Question

A male polar bear is 2 7/9 meters long. A female polar bear is 1 5/6 long. Sidney thinks the male polar bear is 1 2/3 meters longer than the female polar bear. She is incorrect. How did she get that answer?

Answer 1

Answer: See explanation

Explanation:

The difference in the length of the polar bear will be:

= 2 7/9 - 1 5/6

The lowest common multiple of 9 and 6 is 18.

= 2 7/9 - 1 5/6

= 2 14/18 - 1 15/18

= 17/18

She is incorrect as she subtracted the denominator from the numerators and didn't find their lowest common multiple. She got the answer this way:

= 2 7/9 - 1 5/6

= (2 - 1) (7-5)/(9-6)

= 1 2/3