Question

Write these ratios in the simplest form.

$12:16$

Answer 1

Step-1: Find the HCF of numerator $12$ and denominator $16$.

By the method of prime factorisation,

$12=2^2\times 3$

$16=2^4$

$HCF(12,16)=2^2=2\times 2=4$.

Step-2: Divide both the numerator and denominator by HCF:

$=$$\frac{12÷4}{16÷4}$

$=$$\frac{3}{4}$

Therefore, $12:16$ can be expressed in simplest form as $3:4$.