Joanna bought 1 1/2 pounds of apples, 3/4 pound of strawberries, 1/2 pound of grapes, 1 3/4pounds of oranges, and 1 1/4 pounds of pears. How many pounds of fruit did Joanna buy in all?

The correct answer is 5.75 (5 3/4) pounds of fruit

1 1/2 + 3/4 + 1/2 + 1 3/4 + 1 1/4 = 5 3/4

The key word ''in all'' means total so this calls for addition so we need to add all fractions first to get our answer.

First we need to add all whole numbers

next we need to find the LCD of all fractions which is 4

next we change the denominators into the LCD (4)

next we join them all together so now it will be 3 + 2 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 2 over 4

since 2 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 2 equals 11 we simplify it to 3 + 11/4

now we make 11/4 to a mixed fraction which is 2 3/4

now we add 3 + 2 to make 5 and keep the fraction

Answer: Joanna bought 5 3/4 pounds of fruit in all.