Shani has a piece of fabric that is 2 2/3 ft. long. She uses 1/2 ft. for one sewing project and 1 3/4 ft. for another project. How much fabric does Shani have left? Solve this multi-step real-world problem. Express your answer in simplest form.(1 point)

1 ft.

1 2/3 ft.

5/12 ft.

2 1/4 ft.

1 answer

To solve this problem, we need to subtract the amount of fabric used from the total amount of fabric that Shani had.

The total amount of fabric that Shani had is 2 2/3 ft.

The amount of fabric used for the first sewing project is 1/2 ft.

The amount of fabric used for the second sewing project is 1 3/4 ft.

To find how much fabric is left, we subtract the sum of the fabric used for both projects from the total amount of fabric that Shani had:

2 2/3 ft - (1/2 ft + 1 3/4 ft)

First, let's convert 2 2/3 ft into an improper fraction:

2 2/3 ft = (3*2 + 2)/3 ft = 6/3 + 2/3 ft = 8/3 ft

Now, let's add the fractions that represent the fabric used for both projects:

1/2 ft + 7/4 ft

To add fractions, we need to have a common denominator which is the least common multiple (LCM) of 2 and 4, which is 4.

1/2 ft = 2/4 ft (multiplying numerator and denominator by 2)

Now, we can add the fractions:

2/4 ft + 7/4 ft = 9/4 ft

Now, let's subtract the sum of the fabric used from the total amount of fabric that Shani had:

8/3 ft - 9/4 ft

To subtract fractions, we need to have a common denominator which is the least common multiple (LCM) of 3 and 4, which is 12.

8/3 ft = 32/12 ft (multiplying numerator and denominator by 4)

9/4 ft = 27/12 ft (multiplying numerator and denominator by 3)

Now we can subtract the fractions:

32/12 ft - 27/12 ft = (32 - 27)/12 ft = 5/12 ft

Therefore, Shani has 5/12 ft of fabric left.