Question

Robyn cut a length of ribbon into four pieces to wrap four gifts. The lengths she cut were 16 7/12 inches,10 3/12 inches, 4 9/12 inches, and 10 2/12 inches. If she used the whole ribbon, how long was her ribbon?

Answer 1

The length of the ribbon is
`41(3)/(4)` inches.

Solution:

Given that, Robyn cut a length of ribbon into four pieces to wrap four gifts

She used the whole ribbon

To find: length of ribbon

If she cuts the whole ribbon into four unequal pieces, then the length of the ribbon can be found by adding all the lengths.

Given lengths are:
`16(7)/(12) \text{ inches } , 10(3)/(12) \text{ inches } , 4(9)/(12) \text{ inches} , 10(2)/(12) \text{ inches }`

The total length is given by:

Total length = add all lengths

`\text{Total length } = 16(7)/(12) +10(3)/(12) + 4(9)/(12) +10(2)/(12)`

We add the whole number parts separately and the fractional parts separately to get:

`\text{Total length } = (16+10+4+10) +((7)/(12) + (3)/(12)+(9)/(12)+(2)/(12))\\\\\text{Total length} = 40 + (21)/(12) = 40+(7)/(4)\\\\\text{Total length } = 40 + 1(3)/(4) = 41(3)/(4)`

Thus total length of ribbon is
`41(3)/(4)` inches