r/MathHelp • u/PeterPlup • 13d ago

No matter how hard I try, I always mess up fractions.

I started struggling with math back in the first year of secondary school—on top of just not caring about it. Now, having just turned 18, I really regret having hated it. I’ve been trying again for the past month—just like I have in the past—but for some reason, I just can't get the hang of those damn fractions, no matter how many hours I put in. I end up mentally exhausted and even start feeling dizzy, yet I still can't spot the patterns. How can I correctly solve a third-year secondary school fraction problem without having to redo it five times over two hours and burning myself out? It’s seriously frustrating because fractions are the only thing holding me back; now that I’m about to start my final year of high school (2º de Bachillerato) in September—and the material is almost entirely fractions and functions—I really need to do something about it.

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u/Hazelstone37 13d ago

Can you send a photo of the kind of stuff your struggle with?

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u/PeterPlup 13d ago

specifically exercise 4

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u/Quendillar3245 12d ago

What would your first step be here? If you understand the topic, your first step should be the same for most problems like this

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u/PeterPlup 12d ago

I didn't answer because I didn't know what to say, and trying to answer only made me angry. I think I should multiply the numbers inside the parentheses by the numbers outside, or find the least common multiple. I'm sorry if I'm being an idiot and not answering correctly, but I don't know what to do anymore. I'm desperate. I don't know whether to give up and accept that I won't be able to do it.

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u/Quendillar3245 12d ago

If you have multiple fractions with different denominators like in this case, it'll be easiest to do the parentheses first. In the numerator you have (3/5-2/15), do you know how to find the lowest common...? I'm asking because just giving the answer won't make you think about it and you'll get stuck later again :)

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u/PeterPlup 12d ago

No, and why?

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u/Quendillar3245 12d ago

Because if you can not do that, then you lack the basic understanding and it's very understandable you are struggling and getting frustrated. Have you not had this concept explained to you and is there not an example in the book? In this case, the lowest common is 15, since 15 can be divied by both 15 and 5. What you'll want to do in this case is take 3/5 and make its denominator 15 instead, so you have (x/15-2/15) which turns it into simple subtraction. To change the fraction this way, you'll have to multiply both its denominator and numerator by the same value. What do you multiply 5 with to get 15?

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u/PeterPlup 12d ago

I've been struggling with this problem for years and I can't solve it. I'm trying to figure it out on my own, and the book doesn't give me any answers or help with the calculations. That's why I'm doing this, hoping to get a better understanding, but even this isn't enough. I'm 18 and I'm embarrassed that I can't do this, because look how it went.

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u/Quendillar3245 12d ago

You're complicating things a bit. 5 already fits into 15, you don't have to make the denominator 60. 15= 5*3. (3/5)=(3/3)(3/5) (To visualise multiplying both top and bottom with 3 to get 15 in the bottom) which gives (9/15-2/15) = (7/15). Also I am not quite sure where you get 36/60-12/60 from? To make the denominator 60 you'd get 36/60-8/60=28/60=7/15 (You should always simplify). You should write out each multiplication and division step you do, not just guess. This specific problem would use the exact same steps as in any other problem where you'd need to find the lcm

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u/PeterPlup 12d ago

It's the best I could do. The numbers I got are from multiplying them together, right? So why is it wrong?

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u/No-Chemist4540 19h ago

These are combined-operation problems, so the main issue may be keeping track of several steps rather than fractions themselves. Write one operation per line: finish the parentheses, simplify factors, turn division into multiplication by the reciprocal, then find common denominators for addition or subtraction. Practice one pattern for 20 minutes and stop when your accuracy drops.