Henry needs to solve the problem 5 1/2−1 3/7 . What is the difference?(1 point)

Answer 1

To solve the problem 5 1/2 - 1 3/7, we need to first find a common denominator. The denominators are 2 and 7, so we can use 14 as the common denominator.

Converting 5 1/2 to an improper fraction:
5 * 2 + 1 = 10 + 1 = 11
So, 5 1/2 can be written as 11/2.

Converting 1 3/7 to an improper fraction:
1 * 7 + 3 = 7 + 3 = 10
So, 1 3/7 can be written as 10/7.

Now, we can subtract the two fractions:
11/2 - 10/7

To subtract fractions, the denominators need to be the same. So, we need to find a common denominator of 2 and 7, which is 14.

Multiplying the numerator and denominator of 11/2 by 7, we get:
11/2 * 7/7 = 77/14

Multiplying the numerator and denominator of 10/7 by 2, we get:
10/7 * 2/2 = 20/14

Now, we can subtract the fractions:
77/14 - 20/14 = (77 - 20)/14 = 57/14

So, the difference is 57/14.