📚 View Lesson Summary & Study Guide
Main Learning Objective:
Understand how to clear fractions and decimals from algebraic equations using reciprocals, least common denominators, and powers of 10.
Key Takeaways:
- Multiply by the reciprocal of a single fraction coefficient to create a coefficient of 1 ('the invisible one') via the Multiplication Property of Equality.
- To clear multiple fractions, multiply every term on both sides of the equation by the least common denominator (LCD).
- To clear decimals, multiply all terms by the smallest power of 10 (e.g., 10, 100) needed to clear the term with the most decimal places.
- Moving decimal places when multiplying by powers of 10 corresponds to the number of zeros in the multiplier.