Question

Steven, a tailor, got an order to make a blazer. The customer specifically asked him to save 5⁄6 of a foot of the given cloth to make a pocket square. However, Steven accidentally saved 5⁄12 of a foot. What is the difference between the requested cloth and the saved cloth? A. 0.4265′ B. 0.1466′ C. 0.4166′ D. 0.4066′

Answer 1

To answer this question, we just need to subtract the saved cloth from the requested cloth:

$\frac{5}{6} - \frac{5}{12}$

Since the fractions don't have the same denominator, we have to find the least common denominator.  Luckily, since 6 goes into 12 twice, we can convert $\frac{5}{6}$ into $\frac{10}{12}$:

$\frac{5}{6}( \frac{2}{2}) - \frac{5}{12} = \frac{10}{12} - \frac{5}{12}$

Now that the fractions have a common denominator, we can subtract them:

$\frac{10}{12} - \frac{5}{12} = \frac{5}{12}$

The difference between the requested cloth and the saved cloth is 5/12 of a foot, or 0.4166'.