Ethan used (17/5) cups of flour for bread and 2 (3/10) cups for muffins. Written as a mixed number, how many cups of flour did he use altogether?
Answer: cups
Step-by-step solution
Step 1: Convert mixed number to an improper fraction
Ethan used cups of flour for bread and cups for muffins. To add these two quantities, we first convert the mixed number into an improper fraction. Multiplying the whole number by the denominator and adding the numerator gives .
Step 2: Find a common denominator for the fractions
The denominators are and . The least common multiple (LCM) of and is . We convert into an equivalent fraction with a denominator of by multiplying both the numerator and the denominator by , giving .
Step 3: Add the fractions to find the total flour
Now that both fractions have the same denominator, we add their numerators together: . The total amount of flour used is cups.
Step 4: Convert the improper fraction to a mixed number
Dividing by yields a quotient of with a remainder of . Therefore, the total amount of flour written as a mixed number is cups.