Question

Jesse needs 8 1/4 feet of chain to complete an outdoor project. He has two small pieces measuring 2 1/8 ft and 3 3/4 ft. How many feet of chain does Jesse need to purchase?

a) 11/4 feet
b) 19/8 feet
c) 15/4 feet
d) 28/8 feet

Answer 1

Jesse should purchase 85/8 feet of chain, simplified to 10 5/8 feet, after subtracting the lengths of the chains he currently has (2 1/8 feet and 3 3/4 feet) from the total chain length he needs (8 1/4 feet).

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine how many feet of chain Jesse needs to buy, we need to subtract the total length of the two small pieces he already has from the total length needed for his project.

Jesse needs 8 1/4 feet of chain in total. He has a piece measuring 2 1/8 feet and another measuring 3 3/4 feet.

First, let's convert all measurements to improper fractions to make the subtraction easier:

• 8 1/4 feet = 33/4 feet
• 2 1/8 feet = 17/8 feet
• 3 3/4 feet = 15/4 feet

Now add the lengths of the two pieces Jesse already has:

17/8 feet + 15/4 feet = 17/8 feet + 30/8 feet = 47/8 feet

Subtract this sum from the total length needed:

33/4 - 47/8 = 132/8 - 47/8 = 85/8 feet

Therefore, Jesse needs to purchase 85/8 feet of chain, which can be simplified to 10 5/8 feet or as a decimal, 10.625 feet.

None of the answer choices matches this result, which might indicate there was a mistake in the options provided or in the calculation.