Question

Sam spent 5/6 of an hour at the dentist’s office. He spent 1/10 of the time in the waiting room. How much time did he spend at the dentist’s office other than in the waiting room?

1/12 of an hour
3/25 of an hour
3/4 of an hour
11/12 of an hour

Answer 1

We know he spent 5 sixths which is 50 minutes

Ten percent of 50 is 5
This means he spent 3 quarters of an hour in the office

Answer 2

The correct answer is 3/4 of an hour

Explanation:

Sam spent 5/6 of an hour at the dentist´s office and 1/10 of that time he was in the waiting room. To solve this problem you have to consider that if you want to calculate 1/10 of 5/6, you must multiply both fractions

⇒(5/6) x (1/10) = 5/60 = 1/12. 1/12 of an hour is the time he spent in the waiting room. Then to find the time in another part, you should calculate the difference between 5/6 and 1/12 ⇒ (5/6) - (1/12) = 3/4.

So, he spend 3/4 of an hour at the dentist’s office other than in the waiting room