Daughter is in 5th grade and I have no idea how to solve this math problem!
5 3/4 – 6 3/4
Obv you cannot subtract 5 from 6. You also can’t borrow the 3 from the 5 and make it a new mixed number. What do you borrow from? I’ve googled and seriously cannot figure this out.
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With learning fractions, I recommend drawing it out on paper or doing it visually how you prefer. I’ll use pieces of pizza as an example.
5 3/4, so five whole pizzas and (in math, you say “and” where a decimal point would go, the fraction is smaller than one) three quarters of a pizza. To get the total amount of slices, you see that each one has 4 slices, the denominator (bottom number).
5 full pizzas with 4 slices each gives you 20 slices. You have an incomplete pizza, so you add those slices, from the number called the numerator on top, to the 20 you have, giving you 23 slices. (5 x 4 + 3) / 4 = 23/4, which is the same as 5 3/4.
So do the same for 6 3/4. 6 whole pizzas with 4 slices, one pizza with 3 out of 4. 6 times 4 slices is 24, plus 3 is 27.
*Okay, this question is confusing and I get why you’re having problems. I wonder if it’s a typo. Why are they doing positive and negative fractions while teaching basics at that level? I forget what grades these started.*
So now you have 27/4. 23/4 – 27/4. Both lower numbers, denominators, are the same, so you can subtract 27 from 23. That gives you -4 (negative 4) on the numerator, 4 on the denominator. They cancel each other out, 4/4 is one whole pizza, so it’s equal to 1. The negative is carried with the division, giving you -1 (negative one) for the answer.
I’d honestly ask if they wrote the question correctly.
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