text: 50*4 1/4 solve the fraction?   four and a quart, times 50.  this equals 50 times 4, plus 50 times a quart. this is 200 plus 50/4 intermediate result: 200 + 50/4  how many times can you take 4 out of 50?  12 times, remainder 2/4 next intermediate result:  200+12 + 2/4  1/2 is the same as 2/4, but is the preferred way of writing it down.  result: 212 1/2    for any fraction:  (a/b) * (c/d)  equals (a*c) / (b*d).  it is alright to write down 50 as (50/1). it is also alright to write down 4 1/4  as  (17/4)  thus: 50 * 4 1/4  equals (50/1) * (17/4) equals (850/4) normalize 850/4 just like i showed above.