A microwave is placed on top of a stand. The stand is 2 feet 10 inches tall, and the microwave is 2 feet 5 inches tall. Together, how tall are they?

Answer 1

When you put two things on top of each other what happens? For example, If you stand on a stool that is 2 ft tall, you get 2ft taller and you can reach 2ft higher.

In this case, the microwave is placed on top of a stand. So now the microwave is as high as the stand plus it's own height.

Therefore, we need to add the two heights together to get the answer. First add the ft.

2ft + 2ft = 4 ft.

Now add the inches too.

5 inches + 10 inches = 15 inches.

So altogether we have:

2ft 10 inches + 2ft 5 inches = 4ft 15 inches.

However, there's one more step. 4ft 15 inches is correct but it is not in a simplified form. 15 inches is more than 1 ft because 1ft = 12 inches! So 15 inches is = 1ft and 3 inches. So 4ft and 15 inches is the same as 4ft + 1ft + 3 inches which equals 5ft 3 inches.

So the answer is 5ft and 3 inches.