Evaluate 1/2-1/5

$\frac{1}{2} - \frac{1}{5}$

Step 1

To write $\frac{1}{2}$ as a fraction with a common denominator, multiply by $\frac{5}{5}$ .

$\frac{1}{2} \cdot \frac{5}{5} - \frac{1}{5}$

Step 2

To write $- \frac{1}{5}$ as a fraction with a common denominator, multiply by $\frac{2}{2}$ .

$\frac{1}{2} \cdot \frac{5}{5} - \frac{1}{5} \cdot \frac{2}{2}$

Step 3

Write each expression with a common denominator of $10$ , by multiplying each by an appropriate factor of $1$ .

Multiply $\frac{1}{2}$ by $\frac{5}{5}$ .

$\frac{5}{2 \cdot 5} - \frac{1}{5} \cdot \frac{2}{2}$

Multiply $2$ by $5$ .

$\frac{5}{10} - \frac{1}{5} \cdot \frac{2}{2}$

Multiply $\frac{1}{5}$ by $\frac{2}{2}$ .

$\frac{5}{10} - \frac{2}{5 \cdot 2}$

Multiply $5$ by $2$ .

$\frac{5}{10} - \frac{2}{10}$

Step 4

Combine the numerators over the common denominator.

$\frac{5 - 2}{10}$

Step 5

Subtract $2$ from $5$ .

$\frac{3}{10}$

Step 6

The result can be shown in multiple forms.

Exact Form:

$\frac{3}{10}$

Decimal Form:

$0.3$