Question

shawna had to decorate 3 gift packages with ribbon. she used 1 1/3 yards of ribbon for the first package, 1 1/2 yards of ribbon for the second package, and 1 2/3 yards to decorate the third package. shawna had 3 1/2 yards of ribbon left over. how much ribbon did she start with?

Answer 1

First find the common denominators and the equivalent fractions.

1 1/3 = 1 4/12
1 1/2 = 1 6/12
1 2/3 = 1 8/12

Add.

3 18/12 = 4 1/2

4 1/2 + 3 1/2 = ?