How To Change Mixed Numbers Into Whole Numbers
Technically, a mixed number like 2 and 3/4 already contains a whole number – in this case, 2. (Whole numbers are the numbers you learned to count with: zero, one, two, three and so on, and in a mixed number they're always written to the left of the fraction.) Converting a mixed number to a whole number doesn't make much sense, because the whole number is already there. But there are two instances in which you could justify making this conversion: if the fraction part of the mixed number is an improper fraction, you can extract another mixed number from it, or you can convert the mixed number into a whole number with a decimal after it instead of a fraction.
Converting Mixed Numbers to Decimals
Converting Mixed Numbers to Decimals
When you need to convert a mixed number into a whole number followed by a decimal, simply keep the whole number, then perform the division indicated by the fraction to figure out what goes to the right of the decimal point. Using the example of 2 and 3/4 you'd keep the 2, then divide 3 by 4 to figure out what goes to the right of the decimal point: 0.75, which gives you a final answer of 2.75.
Another Scenario for Finding Whole Numbers in Mixed Numbers
Another Scenario for Finding Whole Numbers in Mixed Numbers
With the previous mixed number used as an example – 2 and 3/4 – the numerator of the fraction, or the number on top, is smaller than the denominator, the number on the bottom of the fraction. That means 3/4 is a proper fraction, or to put it another way, it represents a quantity less than one, and no more whole numbers are in it. But if an improper fraction followed the 2, with a bigger number in the numerator than in the denominator, then sometimes it's possible to extract a whole number from that fraction.
Extracting the Whole Number from an Improper Fraction
Extracting the Whole Number from an Improper Fraction
Instead of 2 and 3/4, you may find yourself with a number like 2 and 12/4. Because the fraction part of this mixed number is an improper fraction, its value is greater than one, it allows you to extract a mixed number of one (or possibly larger) from it. Simply calculate the division represented by the fraction: 12 ÷ 4 = 3, and you're left with a whole number instead of the fraction 12/4. Because the mixed number 2 and 12/4 means 2 + 12/4, you can rewrite the mixed number as 2 + 3 (substituting 3 for the fraction 12/4) and simplify that to 5 as the final answer.
Improper Fractions with a Remainder
Improper Fractions with a Remainder
In some cases, the improper fraction won't reduce to a true whole number and instead contains a fractional remainder left over. Consider the mixed number 2 and 13/4. If you perform the division represented by that fraction, 13 ÷ 4, to find you're left with the whole number 3, plus a remainder expressed as the fraction 1/4 or the decimal 0.25. Remember, join each term in a mixed number to the others by addition signs to add all the terms together. 2 + 3 + 1/4 and simplify the result to a new mixed number: 5 and 1/4. Although you're still left with a mixed number as the result, you could say that you've changed part of the fraction into a whole number.
References
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MLA
Maloney, Lisa. "How To Change Mixed Numbers Into Whole Numbers" sciencing.com, https://www.sciencing.com/change-mixed-numbers-whole-numbers-8721372/. 27 October 2020.
APA
Maloney, Lisa. (2020, October 27). How To Change Mixed Numbers Into Whole Numbers. sciencing.com. Retrieved from https://www.sciencing.com/change-mixed-numbers-whole-numbers-8721372/
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Maloney, Lisa. How To Change Mixed Numbers Into Whole Numbers last modified March 24, 2022. https://www.sciencing.com/change-mixed-numbers-whole-numbers-8721372/