John painted 1/2 of a pole white and 3/8 of it green. What is the fraction he painted?
1/2 + 3/8 = 4/8 + 3/8 = ?
1 / 2 = 1 * 4 / ( 2 * 4 ) = 4 / 8
1 / 2 + 3 / 8 = 4 / 8 + 3 / 8 = 7 / 8
To find the fraction of the pole that John painted, you need to add the fractions that represent the white and green portions of the pole.
The fraction of the pole that is painted white is 1/2, and the fraction that is painted green is 3/8. To add these fractions, you need to find a common denominator.
The least common multiple of 2 and 8 is 8. To rewrite the fractions with this denominator, you multiply the numerator and denominator of 1/2 by 4, and the numerator and denominator of 3/8 by 1.
1/2 * 4/4 = 4/8 (white portion)
3/8 * 1/1 = 3/8 (green portion)
Now you can add the fractions:
4/8 + 3/8 = 7/8
Therefore, John painted 7/8 of the pole.