Well 9 3/4 is 9.75 and 27 1/2 is 27.5 so if we take 27.5 and subtract 9.75 you get 17.75 and then all you have to do is 17.75/2 which is 8.875 so the answer would be 8.875 inches on either side
To get 2 to 5, you multiply 2 by 2.5. do the same to 2/3 to get your answer. 2/3 times 2.5 = 2/3 times 5/2 equals 10/6 or 5/3 cups of sugar (1 and 2/3 cups of sugar) i believe