The first thing you need to do is find the common denominator by multiplying the 1 and 4 in 1/4 but 2 so that both of the fractions have an 8 on the bottom. the answer should be 5/8 if you add then up correctly. there are 8/8 in a whole and we know that he has used 5/8 so far so we should subtract 5/8 from 8/8 to get 3/8. there was 1/8 left over after he painted the birdhouse so we would subtract 1/8 from 3/8 and get 2/8. so, he used 2/8 (or 1/4 if you simplify it) of a can of paint to paint the birdhouse.
Answer: Yes it is possible to design more than one flag with these lengths because the two smaller side lengths 27 and 40 is greater than 50 which is the larger side length.
