A supermarket

A supermarket has 3 7/8 pounds of tangerines. Kelsey buys 1/2 of all the tangerines in the supermarket. How many pounds of tangerines did Kelsey buy?

Correct answer:

x =  1 ¹⁵⁄₁₆ = 31/16 lb

Step-by-step explanation:

$$\begin{gathered} a=3\frac{7}{8}=3+\frac{7}{8}=\frac{3\cdot 8+7}{8}=\frac{24+7}{8}=\frac{31}{8}=3.875\text{lb} \\ x=\frac{1}{2}\cdot a=\frac{1}{2}\cdot \frac{31}{8}=\frac{1\cdot 31}{2\cdot 8}=\frac{31}{16}=\frac{31}{16}\text{lb}=1\frac{15}{16}\text{lb}=1.9375\text{lb} \end{gathered}$$

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