Step 1:
The first step to converting 11978.042 to a fraction is to re-write 11978.042 in the form p/q where p and q are both positive integers. To start with, 11978.042 can be written as simply 11978.042/1 to technically be written as a fraction.
Step 2:
Next, we will count the number of fractional digits after the decimal point in 11978.042, which in this case is 3. For however many digits after the decimal point there are, we will multiply the numerator and denominator of 11978.042/1 each by 10 to the power of that many digits. So, in this case, we will multiply the numerator and denominator of 11978.042/1 each by 1000:
Step 3:
Now the last step is to simplify the fraction (if possible) by finding similar factors and cancelling them out, which leads to the following answer for 11978.042 as a fraction:
275495/23 / 1