How to Multiply Mixed Numbers Using Cross Cancellation

Converting Mixed Numbers to Improper Fractions

• 🎯 Convert each mixed number into an improper fraction before multiplication.
• ➕ To convert, multiply the whole number by the denominator and add the numerator, keeping the original denominator.
• 💡 For example, 2 and 3/6 becomes (2 * 6 + 3) / 6 = 15/6.
• 💡 Similarly, 4 and 2/7 becomes (4 * 7 + 2) / 7 = 30/7.

Applying Cross Cancellation

• ✂️ Cross cancellation is used to simplify the fractions before multiplying to avoid large numbers.
• 🔍 Break down the numerators and denominators into their factors: 15/6 becomes (5 * 3) / (3 * 2) and 30/7 becomes (2 * 15) / 7.
• ✅ Identify common factors between numerators and denominators that can be canceled out (e.g., a '3' and a '2' in this example).

Multiplying and Converting Back

• ✖️ Multiply the remaining numbers in the numerators and denominators after cancellation.
• ➡️ In the example, after canceling, we have 5 * 15 in the numerator and 7 * 1 in the denominator, resulting in 75/7.
• 🔄 Convert the resulting improper fraction back into a mixed number for the final answer.
• 🔢 To convert 75/7, find the largest multiple of 7 less than 75 (which is 70), leaving a remainder of 5. This gives 10 and 5/7.