Sam needs \( \frac{5}{6} \) cup mashed bananas and \( \frac{3}{4} \) cup mashed strawberries for a recipe. He wants to find whether he needs more bananas or more strawberries. How can he write \( \frac{5}{6} \) and \( \frac{3}{4} \) as a pair of fractions with a common denominator? (4.NF.1)

To find a common denominator for \( \frac{5}{6} \) and \( \frac{3}{4} \), Sam needs to identify the least common multiple (LCM) of the denominators 6 and 4. The LCM of 6 and 4 is 12. Now, convert each fraction: for \( \frac{5}{6} \), multiply the numerator and denominator by 2 to get \( \frac{10}{12} \). For \( \frac{3}{4} \), multiply the numerator and denominator by 3 to get \( \frac{9}{12} \). This makes it easier to compare the amounts! Now that Sam has both fractions with a common denominator, he can see that \( \frac{10}{12} \) (the bananas) is greater than \( \frac{9}{12} \) (the strawberries). Therefore, he needs more mashed bananas for his recipe than strawberries!