Question

Alan mixes 1 1/3 cups of milk with a can of condensed soup. He makes a total of 2 5/8 cups of soup. How many cups of condensed soup were in the can?

Answer 1

Subtract 2_5/8 minus 1_1/3:
First, get the fractions to have a common denominator by multiplying the denominators together: 8*3 = 24
Rewrite both fractions with this new denominator:
5/8 needs to be multiplied by 3 on top and bottom to make it have a denominator of 24:
5/8 * 3/3 = 15/24
1/3 needs to be multiplied by 8 on top and bottom to make it have a denominator of 24:
1/3 * 8/8 = 8/24
Now that the fractions have been rewritten with the same denominator, subtract the mixed numbers:
2_15/24 - 1_8/24
Whole numbers:
2 - 1 = 1
Fractions:
15/24 - 8/24 = 7/24.
The can of condensed soup contains 1_7/24 cup