Question

John has a roll containing 24 2/3 feet of wrapping paper. He wants to divide it into 11 pieces. First, though ,he must cut off 5/6 foot because it was torn. How long will each piece be?

Answer 1

Here's what we'll be evaluating:  

24 2/3 - 5/6       24 4/6 - 5/6        23 10/6-5/6           23 5/6

------------------- = -------------------- = -------------------- = ----------------------

    11 pieces          11 pieces           11 pieces                11 [pieces

Now, this 23 5/6 is equivalent to 143/6, which we must divide by 11:

143          1

------ * ---------- = 13/6 (feet)

  6         11

Each piece will be 13/6 ft long (2 1/6 ft).