Adding fractions with a common denominator is a fairly simple task. Lets take a look at the problem below:
This problem is all ready to be added since both addends have 5 for a denominator. If the denominators were different we could not add this problem as is.
In order to add this problem, all we need to do is keep the same denominator in our answer:
We can then add the numerators, in this case 1 + 3 = 4
We now get an answer of 4/5.
* It is important to remember that adding fractions requires you to have the same denominator! In order to see how to add fractions when the denominators are different, please view the lesson on Adding Unlike Fractions.