Question

Each question Sandra answers incorrectly changes her overall score by -3/4 points. Sandra's overall score was -4 1/2 points, and then she answered the last question incorrectly. What was Sandra's final score?

A) -5 1/4
B) -3 3/4
C) 5 1/4
D) 3 3/4

Answer 1

After subtracting the penalty of −3/4 points from Sandra's score of −4 1/2 points, her final score is −5 1/4 points. This is option A) −5 1/4.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find Sandra's final score after answering the last question incorrectly, we need to subtract the penalty for an incorrect answer from her current score. Since each incorrect answer decreases her score by −3/4 points, we must subtract −3/4 from her score of −4 1/2 points.

First, let's convert the mixed number to an improper fraction:

• −4 1/2 points = −9/2 points (because 4 * 2 + 1 = 9 and the sign is negative)

Now subtract −3/4 points from −9/2 points:

1. To subtract fractions, they must have a common denominator. We can use 4 as the common denominator because the second fraction already has a denominator of 4.
2. −9/2 points is equivalent to −18/4 points when you multiply both the numerator and the denominator by 2.
3. Now subtract: −18/4 points - 3/4 points = −21/4 points

Sandra's final score is −21/4 points which is −5 1/4 points when converted back to a mixed number (21 divided by 4 is 5 with a remainder of 1).

So, the correct answer is A) −5 1/4.