How do you turn 0.11111... (recurring) into a fraction

Let's look at what makes this question more difficult than, say, 0.5 or 0.01: as the decimal is recurring, you can't just multiply and divide by a big number to get a fraction. Example: multiply 0.01 times 100, then divide by 100. You get 1/100 which is your fraction. However, if you multiply 0.11111... by 100 you get 11.11111... (still recurring). This just means we require an additional step to solve this. Let's try to get rid of the recurring decimal with some simple operations: let x = 0.111111... then 10x = 1.111111... 10x - x = 1.111111... - 0.111111... = 1 and: 10x - x = 9x So, we can write 9x = 1. Hence, x = 1/9 is your fraction. We can expand this method for all sorts of recurring decimals, like 0.12121212... or 0.426426426... with slight changes in our method, which I would like you to try and find, (Hint: remember we want to get rid of the recurring decimal).

AP

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How do I apply the four operations to Fractions?


5 tins of soup have a total weight of 1750 grams. 4 tins of soup and 3 packets of soup have a total weight of 1490 grams. Work out the total weight of 3 tins of soup and 2 packets of soup.


Matt has 3 piles of coins, A , B and C. Altogether there was 72p. Pile B had twice as much as pile A. Pile C had three times as much as pile B. How much money was in Pile C?


Annie and Louis are going to the cinema with their friends. Annie buys two adult tickets and a popcorn for £18.Louis buys 4 adult tickets and 3 popcorn buckets for £45. How much is a ticket and a popcorn bucket?