A meatloaf recipe calls for #7/8# cup of breadcrumbs for the loaf and the topping. If #3/4# is used for the loaf, what fraction of a cup used for the topping?

1 Answer
Morgan S.
Dec 2, 2017

#\frac{1}{8}# of a cup of breadcrumbs will be used for the topping.

Explanation:

To find what fraction is used for the topping, we need to subtract the fraction used for the loaf from the total amount of breadcrumbs:

#color(red)(\text{Total breadcrumbs})-color(blue)(\text{part used for loaf})=color(green)(\text{part used for topping})#

We know two of those values, which we can plug in:

#color(red)(\frac{7}{8})-color(blue)(\frac{3}{4})=color(green)(\text{part used for topping})#

In order to subtract fractions, we need a common denomator. Here, we can multiply the blue fraction by #\frac{2}{2}# to get a common denominator of #8#:

#color(red)(\frac{7}{8})-color(blue)(\frac{3\times 2}{4\times 2})\quad\rightarrow\quad color(red)(\frac{7}{8})-color(blue)(\frac{6}{8})#

Now we can subtract the fractions:

#color(green)(\frac{1}{8})=color(green)(\text{part used for topping})#

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