Philip's chemistry textbook weighs 9 1/4 pounds and his geometry textbook weighs 7 2/3 pounds. How much more does the chemistry textbook weigh than the geometry textbook?
Write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number.
pounds
To find the difference in weight between the chemistry and geometry textbook, subtract the weight of the geometry textbook from the weight of the chemistry textbook.
Weight of Chemistry textbook: 9 1/4 pounds
Weight of Geometry textbook: 7 2/3 pounds
9 1/4 pounds - 7 2/3 pounds = (36/4 + 1/4) pounds - (22/3 + 2/3) pounds
= 37/4 pounds - 26/3 pounds
To simplify this, find a common denominator for both fractions, which is 12.
37/4 pounds = (37/4)(3/3) pounds = 111/12 pounds
26/3 pounds = (26/3)(4/4) pounds = 104/12 pounds
Now subtract the weights:
111/12 pounds - 104/12 pounds = (111 - 104)/12 pounds = 7/12 pounds
Therefore, the chemistry textbook weighs 7/12 pounds more than the geometry textbook.