An industrial bakery has a large container holding 10\frac{3}{8} gallons of vegetable oil.… — Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)

An industrial bakery has a large container holding $10\frac{3}{8}$ gallons of vegetable oil. On Monday morning, a baker uses $3\frac{1}{2}$ gallons for a batch of muffins. In the afternoon, they use an additional $2\frac{3}{4}$ gallons for bread dough. How many gallons of vegetable oil remain in the container? (Enter your answer as a decimal.)

Answer: 4.125 gallons

Answer

4.125

Converting all fractions to a common denominator of 8 yields

10\frac{3}{8}

total,

3\frac{4}{8}

used first, and

2\frac{6}{8}

used second. Total used is

6\frac{2}{8}

. Subtracting this from

10\frac{3}{8}

leaves

4\frac{1}{8}

. Converting

\frac{1}{8}

to a decimal yields 0.125, making the final answer 4.125.

Step-by-Step Solution

Find a common denominator for all the fractions involved.

The common denominator for 8, 2, and 4 is 8.

Fractions must have the same denominator before they can be added or subtracted.

Convert the amounts of oil used into mixed numbers with the common denominator of 8.

3\frac{1}{2} = 3\frac{4}{8}

and

2\frac{3}{4} = 2\frac{6}{8}

This prepares the values for addition.

Add the amounts used together to find the total amount of oil removed.

3\frac{4}{8} + 2\frac{6}{8} = 5\frac{10}{8} = 6\frac{2}{8}

We must consolidate the used portions before subtracting from the total.

Subtract the total oil used from the original amount in the container.

10\frac{3}{8} - 6\frac{2}{8} = 4\frac{1}{8}

Subtracting the total used gives the remaining oil.

Convert the final mixed number to a decimal format.

4\frac{1}{8} = 4 + (1 \div 8) = 4.125

The question explicitly requires the answer to be entered as a decimal.

Key Concept

Adding and subtracting mixed numbers with unlike denominators

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