Rebecca

Rebecca needs to make a quilt. She has two pieces of fabric. One piece has 3 3/4 yards of fabric, and the other piece has 5 1/2 yards of fabric. How many yards of fabric does Rebecca currently have?

Correct answer:

x =  9 ¹⁄₄ = 37/4 yd

Step-by-step explanation:

$$\begin{gathered} a=3\frac{3}{4}=3+\frac{3}{4}=\frac{3\cdot 4+3}{4}=\frac{12+3}{4}=\frac{15}{4}=3.75\text{yd} \\ b=5\frac{1}{2}=5+\frac{1}{2}=\frac{5\cdot 2+1}{2}=\frac{10+1}{2}=\frac{11}{2}=5.5\text{yd} \\ x=a+b=\frac{15}{4}+\frac{11}{2}=\frac{15}{4}+\frac{22}{4}=\frac{15+22}{4}=\frac{37}{4}=\frac{37}{4}\text{yd}=9\frac{1}{4}\text{yd}=9.25\text{yd} \end{gathered}$$

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