How To Calculate VAT At 20%

Hi. My name is Patrick McCarthy and I'm a maths tutor from London. Today, I am going to teach you some maths.

In this video, I am going to show you how to simplify fractions. A fraction is basically anything written one thing over another. So lets take, fifty two over fourteen.

That is a fraction. A more common fraction would be something like two-thirds or one-half or one-quarter, three-quarters etc. Fractions are one thing over another.

Now sometimes, this is how we like to see fractions. One over four, three quarters. We can kind of relate to this.

This, we cannot quite relate to so what we will try and do is simplify it into a term that we can recognize. Basically, we make these numbers as low as possible. Now to do that, you have to look for a number that multiplies to make this and a number that multiplies to make this or put differently, what goes into fourteen and what goes into fifty two and we look for the same thing.

So whenever you are doing a fraction, to keep it the same, you have got to do exactly the same to the top that you do to the bottom. You cannot change that so you must do. Lets say I want to simplify this fraction, fifty two over fourteen.

What I need to do is look for a number that goes into fourteen and goes into fifty two and its always easiest to start with two. I can see that these are both even numbers so two definitely goes into this one. So, whatever I am going to do to the top, I have to do to the bottom.

So lets say, I divide this top number by two. So I divide the top by two, I have to divide the bottom by two. In doing that I have not changed anything.

I just simplified it. So, fifty two divided by two, that is twenty six and fourteen divided by two, that is seven. So this fraction here, all I have done is divide the top by two and the bottom by two and I have changed nothing but twenty six over seven is exactly the same as fifty two over fourteen.

Now, when I get to this stage I look for a number that goes into this and goes into this. However, there are no numbers that go into seven except seven and one. Seven does not go into twenty six so that means I have simplified that one as far as I can go because there is no number that divides into seven and twenty six.

So let us take another example. Let us take thirty two divided by, lets say, eighteen. No we'll change that to twenty.

So like I have always said, start with two because it is the easiest. There are other numbers that go into these two, but we'll start with two. So, what divides into thirty two and twenty? They are both even so we'll start with two.

So we'll divide the top by two and then the bottom by two. So the top divided by two, thirty two divided by two is sixteen. So I divided the top by two so I have to divide the bottom by two.

Twenty divided by two is ten. So that is the same as that but that is a simpler version of that. But, when we get to this, we can simplify it further.

Does two go into sixteen, yes it does. Does two go into ten, yes it does. So, sixteen divided by two, that is eight.

Now I divided the top by two so I have to divide the bottom by two. Ten divided by two, that is five. So that is the same as that but that is simpler.

Now can I look for another number that goes into eight and five. Well, I cannot. Nothing will go in, so that is as simple as it will get.

So that is eight fifths. And if you think of eight fifths. That is one pie and that is another pie.

Chicken pie for instance right. Imagine you have got friends around and you cook two pies. You have got eight friends, you divide this into fifths.

One-fifths, Two-fifths, three-fifths, four-fifths, five-fifths. Now the same thing with the other pie. So divide two pies into five.

Now eight fifths represents this. That is one-fifths, that is two-fifths, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. So eight fifths is actually one, one whole pie and three-fifths.

One pie and three-