For a research paper, a student spent 3/5 hr searching the Internet on website A and 1/4 hr on website B. How much longer did she spend on website A than on website B?

Understand the Problem

The question asks for the difference in time spent on two websites (A and B). It provides the time spent on both websites as fractions and requires finding out how much longer was the time spent on website A compared to website B. The answer should be simplified.

Answer

$ \frac{7}{20} $

Steps to Solve

Identify the times spent on websites A and B

The time spent on website A is given as $ \frac{3}{5} $ hours, and the time spent on website B is given as $ \frac{1}{4} $ hours.

Find a common denominator

To subtract the two fractions, we need a common denominator. The denominators are 5 and 4. The least common multiple (LCM) of 5 and 4 is 20.

Convert the fractions to the common denominator

Convert $ \frac{3}{5} $ and $ \frac{1}{4} $ to have a denominator of 20:

For website A: $$ \frac{3}{5} = \frac{3 \times 4}{5 \times 4} = \frac{12}{20} $$
For website B: $$ \frac{1}{4} = \frac{1 \times 5}{4 \times 5} = \frac{5}{20} $$

Subtract the fractions

Now we can find the difference in time spent on websites A and B: $$ \frac{12}{20} - \frac{5}{20} = \frac{12 - 5}{20} = \frac{7}{20} $$

Write down the final answer

So, the student spent $ \frac{7}{20} $ hours more on website A than on website B.

The student spent $ \frac{7}{20} $ hours more on website A than on website B.

More Information

This problem involves basic fraction operations, specifically subtraction of fractions with different denominators. It’s important to convert each fraction to a common denominator before performing the subtraction.

Tips

Forgetting to find a common denominator before subtracting fractions; always check that the denominators are the same.
Not simplifying the answer when possible; make sure to provide your answer in the simplest form.

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