# Preserving original numerator/denominator

**URL:** <https://racket.discourse.group/t/preserving-original-numerator-denominator/1414>\
**Category:** Questions & Answers\
**Created:** [October 26, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/preserving-original-numerator-denominator/1414 "2022-10-26T13:39:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![joeld](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/joeld/32/38_2.png) [@joeld](https://racket.discourse.group/u/joeld)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/preserving-original-numerator-denominator/1414/1 "2022-10-26T13:39:26Z")

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Idle question: is there a way to preserve the original numerator and denominator of an exact integer when entered as a ratio? For example, `4/12` evaluates to `1/3` and `(numerator 4/12)` returns `1`, but is it possible to get `4` (or `12`) out of that value?

I looked around a bit in the docs, but it looks like this information is discarded by the reader.

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**Author:** ![soegaard](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/racket.discourse.group/soegaard/32/19_2.png) [@soegaard](https://racket.discourse.group/u/soegaard)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 1:57pm UTC](https://racket.discourse.group/t/preserving-original-numerator-denominator/1414/2 "2022-10-26T13:57:33Z")

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No. You are correct, that the information is discarded by the reader.