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Continued Fractions

The algorithm for expanding all real numbers into so-called continued fractions is
explained in many texts in elementary number theory. Here you can obtain the partial
fraction expansion for rational numbers with a limit of about 5 digits on your choice of
numerator a and denominator b, below. The intention is to show the connection with
Euclid's method. Notice that the numbers that run from right-to-left (in the conventional
notation the direction is from left-to-right) down the side of the "stacked fraction" are
precisely the quotients obtained from Euclid's method. They are called partial
quotients. A continued fraction is thus a single object which can embody all the
information of Euclid's algorithm.

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Original mathematical design © 2003 by Dean Clark