Question

A student solved this problem and said the answer is 12 pounds. Heather had 6 3/4 pounds of apples. She bought another 5 1/2 pounds. She used 2 1/4 pounds in a fruit salad. How many pounds of apples does Heather have left?

Is the student's answer reasonable?  

A. Yes, the answer is reasonable.  

B. No, the answer is not reasonable. It should be about 4 pounds.  

C. No, the answer is not reasonable. It should be about 14 pounds.  

D. No, the answer is not reasonable. It should be about 10 pounds.

Answer 1

The answer is D because 6 3/4 in an improper fraction is 27/4. 5 1/2 in an improper fraction is 11/2. If you want to add 27/4 and 11/2, then you have to multiply both the numerator and denominator of 11/2. Now, 11/2 will be turned into 22/4. 27/4+22/4=49/4. Now, you have to turn 2 1/4 into an improper fraction to subtract. 2 1/4 will be turned into 9/4. 49/4 - 9/4=40/4. 40/4 is simplified to 10. So the answer is, D.


Hope that helped :)

Answer 2

The answer is D. No, the answer is not reasonable. It should be about 10 pounds. I know because first I converted 5 1/2 into 5 2/4 (which is equivalent). Then I added 6 3/4 and 5 2/4 together to get 12 1/4. Then I subtracted 2 1/4 from 12 1/4 to get 10. Hope this helped!