Question

Lynne bought a bag of grapefruit, `1 5/8` pounds of apples, and `2 3/16` pounds of bananas. The total weight of her purchases was `7 1/2` pounds. How much did the bag of grapefruit weigh?

Answer 1

The bag weighed `3 11/16` pounds.

Explanation:

First, we need to get all three of our fractions under a common denominator. To do this, let's first change our mixed numbers into improper fractions:

`1 5/8=13/8`

`2 3/16=35/16`

`7 1/2=15/2`

Next, let's put each fraction under a common denominator using the LCM, or least common multiple. 16, in our case, is the LCM.

`13/8*2/2=26/16`

`35/16`

`15/2*8/8=120/16`

Finally, let's do some subtraction to get our answer:

`120/16-26/16-35/16=(120-26-35)/16=59/16=3 11/16`

Hope this helps!