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You probably know that you can easily convert a whole number to an "improper" fraction by expressing the whole number as a numerator and choosing 1 as the denominator. That would be a "reduced" improper fraction. It's also easy to convert a whole number to an unreduced improper fraction. Here's how:

Steps Download Article

  1. 1

    Express the whole number as a reduced proper fraction. The whole number is the numerator, and 1 is the denominator. For example, if the whole number is 4, the numerator of the fraction is 4, and the denominator is 1. Thus, 4/1.

  2. 2

    Choose any fraction equivalent to 1. A fraction is equivalent to 1 if its numerator is the same as its denominator. Examples are 3/3, 5/5, and 7/7.

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  3. 3

    Multiply the whole number by the fractional equivalent of 1. Take the improper fraction chosen in Step 1 above. Multiply it by any fraction that equals 1. This does not change the value of the original improper fraction. For example, multiply 4/1 by 5/5 (numerator times numerator, and denominator times denominator). 4/1 multiplied by 5/5 equals 20/5. You now have an unreduced improper fraction with the value of 4.

    • Examples of improper fractions that equal 4 include 4/1, 8/2, 12/3, 16/4, 20/5 and 24/6. Note that in each fraction, the numerator is four times the denominator.
    • If the original whole number had been, for instance, 5 rather than 4, the numerator of an equivalent improper fraction would be five times the denominator.

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Add New Question

  • Question

    How could I make 4 into an improper fraction?

    Community Answer

    Some examples of this would be 8/2, 12/3, and 16/4. Do this by using Steps 2 and 3 above.

  • Question

    How do you convert 15/6 into a whole number?

    Community Answer

    It will convert only into a mixed number, because 15 is not a multiple of 6. (18/6, for example, would convert into a whole number.)

  • Question

    How do I convert 3/4 into a whole number?

    Donagan

    3/4 will not convert into a whole number. The only fractions that can be converted into whole numbers are those whose numerators are the same number as their denominators, or whose numerators are an exact multiple of their denominators.

  • Question

    How do I change -13 to an improper fraction?

    Community Answer

    The denominator of a whole number is always 1; therefore, the improper fraction is -13/1. Make sure you don't do -13/-1, because two negatives make a positive.

  • Question

    How do I change a mixed number into an improper fraction?

    Donagan

    The denominator remains the same as it was in the mixed number. To get the new numerator, multiply the whole number by the denominator and add the old numerator.

  • Question

    How do I write a fraction in simplest form?

    Donagan

    Divide both the numerator and the denominator by the largest number that will divide evenly into both. After that, if it's an improper fraction, convert it to a mixed number.

  • Question

    How do I convert 12/4 to an improper fraction?

    Community Answer

    It's already an improper fraction. An improper fraction is any fraction whose numerator is equal to or larger than its denominator.

  • Question

    How do I find the missing digit in 5/7× = 15?

    Donagan

    Divide 15 by 5/7, which is the same as multiplying 15 by 7/5. That will give you x.

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