Maria has to spend 5 1/2 hours to finish her community service program in a community health clinic. Last week, she was able to spend 3 3/4 hours. Which equation can be used to determine the number of hours, h , that Maria still needs to spend to complete her service program?(1 point)

Question

Responses

Answer 1

To determine the number of hours \( h \) that Maria still needs to spend to complete her community service program, you can set up the following equation:

\[ h = 5 \frac{1}{2} - 3 \frac{3}{4} \]

First, convert the mixed numbers to improper fractions:

• \( 5 \frac{1}{2} \) can be converted as follows: \[ 5 \frac{1}{2} = \frac{5 \times 2 + 1}{2} = \frac{10 + 1}{2} = \frac{11}{2} \]

• \( 3 \frac{3}{4} \) can be converted as follows: \[ 3 \frac{3}{4} = \frac{3 \times 4 + 3}{4} = \frac{12 + 3}{4} = \frac{15}{4} \]

Now substitute these into the equation:

\[ h = \frac{11}{2} - \frac{15}{4} \]

This equation can be used to calculate the number of hours Maria still needs to spend to complete her community service program.