Question

Sandy is working with a carpenter to frame a house. They are using 8 foot long boards but each board must be cut to be 7 feet, 10 3/4 inches long. How much is cut off each board?

Answer 1

The answer is 5/4 in

The initial length:
1 ft = 12 in
8 ft = 8 * 12 in
      = 96 in

The final length:
7 ft 10 3/4 in = 7 ft + 10 in + 3/4 in
                     = 7 * 12 in + 10 in + 3/4 in
                     = 84 in + 10 in + 3/4 in
                     = 94 in + 3/4 in

The cut if the initial length - final length:
96 in - 94 in - 3/4 in = 2 in - 3/4 in = 8/4 in - 3/4 in = 5/4 in