Answer: No, there isn't enough ribbon
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Use this formula
a & b/c = (a*c+b)/c
to convert from a mixed number to an improper fraction
So,
a & b/c = (a*c+b)/c
3 & 3/4 = (3*4+3)/4
3 & 3/4 = 15/4
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Next, we add the fractions 15/4 and 5/6. The denominators aren't the same, so we can't add right away. We need to get the denominators to the LCD.
In this case, the LCD is 4*6 = 24
- The fraction 15/4 becomes 90/24 after multiplying top and bottom by 6.
- The fraction 5/6 becomes 20/24 after multiplying top and bottom by 4
Now we can add the fractions:
90/24+20/24 = (90+20)/24 = 110/24
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So far, we've added the 3&3/4 portion to the 5/6 portion to get the result 110/24
The last thing to do is to add on the two 1/3 ft pieces, which means we're adding on 2/3 of a foot
2/3 = 16/24 after multiplying top and bottom by 8
Add this to the result of the last section
110/24+16/24 = (110+16)/24 = 126/24
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From here, we convert the improper fraction 126/24 to decimal form
Using a calculator, you should find that 126/24 = 5.25
The result is larger than 5, which means she used too much ribbon. There won't be enough ribbon to do everything she wants to do.
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The shortcut we can take is to type the following into the calculator
3+3/4+5/6+2/3
doing so should lead to 5.25
