May Ling has $9 \frac{1}{4}$ chocolate bars. She gives Ahmad $2 \frac{3}{5}$ of her chocolate bars. How many chocolate bars does May Ling have left?
Answer (2)
May Ling initially has 9 4 1 chocolate bars and gives away 2 5 3 chocolate bars. After converting both quantities to improper fractions and performing the subtraction, May Ling has 6 20 13 chocolate bars left. The process involves converting mixed numbers and finding a common denominator for accurate subtraction.
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Convert the mixed numbers to improper fractions: 9 4 1 = 4 37 and 2 5 3 = 5 13 .
Find a common denominator to subtract the fractions: 4 37 − 5 13 = 20 185 − 20 52 .
Subtract the fractions: 20 185 − 20 52 = 20 133 .
Convert the result back to a mixed number: 20 133 = 6 20 13 . The final answer is 6 20 13 .
Explanation
Initial Amount First, we need to determine how many chocolate bars May Ling has initially. She has 9 4 1 chocolate bars. We can convert this mixed number to an improper fraction.
Convert to Improper Fraction To convert 9 4 1 to an improper fraction, we multiply the whole number (9) by the denominator (4) and add the numerator (1). This gives us 9 × 4 + 1 = 36 + 1 = 37 . So, 9 4 1 = 4 37 .
Amount Given Away Next, we need to determine how many chocolate bars May Ling gives to Ahmad. She gives 2 5 3 chocolate bars. We convert this mixed number to an improper fraction as well.
Convert to Improper Fraction To convert 2 5 3 to an improper fraction, we multiply the whole number (2) by the denominator (5) and add the numerator (3). This gives us 2 × 5 + 3 = 10 + 3 = 13 . So, 2 5 3 = 5 13 .
Subtract the Fractions Now, we subtract the amount given to Ahmad from the initial amount May Ling had. This is 4 37 − 5 13 . To subtract these fractions, we need a common denominator. The least common multiple of 4 and 5 is 20.
Find Common Denominator We convert both fractions to have a denominator of 20. 4 37 = 4 × 5 37 × 5 = 20 185 and 5 13 = 5 × 4 13 × 4 = 20 52 .
Perform Subtraction Now we can subtract: 20 185 − 20 52 = 20 185 − 52 = 20 133 .
Convert Back to Mixed Number Finally, we convert the improper fraction 20 133 back to a mixed number. We divide 133 by 20. 133 ÷ 20 = 6 with a remainder of 13. So, 20 133 = 6 20 13 .
Final Answer Therefore, May Ling has 6 20 13 chocolate bars left.
Examples
Understanding fractions and mixed numbers is very useful in everyday life. For example, if you are baking a cake and need to measure ingredients, you might need to add 2 2 1 cups of flour and 1 4 3 cups of sugar. Knowing how to add mixed numbers allows you to accurately measure the ingredients and bake a delicious cake. Also, if you are sharing a pizza with friends, you might need to divide the pizza into fractions to ensure everyone gets a fair share. These are just a couple of examples of how fractions and mixed numbers are used in real-life situations.
