Honors problem 5

Question

John lives 3/8 of a mile from the museum of science. Sylvia lives 1/4 of a mile from the museum of science. How much closer is sylvia from the museum

Answer 1

Hi Nick,

 

If John lived 5 miles from the museum and Sylvia lived 2 miles from the museum, you would find that she obviously lived 3 miles closer because 5 - 2 = 3.

 

The same principle applies to honors problem 5. . . you need to subtract 3/8 - 1/4

 

Subtraction requires a common denominator. . . 8 looks good. So we need to change 1/4 to a fraction with 8 in the bottom.

 

To keep the value of the fraction the same, we need to multiply the top and bottom by 2--> 2/8

 

Now we can subtract --> 3/8 - 2/8 = 1/8 mile

 

Dan