Step 1:
The first step to converting 2542.742878971 to a fraction is to re-write 2542.742878971 in the form p/q where p and q are both positive integers. To start with, 2542.742878971 can be written as simply 2542.742878971/1 to technically be written as a fraction.
Step 2:
Next, we will count the number of fractional digits after the decimal point in 2542.742878971, which in this case is 9. For however many digits after the decimal point there are, we will multiply the numerator and denominator of 2542.742878971/1 each by 10 to the power of that many digits. So, in this case, we will multiply the numerator and denominator of 2542.742878971/1 each by 1000000000:
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 2542.742878971 as a fraction:
88996/35 / 1