Question

when babies are born, their lengths are recorded. Maddy is 18 1/2 inches.
Her twin, Alex, is 20 3/4 inches.
How much longer than Maddy is Alex
__ inches

Answer 1

To find out how much longer Alex is than Maddy, we need to subtract Maddy's length from Alex's length.

First, let's convert their lengths into improper fractions for easier subtraction.

Maddy's length:
18 1/2 inches = 18 + 1/2 = 36/2 + 1/2 = 37/2 inches

Alex's length:
20 3/4 inches = 20 + 3/4 = 80/4 + 3/4 = 83/4 inches

Now we perform the subtraction:

To subtract \( \frac{37}{2} \) from \( \frac{83}{4} \), we need a common denominator. The least common denominator between 2 and 4 is 4.

Now, we convert \( \frac{37}{2} \) to have a denominator of 4:
\[
\frac{37}{2} = \frac{37 \times 2}{2 \times 2} = \frac{74}{4}
\]

Now we can subtract:
\[
\frac{83}{4} - \frac{74}{4} = \frac{83 - 74}{4} = \frac{9}{4}
\]

Now we convert \( \frac{9}{4} \) back to a mixed number:
\[
\frac{9}{4} = 2 \frac{1}{4}
\]

So, Alex is 2 1/4 inches longer than Maddy.

The answer is:
**2 1/4 inches**.