nicolel604 said:
I have a question that I get a different answer everytime too, and none is correct in the answer book!?
the question is:
the recipe called for 3 1/2 cups of flour. he could make only 3 3/4 recipes. How much flour did he have?
thanks for the help!
You need to multiply the two fractions 3 1/2 and 3 3/4.
It's best to convert each fraction to 'improper form' first - like so...
*** how many halves in 3 1/2 ?
* 3 is six halves,
* 1/2 is one half.
* Therefore, 3 1/2 is seven halves.
*** how many quarters in 3 3/4 ?
* 3 is twelve quarters (can you see why?)
* 3/4 is three quarters,
* Therefore, 3 3/4 is fifteen quarters...
Then, to multiply 3 1/2 by 3 3/4, you multiply 7/2 by 15/4.
Do you know how to do that?
It will be an improper fraction again, so you may need to convert this answer back to a mixed fraction.
Eg, to convert 80/7 to a mixed fraction, I do :
* 80 divided by 7 is 11 remainder 3 (because 80 = 77+3)
* therefore,
\(\displaystyle \frac{80}{7} = \frac{77+3}{7} = \frac{77}{7} + \frac{3}{7} = 11 + \frac{3}{7} = 11\frac{3}{7}\)
