Josiah B. answered • 10/09/22
MD Medical Student; Tutor for Step 1 USMLE, MCAT prep, & biochemistry!
To find this answer, we want to find the difference between 1/3 and 1/4, which requires subtracting these two numbers. To do this we must first have the denominators (bottom numbers) be equal. To make this happen, we multiple 1/3 by 4/4 (which is the same as multiplying by 1) and multiply 1/4 by 3/3 (again, the same as multiplying by 1).
This turns 1/3 into 4/12 and turns 1/4 into 3/12, which helps us subtract them, but does not change their actual value – it's just a new way of looking at the numbers! Next, we take 4/12 – 3/12 which gives us 1/12. Thus, 1/3 of a meter is 1/12 of a meter longer than 1/4 of a meter.
