Reduce the fraction 42/70 to simplest terms.

• A. 3/5
• B. 6/10
• C. 7/12
• D. 21/35

Answer: (A)

Reducing a fraction to simplest terms means dividing both the top and bottom by their greatest common factor. For 42/70, the common factors are 2 and 7, so the greatest common factor is 14. Dividing both by 14 gives 42 ÷ 14 = 3 and 70 ÷ 14 = 5, so the fraction becomes 3/5. This is already in simplest terms because 3 and 5 have no common factors other than 1. Some other presented fractions are just different forms that reduce to the same simplest form (like 6/10 and 21/35), while 7/12 is not equal to 42/70.