To find out how many cups of flour are needed for 1 loaf of bread, you can divide the total amount of flour used by the number of loaves made.
The baker used \( 3 \frac{1}{2} \) cups of flour for 3 loaves. First, convert \( 3 \frac{1}{2} \) cups to an improper fraction:
\[ 3 \frac{1}{2} = \frac{7}{2} \text{ cups} \]
Now, divide \( \frac{7}{2} \) cups by 3 to find the amount of flour needed for 1 loaf:
\[ \text{Flour for 1 loaf} = \frac{7}{2} \div 3 = \frac{7}{2} \times \frac{1}{3} = \frac{7}{6} \text{ cups} \]
So, \( \frac{7}{6} \) cups of flour is needed for 1 loaf of bread. This can also be expressed as \( 1 \frac{1}{6} \) cups.