Alisha kept track of the growth of a plant. At the beginning of one week, her plant was 1 7/8 inches tall. The next week, the plant was 2 3/4 inches tall. How many inches did

Question

Alisha's plant grow over the week?

Answer 1

To find out how much Alisha's plant grew over the week, we need to subtract the initial height from the height at the end of the week.

1. Initial height: \(1 \frac{7}{8}\) inches
2. Final height: \(2 \frac{3}{4}\) inches

First, convert both mixed fractions to improper fractions.

• For \(1 \frac{7}{8}\): \[ 1 \frac{7}{8} = \frac{1 \times 8 + 7}{8} = \frac{8 + 7}{8} = \frac{15}{8} \]

• For \(2 \frac{3}{4}\): \[ 2 \frac{3}{4} = \frac{2 \times 4 + 3}{4} = \frac{8 + 3}{4} = \frac{11}{4} \]

Next, to subtract these fractions, we need a common denominator. The least common multiple of 8 and 4 is 8.

• Convert \(\frac{11}{4}\) to have the same denominator (8): \[ \frac{11}{4} = \frac{11 \times 2}{4 \times 2} = \frac{22}{8} \]

Now we can subtract: \[ \frac{22}{8} - \frac{15}{8} = \frac{22 - 15}{8} = \frac{7}{8} \]

Thus, Alisha's plant grew \( \frac{7}{8} \) inches over the week.