Question

James uses 1/2 of a cup of flour in his muffins, and Jade uses 3/4 of a cup of flour in her muffins. Noel takes the sum of the two amounts od flour and divides it into two equal portions, planning to use only one portion of it in his muffins. How much flour does Noel use in his muffins?

Answer 1

To find out how much flour Noel uses in his muffins, we first need to calculate the total amount of flour that James and Jade use.

James uses \( \frac{1}{2} \) cup of flour, and Jade uses \( \frac{3}{4} \) cup of flour.

We need to add these two fractions together.

First, we find a common denominator for \( \frac{1}{2} \) and \( \frac{3}{4} \). The least common denominator (LCD) for 2 and 4 is 4.

Convert \( \frac{1}{2} \) into a fraction with a denominator of 4:

\[
\frac{1}{2} = \frac{2}{4}
\]

Now we can add:

\[
\frac{2}{4} + \frac{3}{4} = \frac{2 + 3}{4} = \frac{5}{4}
\]

So, the total amount of flour used by James and Jade is \( \frac{5}{4} \) cups.

Next, Noel divides this total amount by 2 to find the portion he will use:

\[
\frac{5}{4} \div 2 = \frac{5}{4} \times \frac{1}{2} = \frac{5 \times 1}{4 \times 2} = \frac{5}{8}
\]

Thus, Noel uses \( \frac{5}{8} \) cup of flour in his muffins.

Therefore, the final answer is:

\[
\boxed{\frac{5}{8}} \text{ cups}
\]