Question

Alicia buys a 5-pound bag of rocks for a fish tank. She uses 2 3/8 pounds for a small fish bowl How much is left?​

Answer 1

2.625 pounds are left or 2 5/8

Explanation:

So if your going to be subtracting a fraction from a whole number your going to have to consider the fact that the whole number can be divided up into that fraction.

So in this equation we are subtracting 2 3/8 from 5, we are going to take one from 5 and make it into a fraction so we can subtract:

5 = 4 8/8

Now we subtract 2 3/8 from 4 8/8

4 8/8 - 2 3/8 = 2 5/8

so there's your answer 2 5/8 pounds are left over, but if you wanted the answer in a decimal you would divide 5 by 8:

5/8 = 0.625

you then add 0.625 to 2:

2 + 0.625 = 2.625

And that is also your answer: 2.625 lbs. were left over.