276 Essential Skills for Health Careers Success
Check Your Understanding
Convert the following mixed numbers to fractions.
1.
6½
2.
7¼
3.
1⅛
Reduce the following fractions to their simplest form.
4. 6/18
5. 10/80
6. 14/17
Complete the following calculations.
7. 1/8 + 4/8 + 3/8 =
8. 1/2 + 1/4 + 3/8 =
9. 1/2 + 3/5 + 2/10 =
10. 7/8 – 5/8 =
11. 7/16 – 1/8 =
12. 1/2 – 1/4 =
13. 1/4 × 2/3 =
14. 1/8 × 5/8 =
15. 5/8 × 3/4 =
16. 4/8 ÷ 1/8 =
17. 3/4 ÷ 1/8 =
18. 9/10 ÷ 1/4 =
Decimal Fractions
In healthcare, you will be working primarily with decimal fractions
(often referred to as decimals). Decimals are special types of fractions that
most people fi nd easier to use than traditional fractions. Decimal fractions
are much easier to write and compute than traditional fractions. Decimals
represent parts of the whole. For example, 0.5 is 1/2 of 1 and 0.75 is 3/4 of 1.
Decimal fractions are always expressed in multiples of ten, making them
easier to work with. A decimal fraction has a denominator that is a multiple
of 10, such as 100, 1,000, or 10,000. When writing a decimal fraction, elimi-
nate the denominator and place a dot, or decimal point next to the ones digit.
For example, 1/10 becomes 0.1. Both stand for one-tenth.
Using Fractions in Healthcare
1. Dennis has been told that his blood pressure is bordering on high. Den-
nis’ physician has given him a prescription to reduce his blood pressure.
The prescription calls for Dennis to take 1/2 a pill daily for 45 days, and
then have his blood pressure checked to see if there is improvement.
How many pills will Dennis need so he can take half of a pill every day,
for 45 days?
2. Leeann is a nurse’s aide on the surgical fl oor of a busy hospital. 1/4 of
the patients will have surgery on Monday and will go home on Wednes-
day. Another 1/4 of the remaining patients will go home on Thursday. If
no new patients arrive, what fraction of the patients will be left on the
fl oor on Friday?
Real Life Scenario