numbers are 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and so on, and the odd numbers are
1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and so on. We consider 0 as an even number. All even numbers can
be divided by 2. In fact, this is a definition of an even number: it is a number
that can be divided by 2. No odd number can be divided by 2. All even numbers
end in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8, and all odd numbers end in 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9.

A number a is a factor of another number b if a divides b without remainder. So

2 is a factor of 10, since 2 divides 10, but 2 is not a factor of 9.
A prime number is a number that can be divided only by 1 and itself. 17 is
prime since the only numbers dividing 17 are 1 and 17. Similarly 7 is prime. 9 is
not prime since a number other than 1 or 9 divides it: 3.

The number 1 is not considered prime. The prime numbers start with 2. Note
that 2 is the only even prime number. All other prime numbers have to be odd,
or else 2 will divide it, and it won’t be prime. But not all odd numbers are
prime: 15 is odd but not prime since 3 and 5 divide 15. Of course, no even
number other than 2 can be prime, since, well, 2 will divide it. It’s like saying
all Camry cars are Toyotas but not all Toyotas are Camry. So all prime numbers
except 2 are odd, but not all odd numbers are prime.

The first few prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31,…

One obvious question is whether there are infinitely many prime numbers, or
whether there is a big prime number and after that there are no prime numbers.
The answer is not hard, and you can understand the proof, but it requires some
mathematical maturity, so maybe I’ll post a proof of this later on. The answer is
that there are infinitely many prime numbers. This was first shown by the
famous ancient Greek geometer Euclid. Yes, it’s the same Euclid in Euclid Ave
if you have taken the subway in Crooklyn.

But there’s another very famous unsolved question relating to prime numbers.
Note that some primes such as 11 and 13, 17 and 19, 29 and 31, and so on, are
separated by a gap of 2. These are called twin primes. The question is whether
there are infinitely many pairs of twin primes. This is a very very very difficult
problem and people have been studying this question for hundreds of years but
the answer is not known. Good luck if you plan to try answering this question
😊

Every number can be expressed at a product of prime numbers. Product means

multiplication. E.g. 8 = 2x2x2 and 2 is prime. 26 = 2x13, and both 2 and 13 are
prime. 45 = 3x3x5 and 3 and 5 are prime. This is where your multiplication
tables come in. When writing a number as a product of primes, start with the
smallest possible prime and work your way down. So 120 = 2x60 = 2x2x30 =
2x2x2x15 = 2x2x2x3x5, and now 120 is expressed as a product of all prime
numbers.

The GCD (Greatest Common Divisor) of two numbers is the largest number
that divides both numbers. It is also sometimes called the Greatest Common
Factor, or GCF.
So the GCD of 12 and 42 is not 2, not 3, but 6 because 6 is the largest number
that divides both 12 and 42. To find the GCD, write both numbers as products
of prime numbers first. So 12 = 2x2x3, and 42 = 2x3x7. Now note that 2x3 is
the largest part that is common to both products. So 2x3, or 6, is the largest
number that divides both.

GCD of 25 and 75: 25 is 5x5, and 75 is 3x5x5. So 5x5 is the largest factor
common to both, so the GCD of 25 and 75 is 25.

GCD of 72 and 120: 72 = 2x2x2x3x3 and 120 = 2x2x2x3x5. Both numbers

have 3 factors, all of which are 2. Both also have one 3 as a common factor. So
the greatest common factor is 2x2x2x3 = 24.

If we are looking for the GCD of 3 numbers, then express each as a product of
primes and look for the largest common part. Say 30, 42, and 72. 30 = 2x3x5,
42 = 2x3x7, and 72 = 2x2x2x3x3. The greatest common part in all three
numbers are one 2 and one 3, so the GCD is 6.

Note: factors may repeat in a number, but it’s important to not over-count. E.g.,
40 = 2x2x2x5, and 96 = 2x2x2x2x2x3 so the greatest common part is 2x2x2 =
8. The number 96 has another two 2s in it, but that is ignored since 40 only has
three 2s in it, and we already counted the three 2s.

What is the GCD of 13 and 19? Well, they are both prime, so the only number
that divides both is 1, so 1 is the GCD. What is the GCD of 25 and 25? Well,
25, since that is the largest number that divides both.

Find the GCD of:

1. 25 and 70
2. 12 and 26
3. 48 and 108
4. 24, 60, 108
5. 105, 90, 80.
6. 120, 360, 420

Finally, a number a is a multiple of another number b if b divides a. Note the

direction: not a divides b, but b divides a. So 12 is a multiple of 4 since 4
divides 12. But 4 is not a multiple of 12; rather, 4 is a factor of 12. Similarly 12
is not a factor of 4, since 12 does not divide 4. So remember the direction
properly.
To look at a multiple of a number, we look at the multiplication tables for the
number. Consider 6. The multiples of 6, that is, all the numbers that 6 divides,
are found by looking at the times tables for 6: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, and so on.
What does this suggest? That each number has infinite multiples.

The LCM (Least Common Multiple) of two numbers is the least number that
both of them divide. The LCM of 6 and 8 is 24 since 24 is the smallest number
that both 6 and 8 divide. 48 is also a number that both 6 and 8 divide, but 48 is
not the least. To find the LCM, start writing the multiplication tables of 6 and 8,
and see which is the first number that is common. 6 gives 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36,
…and 8 gives 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48,… So the Least Common Multiple is the
smallest number that appears in both multiplication tables, which is 24.

The LCM of 3 or more numbers is found similarly by writing down the

multiplication tables of all three numbers and seeing which is the smallest
number that appears in all the tables. E.g. let’s find the LCM of 3, 5, and 6.

Table for 3: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, 27, 30,…

Table for 5: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40,…
Table for 6: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36,…

The smallest number that appears in all 3 tables is 30, so 30 is the LCM of 3, 5
and 6. Note that in some examples you may have to wait for a while before the
common multiple appears.

Find the LCM of:

1. 1, 2, 3
2. 2, 3, 4
3. 3, 4, 5
4. 4, 5, 6
5. 5, 6, 7
6. 6, 7, 8

Next let’s turn to fractions.

a
A fraction is an expression of the form b . The top part is called the Numerator
(N) and the bottom part the Denominator (N).
 1
If you divide a candy bar into 2 equal parts and pick 1 part, that is 2 of the
2
candy bar. If you divide the bar into 4 equal parts and pick 2 parts, that is 4 of
1
the candy bar, which is the same amount of candy as 2 . If you divide the candy
bar into 20 equal parts and pick 10 parts, that’s also the same amount of candy.
1 2 10
So 2 = 4 = 20 , and these are called equivalent fractions.

Well known joke/saying: candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.

3
Going the other way, say you have 5 of the candy bar. That means you divided
the candy bar into 5 equal parts and picked 3 of them. If now you equally divide
each of the 3 parts into say 7 parts, and also each of the 5 parts to 7 parts, then
you get 3x7=21 parts out of 5x7=35 parts, but the amount of candy hasn’t
3 3x 7
changed, so 5 is also equal to 5 x 7 . In this case, the 7 is a common factor in
3x 7
both the N and the D, so it cancels out: 5 x 7 .

In the same way, one can always cancel common factors from the N and the D
in a fraction and this process is called reducing to lowest terms.

15 3 x 5 5
= = , after cancelling the common factor 3.
21 3 x 7 7

42 2x 3x 7 7 7 7
= = = , after cancelling the common factors 2 and 3. So
90 2 x 3 x 3 x 5 3 x 5 15 15
42 42
is the reduced form of 90 . In this example, you could also have written 90 =
6 x7
and cancelled the common factor 6. So you can cancel common factors in
6 x 15
stages, or in one step.

To reduce fractions, it helps to know what the factors of a number are. There are
some helpful tricks to know when a number can be divided by another number.

1. To know if a number can be divided by 2, look at the last digit of the

number. If the last digit is 0,2,4,6 or 8, then the number is even and 2
divides it.
2. To know if a number can be divided by 3, add up the digits of the
number. If the result can be divided by 3, then the original number can be
divided by 3, and if the sum of the digits cannot be divided by 3, then the
 original number cannot be divided by 3. Let’s consider a number 222729.
The sum of the digits is 2+2+2+7+2+9=24, which is divisible by 3, so
then the whole number is divisible by 3. Check this by actually dividing
and observing that there is no remainder. If the number was 222728, then
the sum is 23, which cannot be divided by 3, so 222728 cannot be divided
by 3. This trick helps to check if 3 is a factor of a number.
3. To see whether a number can be divided by 4, look at the last 2 digits of
the number. If the last 2 digits can be divided by 4, then the original
number can be divided by 4, and if the last 2 digits cannot be divided by
4, then the original number cannot be divided by 4. So take a big number,
say 1234567890. The last 2 digits are 90, which cannot be divided by 4,
so then the number 1234567890 cannot be divided by 4. If the number is
1234567892, then the last 2 digits are 92, which is divisible by 4, so then
1234567892 can be divided by 4. This works even if the last two digits
are 00. So 12345678900 can be divided by 4, since the last two digits, 00,
can be divided by 4; this may sound a bit strange, but note that it is not
the case that 00 cannot be divided by 4, so then 00 can be divided by 4.
4. The trick for 5 is to look at the last digit: if the last digit is 0 or 5 then the
number can be divided by 5.
5. There are other tricks for 6 and 7 and so on, but the above should be good
enough for you right now.

A puzzle: Suppose there is a closed room. I say that I will give you $20 if
everyone in the room is wearing a Superman tee shirt. Suppose you open the
room and see that it is empty, and there is no one inside. Then do I owe you
$20? Send me email with your answer if you want to know whether your
answer is correct.

Suppose you have 7 candy bars and you want to divide this booty into 3 equal
parts. 6 of the bars can be equally divided, into 2 bars each, and then the
remaining 1 bar is divided equally into 3 parts. So each person will get 2 whole
1 1
bars and 3 of a bar. This is written as 2 3 . These numbers are called mixed
numbers since there is a whole number as well as a fraction.

23 3 45 5 39 4
Similarly 4 = 5 4 , 8 = 5 8 , 5 = 7 5 .

14
Consider 6 . In this case you can reduce the fraction first since 2 is a common
7
factor in the N and the D. The reduced fraction is 3 and it is written as a mixed
1 2
number as 2 3 . If you didn’t reduce, you would get the mixed number as 2 6 , but
 2 1 1
the fraction part 6 can be reduced to 3 so the final answer is 2 3 . Always reduce
fractions to lowest terms whenever you can, to simplify calculations.

If the N is larger than the D, the fraction is called an improper fraction. You
can convert a mixed number to an improper fraction. I am going to express this
b axc +b
in a general “algebraic” form: a c = c
. Remember order of operations: axc
+ b means do axc first, and then add b.

4 2 x 5+4 14
25 = 5
= 5
.

3 5 x 8+3 43
58 = 8
= 8.

So now you should know how to reduce a fraction to lowest terms (by
cancelling common factors from N and D), convert an improper fraction to a
mixed number, and convert a mixed number to an improper fraction.

Let’s now turn to adding and subtracting fractions. To appreciate the rules for
adding fractions, suppose you are an ancient farmer and you have a piece of
1 2
land and you want to give 3 + 5 of the land to your first born. Now there is a
problem. You can surely figure out how much land is one-third, by dividing into
3 equal parts and picking 1 part. In the same way you can also find out how
much is two-fifths, by dividing the piece of land into 5 equal parts and picking
1 2
2. But how will you figure out how much land is 3 + 5 , since you can divide the
land equally into either 3 parts or 5 parts, but not both at the same time? This is
1 1x 5 5 2
where equivalent fractions come in. Note that 3 is the same as 3 x 5 = 15 and 5
2x 3 6
is the same as 5 x 3 = 15 . But now the D of both fractions is the same = 15. So
now simply divide the land into 15 equal parts and pick 5+6 = 11 parts and you
1 2 11
are done. So the answer to 3 + 5 = 15 .

The above process to add 2 fractions involves writing each fraction as an

equivalent fraction with a common denominator, hence the use of LCD, the
Least Common Denominator. A common denominator means a number that
both denominators divide, and the least means the smallest such number. In the
above example, there are many common denominators of 3 and 5: 30, 75, 900
etc., but the least (smallest) of them, the LCD, is 15, since 15 is the smallest
number that both 3 and 5 divide. In the earlier chapter we saw the concept of
LCM. So we are really finding the LCM of 3 and 5, but when we talk about
fractions, we usually use LCD since we are referring to the Denominators.

Now note that in order to add fractions, you don’t have to necessarily find the
Least Common Denominator, but it’s enough to find any common denominator
and do the problem, and reduce the answer at the end. The explain this, consider
1 2
the earlier problem, 3 + 5 . Instead of using 15, which is the least common
denominator, suppose we use 45, which is a common denominator (meaning
1 2
both 3 and 5 divide 45), but not the least one. Let’s convert 3 and 5 to
1 1 x 15 15 2 2x 9 18
equivalent fractions with 45 as the D. So 3 = 3 x 15 = 45 and 5 = 5 x 9 = 45 . So
1 2 15 18 33
+ = + = . Now this can be reduced since 3 is a common factor of
3 5 45 45 45
33 3 x 11 11
both 33 and 45: 45 = 3 x 15 = 15 , which is the answer we got when we used the
LCD.

So the moral of the story is that when adding fractions you don’t have to always
find the LCD, but if you don’t, you will have to do an extra step at the end to
reduce. Let’s do another example.

3 7
+ . Here 80 is a common denominator (meaning both the denominators 8
8 10
and 10 divide 80), but 80 is not the least (smallest) one. If we add using 80 as
3 7 3 x 10 7x8 30+56 86
the common D, then we get 8 + 10 = 8 x 10 + 10 x 8 = 80
= 80 as the final
86 2 x 43 43
answer. But this can be reduced: 80 = 2 x 40 = 40 . If we had used 40, the least
3 7 3x 5 7x4 15+28 43
CD, the LCD, we get 8 + 10 = 8 x 5 + 10 x 4 = 40 = 40 . So all roads lead to
Rome. Of course, in this case, the answer can be also written as a mixed number
3
as 1 40 .

Subtracting fractions works the same way: first convert both fractions to
5 1
equivalent ones with the same D, and then subtract. To find the value of 6 - 8 ,
5 5 x4 1
convert both fractions to equivalent ones with 24 as the LCD: 6 = 6 x 4 , and 8 =
1x 3 20−3 17
, and then the answer is = .
8 x3 24 24
An important point to note when subtracting fractions is that the N of the final
4 5
answer may be negative. For example, consider 7 - 6 . Here the LCD is 42, so
4 4x6 5 5 x7 4 5
convert each fraction to an equivalent one first: 7 = 7 x 6 and 6 = 6 x 7 . So 7 - 6
24 35 24−35 −11 11
= 42 - 42 = 42
= 42
= - 42
(see next para).

Now here is a very important issue, so please understand carefully. Every

number except 0, regardless of whether it is a fraction or a whole number, has a
value and a sign. If we write -4, the value is 4 and the sign is a negative. The
number 0 has value 0, but no sign. When we write fractions, the sign is usually
put on the left of the entire fraction, along the dividing line of the fraction. So if
3 3
we write - 8 , this means the value is 8 and the sign is negative. This does not
−3 −3 3
mean −8 . If you write −8 , that is equal to 8 , a positive number, since a
3 −3 3
negative divided by a negative is a +. Now - 8 is also equal to 8 and −8 , since
3
in both cases, the value is 8 and the sign is – (-/+ = -, and +/- = -). So one can
3 −3 3
write - 8 or 8 or −8 , and they are all the same numbers (all three have same
value and sign), but in such cases the minus sign is usually written to the left of
the entire fraction. So in our example in the previous para we got the answer as
−11 11
, but the answer will usually be written as - , with the – sign on the
42 42
outside. Please note this carefully.

Finally, we have the rules for multiplying and dividing fractions.

a c axc a c a d axd
x = and ÷ = x = . So in order to divide two fractions, keep
b d bxd b d b c bxc
the first one as it is, flip the second one, and multiply.

In all multiplication and division of fractions, the final answer is always

expressed in the lowest terms, so you may have to reduce the final answer. For
4 4 4 15 4 x 15 15
example to do 9 ÷ 15 , the rule says do 9 x 4 , which is 9 x 4 , which is 9 (the
15 3x 5
4 cancels out) and reduce 9 = 3 x 3 , cancel the common factor 3, to get the final
5
answer as 3 which is an improper fraction and so can be written as a mixed
2
number as 1 3 .
In this context, the word “of” in word problems means multiplication. So if I
3 4 3 4 3x 4 3x 4 3
take 8 of 5 of a candy bar, the answer is 8 x 5 = 8 x 5 = 4 x 2 x 5 = 10 after
cancelling the common factor 4.

Finally, note that it is very easy to find which is smaller or larger among two
given fractions. Convert both fractions to equivalent ones by multiplying the N
3 4
and D of each by the D of the other. Suppose you have 8 and 5 . Multiply both
3
the N and D of 8 by the D of the other, which is 5, and similarly multiply both
4 3 3x 5 4 4x8
the N and D of 5 by the D of the other, which is 8: 8 = 8 x 5 , and 5 = 5 x 8 . So
15 32
then the fractions become, equivalently, 40 and 40 . Now both fractions have 40
4
as a common D. Then it is clear that 5 is the larger fraction, since 32 is larger
than 15. So to compare two fractions, simply multiply each N by the other D,
7 11
and compare the two answers. Suppose we want to compare 9 and 13 . 7x13=91,
11
and 11x9=99, so 13 is the larger fraction, since 99 is larger than 91.

To compare which is the smallest or largest among 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or any

number of fractions, compare two at a time from left to right, and remove the
smaller or larger ones at every step until at the end you have only 2 fractions,
and then compare those like in the previous para. Let’s look at an example.

3 7 4 6 3
Find the smallest of 5 , 9 , 11 , 7 , and 8 . Compare the first two: 3x9=27, and
3 7 7
7x5=35. Since 27 is smaller than 35, 5 is smaller than 9 , so cross 9 from the
3 4 4 3
list. Next compare 5 and 11 : 3x11=33 and 4x5=20, so 11 is smaller than 5 , and
3 4 6 4
remove 5 from the list. Now compare 11 and 7 : 4x7=28, and 6x11=66, so 11 is
6 4 3
smaller, and remove 7 from the list. Finally compare 11 and 8 : 4x8=32 and
4
3x11=33, so 11 is the smallest one of them all.