Question

A recipe for fruit salad calls for 1 1/8
cups of blueberries and 2 3/4
cups of strawberries. How many cups of blueberries and strawberries are needed in the recipe? Your answer should be written as a mixed number

Answer 1

To find the total amount of blueberries and strawberries needed for the fruit salad, you can add the two quantities together:

1. Convert the mixed numbers to improper fractions:
- For the blueberries:
\[
1 \frac{1}{8} = \frac{1 \times 8 + 1}{8} = \frac{9}{8}
\]
- For the strawberries:
\[
2 \frac{3}{4} = \frac{2 \times 4 + 3}{4} = \frac{8 + 3}{4} = \frac{11}{4}
\]

2. Find a common denominator to add the fractions. The least common denominator of 8 and 4 is 8.

3. Convert \(\frac{11}{4}\) to have a denominator of 8:
\[
\frac{11}{4} = \frac{11 \times 2}{4 \times 2} = \frac{22}{8}
\]

4. Now, add the two fractions:
\[
\frac{9}{8} + \frac{22}{8} = \frac{9 + 22}{8} = \frac{31}{8}
\]

5. Convert \(\frac{31}{8}\) back to a mixed number:
- Divide 31 by 8, which goes 3 times (since \(8 \times 3 = 24\)) with a remainder of 7.
- Therefore,
\[
\frac{31}{8} = 3 \frac{7}{8}
\]

So, the total amount of blueberries and strawberries needed in the recipe is \(3 \frac{7}{8}\) cups.