Question

Cassandra cuts 5/8 inch off the top of a photo and 3/8 inch off the bottom. How much shorter is the total height of the photo now? Explain.

Answer 1

If she cuts off 5/8 inch and 3/8 inch.  She cuts off a full inch.  So the photo is an inch shorter.

Answer 2

Just add together these two fractions to determine by how much the height of the photo is shortened. 5/8 plus 3/8 comes to 8/8, or 1.

The photo is now 1 inch shorter than it was originally.