How do you change 18.375 into a fraction?

1 Answer
Oct 29, 2015

Multiply by 2 three times, then deduce:

18.375 = 147/8

Explanation:

The quickest way is just to multiply it by 1000 to find:

18.375 = 18375/1000

but this is not in lowest terms.

Alternatively, work step by step as follows:

18.375 ends with a 5, so try multiplying by 2...

18.375 xx 2 = 36.75

36.75 ends with a 5, so try multiplying by 2...

36.75 xx 2 = 73.5

73.5 ends with a 5, so multiply by 2...

73.5 xx 2 = 147

Then since we multiplied by 2 three times, divide by 2 three times to find:

18.375 = 147/(2 xx 2 xx 2) = 147/8