Question

pablos daughter wanted to decorate her room with her favorite color, green. pablo had 12 1/2 cans of green paint stored in the garage. he used 4 3/12 cans to paint his daughters room. how much green paint did pablo have left? write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number. cans

Explanation:

Step1: Convert mixed numbers to improper fractions

First, convert \(12\frac{1}{2}\) to an improper fraction. \(12\frac{1}{2}=\frac{12\times2 + 1}{2}=\frac{25}{2}\). Then, convert \(4\frac{3}{12}\) to an improper fraction. Simplify \(\frac{3}{12}=\frac{1}{4}\) first, so \(4\frac{1}{4}=\frac{4\times4+1}{4}=\frac{17}{4}\).

Step2: Find a common denominator

The common denominator of 2 and 4 is 4. Convert \(\frac{25}{2}\) to a fraction with denominator 4: \(\frac{25}{2}=\frac{25\times2}{2\times2}=\frac{50}{4}\).

Step3: Subtract the used paint from the total paint

Subtract \(\frac{17}{4}\) from \(\frac{50}{4}\): \(\frac{50}{4}-\frac{17}{4}=\frac{50 - 17}{4}=\frac{33}{4}\).

Step4: Convert back to a mixed number

Convert \(\frac{33}{4}\) to a mixed number: \(33\div4 = 8\) with a remainder of 1, so \(\frac{33}{4}=8\frac{1}{4}\).

Answer:

\(8\frac{1}{4}\)