Question

a car repair shop offers its customers free coffee while they wait. by the end of the day, the coffee urn, which had started out with 4 2/5 gallons of coffee, was left with 2 1/2 gallons. how many gallons of coffee had been dispensed? write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number. gallons

Explanation:

Step1: Convert mixed - numbers to improper fractions

$4\frac{2}{5}=\frac{4\times5 + 2}{5}=\frac{22}{5}$ and $2\frac{1}{2}=\frac{2\times2+1}{2}=\frac{5}{2}$

Step2: Find the difference

We want to find $\frac{22}{5}-\frac{5}{2}$. First, find a common denominator, which is $10$. So $\frac{22}{5}=\frac{22\times2}{5\times2}=\frac{44}{10}$ and $\frac{5}{2}=\frac{5\times5}{2\times5}=\frac{25}{10}$. Then $\frac{44}{10}-\frac{25}{10}=\frac{44 - 25}{10}=\frac{19}{10}=1\frac{9}{10}$

Answer:

$1\frac{9}{10}$