Faculty of Mathematics Centre for Education in

Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 Mathematics and Computing

Grade 7/8 Math Circles

October 11th /12th
Continued Fractions

A Fraction of our History

Love it or hate it, there is no denying that we use fractions in our every day lives from
dividing objects into desired portions, measuring weight of various materials, to calculating
prices of discounted items. It may be ironic to hear that at one point in history, fractions
were not even consider numbers! They were treated as a way to compare whole numbers. In
fact, fractions that we use in school today were not used until the 17th century! However,
fractions were a crucial first step to see that there are more just whole numbers. It would
would lay the foundations for other types of numbers.

Review of Fractions

Definition 1 (Fraction). A fraction is a number used to express how many parts

of a whole we have. It is written with two numbers, one on top of each other with a
horizontal line between them.

• The top number (numerator) tells you how many parts we have

• The bottom number (denominator) tells you how many parts the whole is di-
vided into

Definition 2 (Equivalent Fraction). Equivalent Fractions are different frac-

tions with the same value. The fractions 12 , 24 , 36 , 48 are equivalent fractions since they
represent the same number

Even though there are multiple ways to represent a fraction, we should express a fraction in
it’s simplest form. A fraction is in it’s simplest form when no other number other than

1
1 can divide evenly into both the numerator and denominator.
1 2 3 4
i.e. is in reduced form, but , , are not.
2 4 6 8

Adding and Subtracting Fractions

1. If the fractions have a common denominator, add/subtract the numerators but keep
the denominators the same. Proceed to step 4.
2. If they do not have a common denominator, find the Lowest Common Multiple
(LCM) of both numbers.
3. Rewrite the fractions as equivalent fractions with the LCM as the denominator, and
go back to step 1.
4. Simplify/reduce the final answer if possible

Multiplication of Fractions

1. Simplify the fractions if they are not in lowest terms. To simplify, we divide by a
number that divides evenly into two numbers above, below or diagonally from each
other.
4 3 4
1 3 1 3
× = × 2 = ×
5 8 5 8
5 2
2. Multiply the fractions. Multiply numerator with numerator and denominator with
denominator
1 3 1×3 3
× = =
5 2 5×2 10

Exercise. Evaluate the following

1 1 3 1 7 6 1 1
a. + b. − c. − d. −
5 5 4 3 16 16 4 6

4 1 3 1 35 9 2
e. × f. × g. × h. ×4
8 4 9 7 6 20 3

2
Division of Fractions

1. Take the reciprocal of the fraction following the division sign i.e. (switch the value of
the numerator and denominator) and replace the division sign with a multiplication
sign
1 5 1 3
÷ = ×
2 3 2 5
2. Multiply the fractions as normal, remember to simplify beforehand to ease calculation

Exercise. Evaluate the following

2 7 3 7 3 1
a. ÷ b. ÷ c. ÷2 d. 5 ÷
3 5 4 4 5 4

The Division Statement

When we divide integers, the final answer is known as the quotient. When two integers
don’t divide evenly, we have a remainder. For example, let’s divide 23 by 7. In other words,
let’s make groups of 7 from 23. The maximum group of 7s we can have is 3. That is the
quotient. We will also have 2 left over as the remainder.

We can express this mathematically as:

23 = 7 × 3 + 2

Exercise.
a) Divide 37 by 8, find the quotient, remainder and express it in this form: 37 = q × 8 + r

3
b) Divide 33 by 10, find the quotient, remainder and express it in this form: 33 = q × 10 + r
c) Divide 40 by 4, find the quotient, remainder, and express it in this form: 40 = q × 4 + r
d) Divide 127 by 23, find the quotient, remainder, and express it in this form: 127 = q×23+r

Motivation for Finding the Greatest Common Denominator

To simplify a fraction to its lowest terms, we divide by the numerator and denominator by
the greatest common divisor.

Definition 3 (Greatest Common Divisor). The largest positive integer which di-
vides two or more integers without a remainder is called the Greatest Common
Divisor, abbreviated as gcd.

We denote the gcd of two numbers, a and b, as gcd(a, b).

e.g since the gcd of 9 and 12 is 3, we write gcd(9, 12) = 3.

9
We can use gcd(9, 12) = 3 to simplify the fraction by dividing 9 and 12 by their shared
12
gcd of 3.

9÷3 3
=
12 ÷ 3 4

Exercise. Using your favourite method, determine gcd(40, 72).

4
However, it becomes very difficult to determine the gcd if we are given very large numbers.
Consequently, fractions with large values for the numerator and the denominator are much
harder to simplify.
For example:
52
220

52
Question: Is there a way to reduce or to its lowest term without trying every number
220
and seeing if it divides both the numerator and denominator? The answer is a resounding
yes, but we need to use something known as the Euclidean Algorithm. The Euclidean
Algorithm can determine the greatest common divisor.

The Euclidean Algorithm

Example.
a b
37 = 4 ×8+ 5
quotient remainder

Notice that:
gcd(37, 8) = gcd(8, 5)

Finding the gcd(8, 5) is much easier than finding gcd(37, 8) because we are now dealing with
smaller numbers.

Theorem 1. Let a, q, b, and r be positive integers in the division statement:

a=q×b+r

Then gcd(a, b)= gcd(b, r)

Why is this important? Notice that finding gcd(a, b) is the same as finding the gcd(b, r) but
r is smaller number than a since it is the remainder. With smaller numbers, we can more
easily find the gcd.

5
Example.
Determine the gcd(220, 52):

220 = 4 × 52 + 12 gcd(220, 52) = gcd(52, 12)

52 = 4 × 12 + 4 gcd(52, 12) = gcd(12, 4)
12 = 3 × 4 + 0 gcd(12, 4) = 4

654
Example. Determine the gcd(2322, 654) and reduce :
2322

2322 = 3 × 654 + 360 gcd(2322, 654) = gcd(654, 360)

654 = 1 × 360 + 294 gcd(654, 360) = gcd(360, 294)
360 = 1 × 294 + 66 gcd(360, 294) = gcd(294, 66)
294 = 4 × 66 + 30 gcd(294, 66) = gcd(66, 30)
66 = 2 × 30 + 6 gcd(66, 30) = gcd(30, 6)
30 = 5 × 6 + 0 gcd(30, 6) = 6

Therefore, gcd(2322, 654) = 6, and 2322 ÷ 6 = 387, 654 ÷ 6 = 109 and hence we have

654 109
=
2322 387

Exercise. Find the greatest common divisor of the following pairs of numbers using the
Euclidean Algorithm:

45
1. gcd(45, 40) and simplify to its lowest terms
40
120
2. gcd(120, 84) and simplify to its lowest terms
84

6
Optional Section*: Finding the Lowest Common Multiple
Now suppose, we want to add two fractions with different BUT LARGE denominators.
Finding the lowest common multiple or the common denominator may prove to be tedious.
For example:
1 1
+
220 52

Is it possible to find the common denominator relatively quickly? YES! but let’s first make
another insightful observation.

gcd(a, b) lcm(a, b) gcd(a, b)× lcm(a, b)

gcd(2, 3)= lcm(2, 3) = gcd(2, 3) × lcm(2, 3) =
gcd(6, 4)= lcm(6, 4) = gcd(6, 4) × lcm(6, 4) =
gcd(30, 6)= lcm(30, 6) = gcd(30, 6) × lcm(30, 6) =
gcd(12, 20)= lcm(12, 20) = gcd(12, 20) × lcm(12, 20) =
gcd(28, 16)= lcm(28, 16) = gcd(28, 16) × lcm(28, 16) =

Can you come up with any conclusion about the product of the lcm and gcd? We arrive at
a remarkably elegant relation between the lcm and gcd.

Theorem 2. Let a and b both be positive integers, then

lcm(a, b) × gcd(a, b) = a × b

Example.
1 1
Add the two fractions +
220 84
Example.
1 1
Add the two fractions + We have already determined gcd(1239, 735).
1239 735
Using the theorem above, we get that

gcd(2322, 654) × lcm(2322, 654) = 2322 × 654

6 × lcm(2322, 654) = 1518588
1518588
lcm(2322, 654) =
6
lcm(2322, 654) = 253098

7
Since the lcm(2322, 654) is 253 098. We then divide 253 098 to get multiplies of 2322 and 654
b253098 ÷ 2322 = 109 and 253098 ÷ 654 = 387 Therefore, to find the common denominator,
1 1
we multiply the by 109 top and bottom and by 387 top and bottom
2322 654
1 1 1 × 109 1 × 387
+ = +
2322 654 1239 × 109 654 × 387
109 387
= +
253098 253098
496
=
253098

8
Introduction to Continued Fractions
The problem below seems very difficult, but you actually have all the necessary math to
solve it!

30 1
=x+
7 1
y+
z
What is x + y + z provided x, y, z are all positive integers i.e. (whole numbers) ?

30 2
=4+
7 7
1
=4+
7
2
1
=4+
1
3+
2

Observe that we took the reciprocal of a proper fraction to get an improper fraction below
a numerator of 1. We did this multiple times until we had a proper fraction with 1 as
the numerator. Although counter intuitive, after unwinding this expression, we can simply
match the terms and conclude that x = 4 , y = 3 and z = 2 so x + y + z = 4 + 3 + 2 = 9.

9
This type of fraction is known as a continued fraction.

Definition 4 (Continued Fraction). A continued fraction is an expression of

the form
1
a0 +
1
a1 +
1
a2 +
..
. + a1
n

10
Notice that the numerator (i.e the number above the fraction bar) is always 1. The other
terms {a1 , a2 , a3 , . . . an } are called partial quotients. Although this looks scary, the sub-
script tells us is which partial quotient we are referring to. For example, take the continued
fraction below as an example:
1
2+
1
3+
1
4+
2
The 2 is the first partial quotient, 3 is the second partial quotient, 4 is the third partial
quotient, and the 2 is the fourth partial quotient. We write this mathematically as

a1 = 2, a2 = 3, a3 = 4, a4 = 2

Converting a Continued Fraction to an Ordinary Fraction

To convert a continued fraction to an ordinary fraction. we just simplify from the right side.
1
Example. Express 2 + as a single proper fraction.
1
1+
1
3+
4

1 1 1 1 1 13 47
2+ =2+ =2+ =2+ =2+ =2+ =
1 1 4 13 4 17 17 17
1+ 1+ 1+ +
12 1 13 13 13 13 13
+
4 4 4

The List Notation of Continued Fractions

Writing a continued fraction is time consuming and takes up a lot of space, so there is a
short hand way to write it out. Since the numerator is always 1, we only need to list the
partial quotients in the order that they appear going down the fraction. For example, we
can express the previous fraction as

1
[2; 3, 4, 2] = 2 +
1
3+
1
4+
2

11
Notice in list notation, the first number is special since it is a whole number so it is proceeded
with a semi-colon; the rest of the numbers are separated by commas.

In general, the continued fraction expansion can be expressed in list notation as

1
[a1 ; a2 , a3 , . . . an ] = a1 +
1
a2 +
1
a3 +
.. 1
.+ an

1. Express the following as a continued fractions


a) [3; 1, 3, 5] b) [4; 2, 3] c) 0; 5, 9, 3]

2. Write the following continued fractions in list notation

1 1
a) 3 + b) 1 +
1 1
4+ 7+
1 1
5+ 2+
3 3

12
We can use list notation to shorten our calculation, the trick is to notice that:
 
1
[a1 ; ..., an−1 , an ] = a1 ; ..., an+1 +
an

Example. Express [2; 1, 3, 4] as a single improper fraction

[2; 1, 3, 4]
 
1
= 2; 1, 3 +
4
 
12 1
= 2; 1, +
4 4
 
13
= 2; 1,
4
 
4
= 2; 1 +
13
 
13
= 2+
17
 
34 13
= +
2 17
47
=
17

Express the following as a single fraction.

a. [2; 1, 7] b. [2; 2, 1, 1]

Optional Section*: Reciprocal of a Continued Fraction

45
Let’s say we have the continued fraction expansion for = [2; 1, 4, 3] How can we easily
16
16
find the continued fraction expansion for i.e. the reciprocal.
45

13
 16 1
Answer: Notice that can be expressed as 45 .
45 16

16 1
= 0 + 45
45 16

1
=0+
1
2+
1
1+
1
4+
3

To find the reciprocal of a continued fraction, we just add a 0 in front of the first partial
quotient in list form.

45   16
= 2; 1, 4, 3 = [0; 2, 1, 4, 3]
16 45

If the continued fraction already begins with a zero, then it’s reciprocal is found by removing
the 0 from the front of the list.

Converting an Ordinary Fraction into a Continued Fraction

There are a few important things to note.

1. Reciprocal of a fraction

1 7 2 2
  =1÷ =1× =
7 2 7 7
2

2. Turning a proper fraction to a mixed number/fraction requires you find the

quotient and the remainder.

30 2
=4+
7 7

14
Example.
45
Express as a continued fraction.
16
45 13
=2+ 45 = 2 × 16 + 13
16 16
1
=2+
16
13
1
=2+ 16 = 1 × 13 + 3
3
1+
13
1
=2+
1
1+
13
3
1
=2+ 13 = 4 × 3 + 1
1
1+
1
4+
3

You may have noticed in order to convert an improper fraction to a mixed number, we need
to identify the quotient and remainder. When we express it in the division statement
a = q × b + r, where q is the quotient and r is the remainder, it resembles the same steps
we used to find the gcd in the Euclidean Algorithm! Not surprisingly, we can use the
Euclidean Algorithm to find the partial quotients.

45 = 2 × 16 + 13
16 = 1 × 13 + 3
13 = 4 × 3 + 1
3=3×1+0

The boldfaced numbers going down are the partial quotients of the continued fraction. So

15
we have that
45 1
=2+
16 1
1+
1
4+
3

Determine the continued fraction expansion of the following

67 7 75
a) b) c)
29 10 17

16
Alain Gamache’s Section with the Fibonacci Sequence
Can we express x as a number (not a continued fraction)?

1
x=1+
1
1+
1
1+
1
1+
1
1+
.
1 + ..

Bees and Fibonacci Sequence Numbers. Males bees come from non-fertilized eggs, so
they have a mother, but no father. Female bees from fertilized eggs, so they have a father
and a mother. How many 12th generation ancestors does a male bee have?

Exercise. Starting with two 1s, the Fibonacci Sequence is a list of numbers each term is
the sum of two previous numbers.

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, . . .

1. Convert the successive Fibonacci number ratios into continued fractions. What patterns
do your answers show?

1 2 3 5
a. b. c. d.
1 1 2 3

Using the pattern you observed, what do you think the continued fraction expansion is for
34
?
21

17
Ratios of Fibonacci Numbers (approximations of ϕ)

1 21 377
=1 = 1.6153... = 1.61802...
1 13 233

2 34 610
=2 = 1.6190... = 1.61803...
1 21 377

3 55
= 1.5 = 1.6176...
2 34

5 89
= 1.66.. = 1.6181...
3 55

8 144
= 1.6 = 1.6179...
5 89

13 233
= 1.625 = 1.61805...
8 144

If you continue this pattern, notice we have an infinite amount of 1’s.

1
ϕ=1+
1
1+
1
1+
1
1+
.
1 + ..

A continued fraction doesn’t necessarily need to have a set number of partial quotients. It
can have an infinite number of partial quotients!!

18
Approximating Irrational Numbers using Continued Frac-
tions
If you multiply an integer by itself, you get a perfect square. Below are just a few perfect
squares

1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100 . . .

The square root of n finds the number a that when multiplied by itself it gives you n. For
example, the square root of 16 is 4, since 4 × 4 is 16. Since we know that perfect squares
are products of the same number, the square root of perfect square is an integer. However,
if we square root a number other than a perfect square, we get an irrational number. An
irrational number is a number that had an infinite decimal point.
√
However, if we put in 2, our calculator gives us an approximation of

1.41421356237

√
How does the calculator compute 2?
√
It may be astonishing to find that 2 can be expressed as a continued fraction! However,
√
since 2 is irrational, the continued fraction expansion is infinite, so they have an infinite
number of partial quotients. See the example below.

√ 1
2=1+
1
2+
1
2+
1
2+
1
2+
..
.

19
We can approximate it by cutting it off at the nth partial quotient.

√ 1
2≈1+
1
2+
1
2+
2
= 41/29
= 1.41379310345

One Last Thing: Continued Fractions don’t always need to have a numerator of 1. For
example, observe the number below. Can you guess what it is? Maybe you can truncate it
to find out? ;D. I’m sure you know what it is!!!

12
3+
32
6+
52
6+
72
6+
..
.

20
Problem Set

1. An integer is divided by 6, list all possible values for the remainder.

2. A little monkey had 60 peaches.

3
On the first day he decided to keep of his peaches. He gave the rest away. Then he
4
ate one.
7
On the second day he decided to keep his peaches. He gave the rest away. Then
11
he ate one.
5
On the third day he decided to keep of his peaches. He gave the rest away. Then
9
he ate one.
2
On the fourth day he decided to keep of his peaches. He gave the rest away. Then
7
he ate one.
2
On the fifth day he decided to keep of his peaches. He gave the rest away. Then he
3
ate one.
How many peaches did the monkey have left at the end.

3. Use the Euclidean Algorithm to find the gcd of the following

a. gcd(108, 15) b. gcd(826, 624) c. gcd(114, 256)

4. Reason through to find the gcd of the following. Try a few examples. Suppose n > 1.
Find

a. gcd(n, 3n)
b. gcd(n, n+1)
c. gcd(n - 1, n + 1) provided that n is even
d. gcd(n - 1, n + 1) provided that n is odd

5. Reduce the following fractions to their lowest terms

100 135 826 728
a. b. c. d.
150 153 624 168
6. In sheep talk, the only letters used are A and B. Sequence of words are formed as
follows:

• The first word only contains the letter A

• To get the next word in the sequence, change each A in the previous word into B
and each B in the previous word into AB

21
 How many letters will there be in the 15th word of sheep talk?

7. The Fibonacci sequence is a list of numbers starting with 1,1 where each term starting
from the third term is the sum of the previous 2 terms. The first few terms are listed
below
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144..

Since 2 is the third term in the list, we write it as F3 and similarly since 21 is the 8th
term, we write is as F8 . Without using the Euclidean Algorithm, determine the gcd of
the following pairs of Fibonacci Numbers.

a. gcd(F4 , F8 ) b. gcd(F5 , F10 ) c. gcd(F6 , F12 )

Based on the pattern above, what do you think the gcd of any two numbers of the
Fibonacci sequence is?
gcd(Fm , Fn ) =

8. Write the following lists as continued fractions. No need to simplify!

a. [1; 2, 4, 5] b. [0; 9, 4, 3] c. [1; 7, 3, 2] d. [4; 7, 2]

9. Other than having 0 as the first partial quotient, is it possible for the other partial
quotients to be 0. Why or why not?

10. Express the following fractions both as continued fractions and list notation.
52 75 31 67
i. ii. iii. iv.
9 17 264 29
b. Find the reciprocal in list notation of all the fractions.

11. Express the following as one single proper fraction i.e. just one number for the numer-
ator and the denominator.
1 1 1
a. 2 + b. c.
1 1 1
2+ 3+ 9+
3 4 1
9+
9

30 1
12. As a class exercise, we solved for =x+ . Now let’s suppose instead that the
7 1
y+
z
8 30
left hand side of the equation was equal to instead of ? Is there still a solution?
5 7
22
 Can you provide another example of a simple fraction that does not equal to the right
hand side of the equation?

13. Like the conventional Sudoku, this Sudoku variant consists of a grid of nine rows and
nine columns divided into nine 3 × 3 subgrids. It has two basic rules:

• Each column, each row, and each box (3 × 3 subgrid) must have the numbers 1
to 9
• No column, row, or box can have two squares with the same number

The special clue-numbers in this Sudoku variant are fractions or ratios in the lowest
terms.
The clue-numbers are always placed on the borderlines between selected pairs of neigh-
boring cells of the grid. Each clue-number is the fraction of the two numbers in adjacent
cells (to the left and the right). Each fraction is also written in its lowest terms, with the
smaller number always denoted as the numerator. Thus 12 can stand for the following
combinations in the two adjacent cells:

1 and 2 2 and 1 2 and 4

4 and 2 3 and 6 6 and 3
4 and 8 8 and 4.

23