Which is larger: 4/5 or 7/9?

Which is larger: 4/5 or 7/9?

• A. 7/9
• B. 5/6
• C. 3/4
• D. 4/5

Answer: (D)

When two fractions with positive denominators are compared, you can quickly tell which is larger by cross-multiplying. If a/b is compared to c/d, then a/b is larger than c/d exactly when ad > bc. For 4/5 and 7/9, multiply crosswise: 4×9 = 36 and 7×5 = 35. Since 36 is bigger than 35, 4/5 is the larger value. You can also check by decimal: 4/5 is 0.8, while 7/9 is about 0.777..., which confirms the same result.

When two fractions with positive denominators are compared, you can quickly tell which is larger by cross-multiplying. If a/b is compared to c/d, then a/b is larger than c/d exactly when ad > bc.

For 4/5 and 7/9, multiply crosswise: 4×9 = 36 and 7×5 = 35. Since 36 is bigger than 35, 4/5 is the larger value. You can also check by decimal: 4/5 is 0.8, while 7/9 is about 0.777..., which confirms the same result.