Question

Lenny is competing with his cousin, Jasper, in an indoor rock-climbing contest. At the start of the climb, Lenny makes his way 5 ¼ feet up the wall, while Jasper climbs 9 ¾ feet. How much farther did Jasper climb than Lenny?

Answer 1

Answer:

$4\frac{1}{2}$ feet further.

Step-by-step explanation:

Since these are mixed numbers that are both in fourths, we can easily subtract the two numbers. However, I find it easier if we first convert both mixed numbers into improper fractions.

$5\frac{1}{4} = \frac{5\cdot4+1}{4} = \frac{21}{4}$

$9\frac{3}{4} = \frac{9\cdot4+3}{4} = \frac{39}{4}$

Now we can subtract the numerators:

$\frac{39}{4} - \frac{21}{4} = \frac{39-21}{4} = \frac{18}{4}$

$\frac{18}{4}$ simplifies down to $\frac{9}{2}$.

Converting  $\frac{9}{2}$ to a mixed number is easy - 2 goes into 9 4 times (8) with one remainder so:

$4\frac{1}{2}$ .

Hope this helped!