How do negative fractions work if a fraction is a part of a whole?

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aka “negative fractions have never show’d up in my math classes until today but apparently I’m already supposed to know what they are”

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Fractions can be added and subtracted just like any other number.

If you and a friend are planning to order three pizzas and eat three-quarters of a pizza each, you can expect to have one-and-a-half pizzas left over afterward (because `3-2*(3/4)=1+(1/2)`). If your friend is planning to take one whole leftover pizza home, that means *you* will be left with half a pizza (because `1+(1/2)-1=(1/2)`). And if you were hoping to eat three-quarters of a pizza again the next evening, that would leave a total of negative one quarter (because `(1/2)-(3/4)=-(1/4)`). In other words, you won’t have enough pizza; better order four pizzas instead.

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