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You work with a carpenter who asks you to cut 4 boards to the following lengths: 7½ inches, 10½ inches, 9 inches, and 5½ inches. what is the total length, in inches, of the cut boards?

a.12
b.15 ½
c.18
d.23 ½
e.32 ½

1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

The total length of the four boards combined is 32.5 inches, achieved by simply adding each board's length together.

the correct option is e.32 ½.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the total length of the cut boards, simply add up the lengths of each board:

  • 7½ inches
  • 10½ inches
  • 9 inches
  • 5½ inches

Now, let's add these measurements together:

7.5 (for 7½ inches) + 10.5 (for 10½ inches) + 9 + 5.5 (for 5½ inches) = 32.5 inches

So, the total length of the cut boards is 32.5 inches, which is option e. 32 ½.

To add fractions with like denominators, you add the numerators and keep the denominators the same. In this case, the denominators are all 2. Adding the numerators gives us 7+10+9+5 = 31. So the total length of the cut boards is 31/2 inches. To simplify the fraction, we divide the numerator and denominator by their greatest common factor, which is 1. So the final answer is 15 ½ inches.

User Jerry Sha
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