At the moment, a physical therapist has $10\frac{2}{5}$ rolls of medical tape on hand. He anticipates using up $1\frac{4}{5}$ rolls while working with patients this week. How much medical tape will he have left at the end of the week? $\newline$ Write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number. $\newline$ $\_\_\_$ rolls

Full solution

Q. At the moment, a physical therapist has

10\frac{2}{5}

rolls of medical tape on hand. He anticipates using up

1\frac{4}{5}

rolls while working with patients this week. How much medical tape will he have left at the end of the week?

\newline

Write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number.

\newline

\_\_\_

rolls

Identify initial amount: Step $1$ : Identify the initial amount of medical tape and the amount to be used. $\newline$ We start with $10\frac{2}{5}$ rolls and plan to use $1\frac{4}{5}$ rolls during the week. $\newline$ Calculation: Convert mixed numbers to improper fractions for easier calculation. $\newline$ $10\frac{2}{5} = \left(10\times 5 + 2\right)/5 = \frac{52}{5}$ rolls $\newline$ $1\frac{4}{5} = \left(1\times 5 + 4\right)/5 = \frac{9}{5}$ rolls
Subtract amount used: Step $2$ : Subtract the amount of tape to be used from the initial amount. $\newline$ Calculation: $\frac{52}{5} - \frac{9}{5} = \frac{(52 - 9)}{5} = \frac{43}{5}$ $\newline$ Convert back to a mixed number: $\frac{43}{5} = 8 \frac{3}{5}$