Given
$$ \dfrac{9}{17} $$ or $$ \dfrac{8}{15} $$
The above expression can be written as follows :
$$ \dfrac{9}{17} $$ or $$ \dfrac{8}{15} $$
$$ = 9 \times 15 $$ or $$ 8 \times 17 $$
$$ = 135 $$ or $$ 136 $$
We know that , $$135 $$ is smaller than $$ 136 $$
Therefore $$ \dfrac{9}{17} $$ is smaller