Multiplying Fractions

We start the fraction operations with multiplying fractions as it is the most straightforward skill to learn. Before you start, you should have a good grasp of your 12 x 12 multiplication table. (You should be able to multiply numbers from 1 to 12 in your head). If you are unsure of your multiplication table you should study this multiplication table, or talk to your teacher.

Multiplying fractions together is a two step process:

1. Multiply all numerators together to get the numerator of your answer.
2. Multiply all denominators together to get the denominator of your answer.

See the examples below to see how the steps work, or head straight to some practice questions.

Example 1

Perform the following multiplication:

Solution

All you need to do is multiply the numerators (2 x 4 = 8) and multiply the denominators (3 x 9 = 27) and make these the numerator and denominator of your answer:

Example 2

Perform the following multiplication:

Solution

This example is different from the last example because there are more fractions being multiplied together! Don't worry, just follow the same steps. Multiply all the numerators (1 x 3 x 5 x 2 = 30), and all the denominators (3 x 4 x 2 x 7 = 168). You get the following answer:

You might notice our answer is not reduced. (If you don't know this term yet, don't worry.) We won't worry about reducing our answers until the page on reducing and enlarging fractions.

Now that you have seen some examples, you can try some sample questions, or go back to the fractions main page.