A construction company is digging a pit to build the foundation of a house. At the end of the first day, the company had hauled away 1 1/2 truckloads of dirt. On the second day, they hauled away 1 truckload. How many truckloads did they haul away in all?

Question

Write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number.

Answer 1

To find the total amount of dirt hauled away by the construction company over the two days, we need to add the truckloads from each day.

On the first day, they hauled away \(1 \frac{1}{2}\) truckloads. This can be converted to an improper fraction:

\[ 1 \frac{1}{2} = \frac{3}{2} \]

On the second day, they hauled away \(1\) truckload, which can also be expressed as a fraction:

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

Now we can add the two amounts together:

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

The fraction \( \frac{5}{2} \) can be expressed as a mixed number:

\[ \frac{5}{2} = 2 \frac{1}{2} \]

Thus, the total amount of dirt hauled away is \( \frac{5}{2} \) truckloads or \( 2 \frac{1}{2} \) truckloads.

In conclusion, the total amount of dirt hauled away is \( \frac{5}{2} \) truckloads or \( 2 \frac{1}{2} \).