Question

9 feet 5 inches - 4 feet 6 inches = 4 feet 11 inches
Can someone help tell me why this makes 4 feet 11 inches.

Answer 1

You can do this two ways. One way is to convert both measurements to inches, do the subtraction in inches and convert back to feet and inches. The other way is to do it using feet and inches by borrowing a foot and converting to inches. I'll show you both ways.
1) Convert to inches and convert back to ft and in.:
9 ft 5 in. = 9 ft + 5 in.
9 ft * 12 in./1 ft = 108 in.
9t + 5in. = 108 in. + 5 in. = 113 in.

4 ft 6 in. = 4ft + 6 in.
4 ft * 12 in./1 ft = 48 in.
4 ft 6in = 48 in. + 6 in. = 54 in.

9 ft 5 in. - 4 ft 6 in. =
113 in. - 54 in. = 59 in.
59 in./(12 in/ft) = 5 ft remainder 11, so
59 in. = 4 ft 11 in.

2) Keep ft and inches and borrow: