In one year, Melinda grew 2 1/4 inches to 48 3/8. What was her height at the beginning of the year?

To find Melinda's height at the beginning of the year, we need to subtract the growth she had in one year from her current height.

Step 1: Convert the mixed numbers to improper fractions:
2 1/4 = 9/4
48 3/8 = 387/8

Step 2: Subtract the growth from her current height:
387/8 - 9/4

Step 3: Find a common denominator and subtract the fractions:
387/8 - 9/4 = (387*2)/(8*2) - (9*2)/(4*2) = 774/16 - 18/16

Step 4: Subtract the fractions:
774/16 - 18/16 = (774-18)/16 = 756/16

Step 5: Simplify the fraction, if possible:
756/16 can be simplified to 47 1/2

Therefore, Melinda's height at the beginning of the year was 47 1/2 inches.

To find Melinda's height at the beginning of the year, we need to subtract the growth of 2 1/4 inches from her current height of 48 3/8 inches.

To subtract fractions, we need to have a common denominator. In this case, the common denominator would be 8, since both fractions have denominators of 8.

Converting 2 1/4 to an improper fraction:
2 1/4 = (2 * 4 + 1)/4 = 9/4

Now that we have a common denominator, we can subtract the fractions:
48 3/8 - 9/4 = ((48 * 8) + 3)/8 - 9/4 = (384 + 3)/8 - 9/4 = 387/8 - 9/4

To subtract fractions with the same denominator, we subtract the numerators and keep the common denominator:
387/8 - 9/4 = (387 - 72)/8 = 315/8

Once we have the result, we can convert it back to a mixed number:
315/8 = 39 3/8

Therefore, Melinda's height at the beginning of the year was 39 3/8 inches.

Subtract:

48 3/8 - 2 2/8 = ?