Question

Ben shaneeka and Phil live on the same street. Ben lives 6/11 mile north of phill, and 1/3 mile north of shaneeka. How far does shaneeka live from phil?

Answer 1

7/33 mile

Explanation:

If we designate the locations of Ben, Shaneeka, and Phil by point B, S, and P, respectively, the segment addition theorem tells us ...

PS + SB = PB

Filling in the given distances, we have ...

PS + 1/3 = 6/11

Subtracting 1/3, we can find the distance between Shaneeka and Phil:

PS = 6/11 - 1/3 = (18 -11)/(33) = 7/33 . . . . miles

Shaneeka lives 7/33 mile from Phil.

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Addition and subtraction of fractions can be done using the formula ...

a/b +c/d = (ad +bc)/(bd)

Of course, any of the numbers can be negative.