a carpenter had two pieces of lumber.one piece was 5 3/4 feet long and the other was 4 7/8 long. what is the difference between the two board lengths
Piece 1) 5 3/4 feet => 5 6/8 feet
Piece 2) 4 7/8 feet
5 6/8 feet - 4 7/8 feet = 7/8
To prove this you can add 1 to 4 7/8 and see that you'll have 5 7/8 and then subtract 1/8 from 1 and be left with the difference between the two lengths as 7/8 feet.
53/4-47/8
=(106-47)/8
=59/8
To prove this add 59/8 to 47/8 and divide the numerator and denominator of the result by 2
