Steven is knitting a scarf and a hat He needs 3/4 of a bundle of yarn to make a scarf He needs half that to make a hat How much yarn does he need to make a hat? How do you know?

Question
Answer:
Hey. Let me help you on this one.

If we take a closer look at the problem, Steven wants to make two different clothing pieces - a hat and a scarf using the same type of yarn bundle (amount requires doesn't matter). Each piece requires a different amount of yarn. For example, a hat needs 3/4 of the bundle, while a scarf is supposed to be knitted with a half of the yarn.

Let's start off by converting everything to a fraction with the same denominator - number below numerator.

Hat - [tex] \frac{3}{4}[/tex]
Scarf - one half, or [tex] \frac{1}{2} [/tex]

As we can see, our denominators are different. Let's multiply [tex] \frac{1}{2} [/tex] by 2 in order for us to raise the denominator to four, since two times two is four. 

We must not forget to multiply the numerator by two as well - whatever is multiplied in a fraction, it's to be multiplied in both parts.

[tex] \frac{1}{2} *2= \frac{2}{4} [/tex]

Awesome. Now, that we know both values needed for the clothing pieces, let's add them together.

[tex] \frac{3}{4} + \frac{2}{4} = \frac{5}{4} [/tex]

When adding fractions, we don't touch denominators. Remember this golden rule!

Five fourths can also be transformed into one whole number, and one fourth. [tex]1 \frac{1}{4} [/tex].

That's it! We solved this problem. I am attaching a helpful picture for you to study this material. 

Answer: 1 1/4 of yarn bundles are needed.
solved
general 10 months ago 6202