Question

shelagh and luana realized that they could express their ages more specifically if they used fractions. doing this will allow them to calculate the difference in their ages more precisely. if shelagh describes her age as $10\frac{5}{12}$ years old and luana is $8\frac{1}{6}$, what is the difference in their ages? write the answer as a simplified mixed number.

Explanation:

Step1: Convert mixed - numbers to improper fractions

$10\frac{5}{12}=\frac{10\times12 + 5}{12}=\frac{120+5}{12}=\frac{125}{12}$ and $8\frac{1}{6}=\frac{8\times6 + 1}{6}=\frac{48 + 1}{6}=\frac{49}{6}=\frac{49\times2}{6\times2}=\frac{98}{12}$

Step2: Subtract the fractions

$\frac{125}{12}-\frac{98}{12}=\frac{125 - 98}{12}=\frac{27}{12}$

Step3: Simplify the fraction and convert to mixed - number

$\frac{27}{12}=\frac{24+3}{12}=2\frac{3}{12}=2\frac{1}{4}$

Answer:

$2\frac{1}{4}$