Question

John needed 13.71 feet of wire to fix a lamp. He bought 14□(1/2) feet of wire at the hardware store. How much wire did he have left over after fixing the lamp?

Answer 1

John would have 0.79 feet of wire left over after fixing the lamp

Explanation:

Given:

Length of the wire John needed for fixing the lamp = 13.71 feet

Length of wire John bought from the hardware store =
`14(1)/(2)`

To Find:

Length of wire left with John after fixing the lamp = ?

Solution:

Lets first convert the mixed fraction into decimal form

`14(1)/(2)`

=>
`(2 * 14 +1)/(2)`

=>
`(29)/(2)`

=> 14.5

So John Bought 14.5 feet of wire

Now

let the wire that is left with John after Fixing the lamp be X

Then,

X = length of wire john bought - Length of wire needed for fixing the lamp

X= 14.5 - 13.71

X = 0.79