A friend gives a neighbor 1323 feet of twine from a brand new spool,

A friend gives a neighbor

feet of twine from a brand new spool, leaving

feet of twine on the spool. How many total feet of twine were originally on the spool?

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:

To solve the problem, we first need to understand what it is asking:

Problem Summary:

A friend gives away 13 2/5 feet of twine, and 3 3/5 feet of twine is left on the spool. We are to find out how much twine was originally on the spool.

Step 1: Convert the mixed numbers to improper fractions

1325=65+25=67513 \frac{2}{5} = \frac{65 + 2}{5} = \frac{67}{5}
335=15+35=1853 \frac{3}{5} = \frac{15 + 3}{5} = \frac{18}{5}

Step 2: Add the two amounts

Since the total original twine is the sum of the amount given away and the amount left: 675+185=855=17\frac{67}{5} + \frac{18}{5} = \frac{85}{5} = 17

Step 3: Match the correct answer

The total original length of twine is 17 feet, which matches none of the answer options directly as they are all fractions:

Let’s double-check.

The question asks how many total feet, and we just found that it’s exactly 17 feet.
But the answer choices are:
- A) 7615=5115\frac{76}{15} = 5 \frac{1}{15}
- B) 7915=5415\frac{79}{15} = 5 \frac{4}{15}
- C) 8115=5615=525\frac{81}{15} = 5 \frac{6}{15} = 5 \frac{2}{5}
- D) 8515=51015=523\frac{85}{15} = 5 \frac{10}{15} = 5 \frac{2}{3}

Wait, these are in 15ths. Let’s convert 17 to a fraction with denominator 15: 17=2551517 = \frac{255}{15}

None of the answer choices match 25515\frac{255}{15}, so it appears the answer options may have been printed incorrectly or there’s a misinterpretation.

However, it’s likely that the numbers were misread. Let’s check the image again.

From the image:

Gave away: 13 2/5 feet
Left: 3 3/5 feet
Total: 1325+335=675+185=855=1713 \frac{2}{5} + 3 \frac{3}{5} = \frac{67}{5} + \frac{18}{5} = \frac{85}{5} = 17 feet