Question

Robyn cut a length of ribbon into four pieces to wrap four gifts.The lengths she cut were 16 7/12 inches, 10 3/12 inches, 4 9/12 inches , and 10 2/12 inches. If she used the whole ribbon , how long was her ribbon?

Answer 1

The length of the ribbon is
`41(3)/(4)` inches.

Explanation:

If she cuts the whole ribbon into four unequal pieces, then the length of the ribbon can be found by adding all the lengths.

The length of the ribbon

`=16(7)/(12)+10(3)/(12)+4(9)/(12)+10(2)/(12)`

We add the whole number parts separately and the fractional parts too separately to get;

`=16+10+4+10+(7)/(12)+(3)/(12)+(9)/(12)+(2)/(12)`

`=40+(21)/(12)`

`=40+1(3)/(4)`

`=41(3)/(4)` inches.