Question

Richard can read 1/4 of a book in 4/5 of an hour. At this rate, how much can Richard read in one hour?

A. 5/9 of a book
B. 5/16 of a book
C. 1/5 of a book
D. 3 1/5 of a book

Answer 1

First, we determine Richard's reading rate. According to the problem, Richard can read \( \frac{1}{4} \) of a book in \( \frac{4}{5} \) of an hour.

To find the reading rate in terms of books per hour, we set up the equation as follows:

1. Determine how much of the book Richard can read in one hour. If he reads \( \frac{1}{4} \) of a book in \( \frac{4}{5} \) hours, we can calculate how much he would read in \( 1 \) hour by scaling up:
\[
\text{Reading rate} = \frac{\frac{1}{4}}{\frac{4}{5}} = \frac{1}{4} \times \frac{5}{4} = \frac{5}{16} \text{ books per hour}
\]

Now, we need to see how much he can read in one hour. Since his reading rate is \( \frac{5}{16} \) books per hour, we conclude that he reads:

\[
\frac{5}{16} \text{ of a book in one hour}
\]

Thus, the answer is:

\[
\boxed{\frac{5}{16}}
\]

This corresponds to option B.