3. Ramona had \( 8 \frac{3}{8} \) in. of ribbon. She used \( 2 \frac{1}{2} \) in. for an art project. How many inches of ribbon does she have left? Find the difference in simplest form.

To find out how much ribbon Ramona has left, we first convert the mixed numbers to improper fractions. For \( 8 \frac{3}{8} \), we calculate \( 8 \times 8 + 3 = 64 + 3 = 67 \) so it becomes \( \frac{67}{8} \). For \( 2 \frac{1}{2} \), we have \( 2 \times 2 + 1 = 4 + 1 = 5 \), thus \( \frac{5}{2} \). We need a common denominator, which is 8. Convert \( \frac{5}{2} \) to \( \frac{20}{8} \). Now, subtract: \[ \frac{67}{8} - \frac{20}{8} = \frac{47}{8} \] To convert this back to a mixed number, divide \( 47 \) by \( 8 \) which gives \( 5 \) with a remainder of \( 7 \), leading us to \( 5 \frac{7}{8} \) in simplest form. So, Ramona has \( 5 \frac{7}{8} \) inches of ribbon left!