Question

How do you simplify `2/3 times 18`?

Answer 1

`12`

Explanation:

When multiplying fractions, multiply both their numerators and both their denominators. If we want to write both of the terms as fractions, we would write

`2/3xx18/1`

Which then becomes

`=(2xx18)/(3xx1)=36/3`

This equals `36-:3=12`.

Answer 2

`12`

Explanation:

We can write `18=3xx6`. We should do this because we want to cause cancellation in the denominator of `2/3`.

Also, note that `2/3=2xx1/3`. The whole problem can be written then as

`2xx1/3xx3xx6`

Note that `1/3xx3=1`, so all we are left with is `2xx6xx1=12`.