A group of people in a city decide to measure the total distance of a walking path and put up distance markers for the people who walk. On one particular day they put up markers on 7/8 of a mile of the way. The next day they put up markers on another 1/2 of a mile. What is the total distance they have completed?
To find the total distance, we need to add the distances from the two days.
The distance covered on the first day is 7/8 of a mile.
The distance covered on the second day is 1/2 of a mile.
Adding these two distances gives us:
7/8 + 1/2
To add these fractions, we need to find a common denominator. The least common multiple of 8 and 2 is 8.
Next, we need to express both fractions with the common denominator:
7/8 = 7/8 * 1/1 = 7/8
1/2 = 1/2 * 4/4 = 4/8
Now we can add the fractions:
7/8 + 4/8 = (7+4)/8 = 11/8
So the total distance covered is 11/8 miles.