A mixed apple vendor starts out with $28 \frac{2}{5}$ apples, sells $5 \frac{1}{2}$ apples to Bob, and then sells $7 \frac{1}{3}$ apples to Jane. After these two sales, how many apples does the vendor have left (expressed as a mixed number)?

Question

A mixed apple vendor starts out with $28 \frac{2}{5}$ apples, sells $5 \frac{1}{2}$ apples to Bob, and then sells $7 \frac{1}{3}$ apples to Jane.  After these two sales, how many apples does the vendor have left (expressed as a mixed number)?

anonymous · Answer

so you have to first change all the bases of the fraction to the same number
28 2/5 into 28 12/30
5 1/2 into 5 15/30
7 1/3 into 7 10/30 
you then add together 7 10/30 and 5 15/30  that becomes 12 25/30
you can then convert both 28 12/30 and 12 25/30 into mixed numbers 
28 12/30= 852/30 
12 25/30=385/30
then subtract $$852/30 - 385/30=467/30$$
your final answer should be 467/30 as a mixed number or 15 and 17/30