Question

Inspired by a video, Brooke decided to try a Filipino chicken recipe. The recipe requires 2 1/2
pounds of chicken. Brooke bought 5 3/4
pounds of chicken. How many pounds of chicken remain unused

Answer 1

To find out how many pounds of chicken remain unused, we need to subtract the amount of chicken required for the recipe from the amount Brooke bought.

Brooke bought \( 5 \frac{3}{4} \) pounds of chicken, and the recipe requires \( 2 \frac{1}{2} \) pounds of chicken.

First, we'll convert these mixed numbers to improper fractions:

1. For \( 5 \frac{3}{4} \):
\[
5 \frac{3}{4} = 5 + \frac{3}{4} = \frac{5 \times 4 + 3}{4} = \frac{20 + 3}{4} = \frac{23}{4}
\]

2. For \( 2 \frac{1}{2} \):
\[
2 \frac{1}{2} = 2 + \frac{1}{2} = \frac{2 \times 2 + 1}{2} = \frac{4 + 1}{2} = \frac{5}{2}
\]

Now, we need to calculate how much chicken remains after using the required amount for the recipe:

\[
\text{Remaining chicken} = \text{Amount bought} - \text{Amount used}
\]

This can be written as:

\[
\text{Remaining chicken} = \frac{23}{4} - \frac{5}{2}
\]

To subtract these fractions, we need a common denominator. The least common multiple of 4 and 2 is 4. We convert \( \frac{5}{2} \) to a fraction with a denominator of 4:

\[
\frac{5}{2} = \frac{5 \times 2}{2 \times 2} = \frac{10}{4}
\]

Now we can perform the subtraction:

\[
\text{Remaining chicken} = \frac{23}{4} - \frac{10}{4} = \frac{23 - 10}{4} = \frac{13}{4}
\]

Finally, we can convert \( \frac{13}{4} \) back to a mixed number:

\[
\frac{13}{4} = 3 \frac{1}{4}
\]

Thus, the amount of chicken that remains unused is \( 3 \frac{1}{4} \) pounds.