Writing in Math To find the sum of 4/9 and 7/12, Mario rewrites the fractions as 8/36 and 21/36. His answer is 29/36. Is Marion right? If not, show his error and correct it.
No, because 4/9 = 16/36
To determine whether Mario's answer is correct, let's add the fractions 4/9 and 7/12 correctly.
To find a common denominator for the fractions 4/9 and 7/12, we need to find the least common multiple (LCM) of the denominators 9 and 12, which is 36.
Now, let's rewrite the fractions using the common denominator of 36:
4/9 = (4 * 4) / (9 * 4) = 16/36
7/12 = (7 * 3) / (12 * 3) = 21/36
Now that both fractions have a common denominator, we can add them:
16/36 + 21/36 = (16 + 21) / 36 = 37/36
Oh no! It seems that Mario made an error. The sum of 4/9 and 7/12 is not 29/36 as he claimed. The actual sum is 37/36.
To correctly express the sum as a fraction, we can leave the answer as an improper fraction (37/36) or convert it to a mixed number if needed. If we choose to convert it to a mixed number:
Divide the numerator (37) by the denominator (36):
37 ÷ 36 = 1 with a remainder of 1.
The quotient (1) represents the whole number, and the remainder (1) becomes the new numerator. The denominator remains the same.
So, the sum of 4/9 and 7/12 can be expressed as 1 1/36 or 37/36, depending on the desired form of the answer.