Question

Zoe has a board 5 1/4 long. she cut off a piece. now the board is 3 5/6 feet long. how long was the piece she cut off

Answer 1

The piece Zoe cut off would be 1 and 5/12 ft long.
5 and 1/4 - 3 and 5/6
The least common denominator is 24.
5 and 6/24 - 3 and 20/24
5 and 6/24 becomes 4 and 30/24
4 and 30/24 - 3 and 20/24 = 1 and 10/24
1 and 10/24 can be simplified to 1 and 5/12.

Answer 2

length of piece cut off from the board was
`1(5)/(12)` feet.

Explanation:

Board with Zoe has the length =
`5(1)/(4)` feet

≈
`(21)/(4)` feet

Now she cut off a piece of length then the length of the board =
`3(5)/(6)` feet

≈
`(23)/(6)` feet

Length of the piece of piece she cut off =
`(21)/(4)-(23)/(6)`

=
`(63-46)/(12)`

=
`(17)/(12)`

=
`1(5)/(12)` feet

Therefore, length of piece cut off from the board was
`1(5)/(12)` feet.