Question

The country club in a small village maintains the putting greens with a grass height of 1/8 inch.The grass on the fairways is maintained at 2 1/4 inches. How much must the mower blade be lowered by a person mowing the fairways if that person will be using the same mowing on the putting greens?

Answer 1

To determine how much must the mower's blade be lowered to mow the putting greens you have to calculate the difference between the height of the grass on the fairways and the height of the grass on the putting greens.

`2(1)/(4)-(1)/(8)`

To subtract both fractions you have to express them using the same denominator, before you do so, you have to express the mixed number 2 1/4 as a fraction:

-First, divide the whole number by 1 to write it as a fraction and add 1/4

`2(1)/(4)=(2)/(1)+(1)/(4)`

-Multiply 2/1 by 4, then add both fractions:

`(2\cdot4)/(1\cdot4)+(1)/(4)=(8)/(4)+(1)/(4)=(9)/(4)`

You can express the differences as follows:

`(9)/(4)-(1)/(8)`

Next is to express both fractions using the same denominator, in this case, the least common denominator is 8. To express the fraction 9/4 as its equivalent with denominator 8, you have to multiply the fraction by 2:

`(9\cdot2)/(4\cdot2)-(1)/(8)=(18)/(8)-(1)/(8)=(18-1)/(8)=(17)/(8)`

The person must lower the blade of the mower 17/8 inches to mow the putting greens after mowing the fairways.