Fractions, ratios, and proportions show up in the same homework set because they share a reduction step. They do not share a job. A fraction is a number. A ratio is a comparison of two parts. A proportion is a sentence that two ratios are equal. Treating them as one “simplify” button is how people add 2:3 to 1:4 or solve a proportion with a decimal they cannot get back to a fraction.
YallaSolve splits the jobs. The Fraction Calculator adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides two fractions with exact integer arithmetic. The Ratio Calculator simplifies A : B or finds X in A : B = C : X. The GCD & LCM Calculator isolates the divisor (and the multiple) those pages use. This article explains fractions, ratios, and proportions so you open the matching page instead of forcing one form into another.
1/2 + 1/3 is 5/6. That result is a number you can place on a number line, convert to a decimal view, or use as the next operand. The Fraction Calculator shows the unsimplified result, the reduced fraction, and a decimal. The decimal is a view. The fraction is the result. A zero denominator is rejected. Division by the fraction 0 is rejected. Numerators and denominators must be whole numbers; 1.5 in a numerator is an error, not a silent cast.
Improper fractions stay improper unless they reduce to an integer. 9/4 stays 9/4. 8/4 becomes 2. The page does not write 2 1/4. That mixed form is presentation, not a different value.
12 : 18 means twelve of the first for eighteen of the second. Dividing both parts by 6 yields 2 : 3. That is the same gcd you would use on 12/18, but the sentence is still about parts, not about a single number you add to 1/5. 0 : 4 simplifies to 0 : 1. 0 : 0 is rejected. Decimals are scaled to integers first: 1.5 : 2.5 becomes 3 : 5.
Recipe language is usually a ratio. “2 parts oil to 5 parts vinegar” is 2 : 5. It is not yet a fraction of a cup unless you also know the total or one measured amount.
2 : 5 = 8 : X means the parts stay in the same relationship. X = (5 × 8) ÷ 2 = 20. If the division is not exact, the Ratio Calculator reports a reduced fraction for X, such as 15/2 for 2 : 5 = 3 : X. A cannot be 0 in that mode, because the proportion would divide by zero.
Knowing the total volume and a ratio is a different setup: you need the sum of the parts first, then each part is (that part ÷ sum) × total. The Ratio Calculator does not take a total in one step. That omission is deliberate. Hiding whether X is a part or a whole is how those two problems get mixed.
Reducing 12/18 and 12 : 18 is gcd(12, 18) = 6. LCM is the other sibling: the smallest shared positive multiple, 36 for those inputs. You need LCM when two cycles must land together, not when you are adding 1/2 and 1/3. For when to reach for each, see GCD vs LCM.
Add or divide fractions: Fraction Calculator. Simplify a two-part ratio or find a missing fourth term: Ratio Calculator. See only the divisor or the multiple: GCD & LCM Calculator. Do not paste a proportion into the fraction form and hope the operation menu invents X. Do not add two ratios as if they were fractions unless you have first turned each ratio into a number with a defined whole.
Share the gcd. Keep the sentences. A fraction answers “how much.” A ratio answers “how many of this for that.” A proportion answers “what missing part keeps the same comparison.” Those are three useful questions. They are not one keyword.
They reduce with the same gcd to 2:3 and 2/3. The first compares parts. The second is a number you can add to another fraction.
Use the ratio page to simplify A : B or to find X in A : B = C : X. Use the fraction page to add, subtract, multiply, or divide two fractions.
It is not a ratio. The Ratio Calculator rejects it. 0:4 simplifies to 0:1.
No. Enter an improper fraction such as 3/2. Mixed-number parsing is a different interface.
