Question

Aaron has a goal to lose 5 lb this month he loses 2 and 1/2 pounds is the first week he loses 1/8 of a pound the second week how many more pounds does Aaron need to lose this month to reach his goal

Answer 1

Total amount to lose = 5 pounds

Already Aaron lost:

$2\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{8}$

pound.

Lets add up the fractions:

$\begin{gathered} 2\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{8} \\ =\frac{5}{2}+\frac{1}{8} \\ =\frac{5(4)+1}{8} \\ =\frac{21}{8} \end{gathered}$

Aaron already lost (21/8) pounds. If we subtract it from "5", we can find the amount the needs to lose this month to reach his goal. The Answer is:

$\begin{gathered} 5-\frac{21}{8} \\ =\frac{5(8)-21}{8} \\ =\frac{40-21}{8} \\ =\frac{19}{8} \end{gathered}$

Converting to mixed number [amount he needs to lose]:

$\frac{19}{8}=2\frac{3}{8}\text{Pounds}$