Question

Josh wants to determine the number of loaves of bread he can bake using the 13 and one-third cups of flour he has. If each loaf requires 3 and four-fifths cups of flour, how many loaves can Josh bake?
3 loaves of bread
4 loaves of bread
50 loaves of bread
51 loaves of bread

Answer 1

To determine how many loaves of bread Josh can bake, we need to first convert the measurements into improper fractions or decimals for easier calculation.

**Step 1: Convert the flour quantities to improper fractions.**

The total amount of flour Josh has:
\[
13 \frac{1}{3} = \frac{40}{3} \text{ cups (since } 13 \times 3 + 1 = 40\text{)}
\]

Each loaf requires:
\[
3 \frac{4}{5} = \frac{19}{5} \text{ cups (since } 3 \times 5 + 4 = 19\text{)}
\]

**Step 2: Calculate how many loaves can be made.**

We can calculate the number of loaves by dividing the total flour by the flour required for one loaf:
\[
\text{Number of loaves} = \frac{\text{Total flour}}{\text{Flour per loaf}} = \frac{\frac{40}{3}}{\frac{19}{5}}
\]

To divide by a fraction, multiply by its reciprocal:
\[
= \frac{40}{3} \times \frac{5}{19} = \frac{40 \times 5}{3 \times 19} = \frac{200}{57}
\]

**Step 3: Calculate the value of \( \frac{200}{57} \).**

To find out how many whole loaves he can bake, we can perform the division:
\[
200 \div 57 \approx 3.50877
\]

Since Josh can only bake whole loaves, we take the whole number part:
\[
\text{Number of loaves} = 3
\]

**Final Answer:**
Josh can bake 3 loaves of bread.