A certain bag of potting soil is 1/4 peat moss

A certain bag of potting soil is 1/4 peat moss, and the rest is dirt. What part is dirt?

The correct answer and explanation is:

The part of the bag that is dirt is 3/4.

To understand how this works, let’s break it down:

1. The total bag of potting soil is made up of two components: peat moss and dirt.
2. The problem tells us that 1/4 of the bag is peat moss.
3. Since the entire bag represents 1 or 100% of the mixture, the remaining part must be dirt.
4. To find the amount of dirt, subtract the fraction of peat moss from the whole bag (which is 1, or 1/1).
   • 1 (total mixture) – 1/4 (peat moss) = 3/4.

So, 3/4 of the bag is dirt.

This makes sense because fractions must always add up to 1 (or the whole). If 1/4 is peat moss, the leftover portion must be dirt, and 1 – 1/4 equals 3/4. Thus, 3/4 of the potting soil is dirt.