Alisha kept track of the growth of a plant. At the beginning of one week, her plant was 1 7/8 inches tall. The next week, the plant was 2 3/4 inches tall. How many inches did

Question

Alisha's plant grow over the week?

Answer 1

To find out how much Alisha's plant grew over the week, we need to subtract the initial height from the height at the end of the week.

1. Initial height: $1\frac{7}{8}$ inches
2. Final height: $2\frac{3}{4}$ inches

First, convert both mixed fractions to improper fractions.

• For $1\frac{7}{8}$: $$1\frac{7}{8}=\frac{1\times 8+7}{8}=\frac{8+7}{8}=\frac{15}{8}$$

• For $2\frac{3}{4}$: $$2\frac{3}{4}=\frac{2\times 4+3}{4}=\frac{8+3}{4}=\frac{11}{4}$$

Next, to subtract these fractions, we need a common denominator. The least common multiple of 8 and 4 is 8.

• Convert $\frac{11}{4}$ to have the same denominator (8): $$\frac{11}{4}=\frac{11\times 2}{4\times 2}=\frac{22}{8}$$

Now we can subtract: $$\frac{22}{8}-\frac{15}{8}=\frac{22-15}{8}=\frac{7}{8}$$

Thus, Alisha's plant grew $\frac{7}{8}$ inches over the week.