Question

Maria has to spend 5 1/2
hours to finish her community service program in a community health clinic. Last week, she was able to spend 3 3/4
hours. Which equation can be used to determine the number of hours, h
, that Maria still needs to spend to complete her service program?(1 point)
Responses

h − 512 = 334
h minus 5 and one-half equals 3 and three-fourths

h − 334 = 512
h minus 3 and three-fourths equals 5 and one-half

h + 334 = 512
h plus 3 and three-fourths equals 5 and one-half

h + 512 = 334

Answer 1

To determine how many hours Maria still needs to spend (h) to complete her community service program, we can formulate the equation based on the total hours needed and the hours she has already completed.

Maria needs to complete a total of \(5 \frac{1}{2}\) hours, which is \(5.5\) hours in decimal. Last week, she completed \(3 \frac{3}{4}\) hours, which is \(3.75\) hours in decimal.

The equation representing the hours still needed can be expressed as:

\[
h = 5.5 - 3.75
\]

This can also be transformed into the form required:

\[
h - 5.5 = -3.75
\]

Rearranging gives:

\[
h - 5 \frac{1}{2} = 3 \frac{3}{4}
\]

So, the correct interpretation of the responses given is:

**h − 512 = 334** (which translates to \(h - 5 \frac{1}{2} = 3 \frac{3}{4}\))

Thus, the proper response to your question is:

**h minus 5 and one-half equals 3 and three-fourths**.