document.write( "Question 823840: The question is
\n" ); document.write( " 6-4 1/5 they got 6=5 5/5
\n" ); document.write( " 4 1/5 they got answer 1 4/5
\n" ); document.write( "My question is how did they get 6 to equal 5 5/5? The other one is 3-2 1/3 how do you turn 3 into a fraction? \n" ); document.write( "

Algebra.Com's Answer #495879 by KMST(5328) $\"\"$ $\"About$

You can put this solution on YOUR website!
That is a very convenient way of doing those calculations, but I would say that the way the numbers like $\"5%265%2F5\"$ are written is unusual.
\n" ); document.write( "
\n" ); document.write( " $\"6=5%2B1\"$ and since $\"1=5%2F5\"$
\n" ); document.write( " $\"6=5%2B5%2F5\"$ .
\n" ); document.write( "Everyone writes $\"5%2B2%2F5\"$ as $\"5%262%2F5\"$ ,
\n" ); document.write( "but I had never seen
\n" ); document.write( " $\"5%2B5%2F5\"$ written as $\"5%265%2F5\"$ .
\n" ); document.write( "I would not call it wrong, but it is unusual.
\n" ); document.write( "That said, to subtract $\"4%261%2F5=4%2B1%2F5\"$ from $\"6=5%2B5%2F5\"$ ,
\n" ); document.write( "you could subtract the $\"4\"$ from the $\"5\"$ to get $\"6-5=1\"$ ,
\n" ); document.write( "and the $\"1%2F5\"$ from the $\"5%2F5\"$ to get $\"5%2F5-1%2F5=4%2F5\"$ .
\n" ); document.write( "
\n" ); document.write( " $\"3=2%2B1=2%2B3%2F3\"$
\n" ); document.write( "If someone writes $\"2%2B3%2F3\"$ as $\"2%263%2F3\"$ , I will think it is weird,
\n" ); document.write( "but I will not complain.
\n" ); document.write( "So the same person will probably write
\n" ); document.write( " $\"3-2%261%2F3=2%263%2F3-2%261%2F3=0%262%2F3=2%2F3\"$
\n" ); document.write( "One $\"2\"$ is subtracted from the other,
\n" ); document.write( "and the $\"1%2F3\"$ is subtracted from the $\"3%2F3\"$ .
\n" ); document.write( "
\n" ); document.write( "The way shown above is the way I do the calculations when I have to do them in my head.
\n" ); document.write( "The way I was taught to do that kind of calculation is harder.
\n" ); document.write( "The teacher would make us transform the both numbers into fractions with the same denominator.
\n" ); document.write( "Then we would subtract.
\n" ); document.write( "After that we would transform the fraction back into a mixed number if necessary.
\n" ); document.write( "So we would write
\n" ); document.write( " $\"6-4%261%2F5=30%2F5-21%2F5=9%2F5=4%261%2F5\"$
\n" ); document.write( "We were expected to transform in our heads, and sometimes we would make mistakes.
\n" ); document.write( "In our heads we had to do the following:
\n" ); document.write( " $\"6=6%2A5%2F5=30%2F5\"$ , $\"4%261%2F5=4%2B1%2F5=4%2A5%2F5%2B1%2F5=%284%2A5%2B1%29%2F5=%2820%2B1%29%2F5=21=5\"$ , and
\n" ); document.write( " $\"9%2F5=%285%2B4%29%2F5=5%2F5%2B4%2F5=1%2B4%2F5=1%264%2F5\"$
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