Question

A month ago, Kerry weighed 123 1/4 pounds. Now he weighs 120 1/2 pounds. How many pounds did he lose?

Answer 1

Answer:$2.75\ pounds$ or $2\frac{3}{4}\ pounds$

Step-by-step explanation:

You can convert the mixed numbers to decimal numbers. Divide the numerator by the denominator of the fraction and add it to the whole number part:

$123\ \frac{1}{4}\ pounds=(123+0.25)\ pounds=123.25\ pounds$

$120\ \frac{1}{2}\ pounds=(120+0.5)\ pounds=120.5\ pounds$

To calculate how many pounds Kerry lost, you need to subtract his weigth of a month ago and his actual weigth.

Therefore, you get that he lost:

$pounds\ lost=123.25\ pounds-120.5\ pounds$

$pounds\ lost=2.75\ pounds$ or $2\frac{3}{4}\ pounds$

Answer 2

For this case we have to:

Initial weight = $123 \frac {1} {4} = \frac {4 * 123 + 1} {4} = \frac {493} {4} = 123.25 \ pounds$

Final weight =$120 \frac {1} {2} = \frac {2 * 120 + 1} {2} = \frac {241} {2} = 120.5 \ pounds$

We subtract to know how many pounds he lost:

$123.25-120.5 = 2.75$

So, Kerry lost 2.75 pounds.

ANswer:

Kerry lost $2 \frac {3} {4}$ pounds.