Dave Peterson

(Doctor Peterson) A former software engineer with degrees in math, I found my experience as a Math Doctor starting in 1998 so stimulating that in 2004 I took a new job teaching math at a community college in order to help the same sorts of people face to face. I have three adult children, and live near Rochester, N.Y. I am the author and instigator of anything on the site that is not attributed to someone else.

One More Way to Find GCF and LCM

There are so many ways to find a Least Common Multiple that I had to omit one method we have been asked about several times. This one doesn’t require finding prime factors, but focuses on division by whatever factors you see. Divide everything by whatever works The first reference to the method I have found …

One More Way to Find GCF and LCM Read More »

How Do You Simplify a Fraction?

Last time we examined the basic concept of equivalent fractions – the fact that different fractions can represent the same value. We saw that there will be one way to write a fraction that is “in lowest terms” – no other fraction with the same value will involve smaller numbers, and all the others can …

How Do You Simplify a Fraction? Read More »

Improper Fractions: What Are They, and Why?

In working through topics pertaining to fractions, I find that questions about improper fractions are common. Today we’ll look at questions about the definition of the term, and next time we’ll move on to mixed numbers and how to convert between the two forms.

Fractions: What Are They, and Why?

We’ve looked at some specific ideas about fractions (their proper definition, their relationship to decimals, and how to divide them); it’s time to go through this topic from the beginning. Here we’ll look at how they are introduced to beginners, and how to keep them from hurting our brains!