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