Question

We bought five 3 3/4 pound bags of bird seed what is the total weight of the birdseed they bought?

Answer 1

What you can do is multiply 3 x 5 to get 15. Then you can multiply 3/4 (.75) by 5. To make it easier I will use decimal.

2
.75
x 5
-----
375 (Don't forget to move the decimal twice)

3.75 + 15 = 18.75. They bought 18.75 lbs (18 3/4 lbs)

Answer 2

On step one I turned the mixed fraction (3 3/4) into an improper fraction. That way you can easily multiply it by the whole number (5)
Step two you multiply each pound of bag (3 3/4) by 5 (the total amount of bags you bought)
Step three is turning the improper fraction into a mix number. 18 3/4 pounds is your answer