Question

Spencer has a wooden post that is five and three sevenths feet long. He cut two and one half feet off the post. What is the length of the remaining post in feet?

Answer 1

Answer:

3 and five fifthteenths or  3 and 4/9

Step-by-step explanation:

i think so.........

Answer 2

Answer:

  2 13/14 feet

Step-by-step explanation:

The remaining length is the difference between the starting length and the amount cut off:

  5 3/7 - 2 1/2 = (5 -2) +(3/7 -1/2) = 3 +((3·2-7·1)/(7·2)) = 3 -1/14

  = 2 13/14 . . . feet remaining

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Additional comment

Addition and subtraction of fractions can be accomplished using a formula that does not rely on finding a least common denominator. In this case, the denominators have no common factors, so their product is, in fact, the least common denominator.

  $\dfrac{a}{b}-\dfrac{c}{d}=\dfrac{ad-bc}{bd}$