Answer as an improper fraction: 7/4
Answer as a mixed number: 1 & 3/4
Answer in decimal form: 1.75
Each answer above is a different way to represent the same distance
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Explanation:
I'm assuming the total distance is 5&1/4. This converts to the improper fraction 21/4 through the use of the formula below
a & b/c = (a*c+b)/c
In this case, a = 5, b = 1 ,c = 4
If each leg of the race is x miles, then the three legs add to x+x+x = 3x miles total. Set this equal to 21/4 and solve for x
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3x = 21/4
(1/3)*3x = (1/3)*(21/4)
x = (1*21)/(3*4)
x = (21/3)*(1/4)
x = 7*(1/4)
x = 7/4
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Each leg is 7/4 miles. Lets convert this to a mixed number through long division.
7/4 = 1 remainder 3
The two results above indicate that 7/4 = 1 & 3/4
To help confirm this, imagine you had 7 slices of pie and 4 people to divide those 7 slices among. Each person will get 1 slice meaning there are 7-4 = 3 slices leftover, aka the remainder.
If you need the answer in decimal form, then 1 & 3/4 = 1 + 3/4 = 1+0.75 = 1.75
