A wooden plank is 5 feet long and 1 1/2 inches thick. To make the plank 1 1/8 inches thick, a carpenter removes the same thickness of wood from the top and bottom of the plank. How many inches does the carpenter remove from the top of the plank? Express your answer as a common fraction.

Answer 1

(1 1/2 - 1 1/8)/2 = (3/2 - 9/8)/2 = (12/8 - 9/8)/2 = (3/8)/2 = 3/16

Answer 2

you do 1 1/2 - 1 1/8 because you want to know how much the carpenter needs to cut off. you get 3/8. then you need to divide by 2 because you want to find out how much the carpenter cuts on each side. you get 3/16 and that should be your answer