Question

Jonathan can throw a baseball 10 1/3 yards. His brother Joey can throw a baseball 13 1/2 yards. How much father can Joey throw the ball?

Answer 1

let's firstly convert the mixed fractions to improper fractions, and then subtract.

$\bf \stackrel{mixed}{10\frac{1}{3}}\implies \cfrac{10\cdot 3+1}{3}\implies \stackrel{improper}{\cfrac{31}{3}}~\hfill \stackrel{mixed}{13\frac{1}{2}}\implies \cfrac{13\cdot 2+1}{2}\implies \stackrel{improper}{\cfrac{27}{2}} \\\\[-0.35em] \rule{34em}{0.25pt}\\\\ \cfrac{27}{2}-\cfrac{31}{3}\implies \stackrel{\textit{using the LCD of 6}}{\cfrac{(3)27~~-~~(2)31}{6}}\implies \cfrac{81~~-~~62}{6}\implies \cfrac{19}{6}\implies 3\frac{1}{6}$