Before entering fully into the meaning of the term mixed fraction, we are going to proceed to know the etymological origin of the two words that give it shape:
-Fraction, first of all, derives from Latin. Exactly it emanates from “fractio, fractionis”, which can be translated as “part of a whole” or “broken piece”. Likewise, we must highlight the fact that it in turn comes from the verb “frangere”, which is synonymous with “break” or “break”.
-Mixed, secondly, we can indicate that it also comes from Latin, in its case, from the word mixtus.
In the field of mathematics , the concept of fraction is used to refer to an expression that refers to a division. This expression is formed with the numerator (the number to be divided), the denominator (the number by which it is divided) and a dividing line (which presents the numerator above and the denominator below).
1/9 is an example of a fraction. As you can see, the numerator of this fraction is 1 , while the denominator is 9 . Both numbers are separated by the dividing line. The result of the division posed by the fraction, on the other hand, is 0.11 .
According to their characteristics, we can classify fractions in different ways. In this case, to focus on mixed fractions , we must first know what proper fractions and improper fractions are.
A proper fraction is a fraction whose numerator is less than its denominator, as long as both are positive numbers. 2/6 , therefore, is a proper fraction. In improper fractions, the opposite occurs: their numerator is greater than their denominator ( 7/3 , to cite one case).
From these definitions, we can now refer to mixed fractions. A mixed fraction allows you to represent an improper fraction from an integer and a proper fraction . This is useful for writing units of measurement.
Suppose we have the improper fraction 45/25 . If we want to write said fraction as a mixed fraction, we must solve the division and write down the result as an integer plus the corresponding proper fraction:
9/5 = 1.8 = 1 4/5
In the same way, we cannot ignore that to add two mixed fractions, what we have to do is add the whole parts on the one hand and the fractions on the other. If the result that this operation gives, in terms of fractions, does not turn out to be a proper fraction, its whole part will have to be added to the one we already have.
In addition to everything indicated, we have to emphasize that mixed fractions are not only used in the field of mathematics, as we can imagine, but in many others that we may find curious. Thus, for example, in the cooking sector they are used to indicate the quantity of a specific ingredient in a recipe. In this way, you can say that you have to add 2 ¼ of flour.
Not to mention that they are also widely used to express time intervals: 3 2/3 hours.