Jessica made an apple pie. She used $\frac{1}{2}$ of a tablespoon of cinnamon and $\frac{1}{5}$ of a tablespoon of nutmeg. How much more cinnamon than nutmeg did Jessica use? $\newline$ Write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number. $\newline$ _____ tablespoons

Full solution

Q. Jessica made an apple pie. She used

\frac{1}{2}

of a tablespoon of cinnamon and

\frac{1}{5}

of a tablespoon of nutmeg. How much more cinnamon than nutmeg did Jessica use?

\newline

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

\newline

_____ tablespoons

Identify amounts: Step $1$ : Identify the amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg used. Jessica used $\frac{1}{2}$ tablespoon of cinnamon and $\frac{1}{5}$ tablespoon of nutmeg.
Calculate difference: Step $2$ : Calculate the difference in the amounts used. $\newline$ Difference = $\frac{1}{2}$ tablespoon (cinnamon) - $\frac{1}{5}$ tablespoon (nutmeg) $\newline$ To subtract these fractions, find a common denominator. The least common denominator between $2$ and $5$ is $10$ . $\newline$ Convert $\frac{1}{2}$ to $\frac{5}{10}$ and $\frac{1}{5}$ to $\frac{2}{10}$ . $\newline$ Difference = $\frac{5}{10} - \frac{2}{10} = \frac{3}{10}$ tablespoon.