A factory puts 3/5 of a gallon of vinegar into each batch of salad dressing. How many gallons of vinegar will be used in 7 batches?

Write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number.

gallons

1 answer

To find out how many gallons of vinegar are used in 7 batches, we need to multiply the amount of vinegar used in each batch by the number of batches.

The amount of vinegar used in each batch is \( \frac{3}{5} \) gallons.

So, we calculate:

\[ \text{Total vinegar} = \frac{3}{5} \times 7 \]

To multiply the fraction by a whole number, we can express 7 as a fraction:

\[ 7 = \frac{7}{1} \]

Now, we multiply the fractions:

\[ \text{Total vinegar} = \frac{3}{5} \times \frac{7}{1} = \frac{3 \times 7}{5 \times 1} = \frac{21}{5} \]

Next, we can convert \( \frac{21}{5} \) into a mixed number.

Dividing 21 by 5 gives us 4 with a remainder:

\[ 21 \div 5 = 4 \quad \text{R}1 \]

Thus, we can express \( \frac{21}{5} \) as:

\[ 4 \frac{1}{5} \]

So, the total amount of vinegar used in 7 batches is:

\[ \boxed{\frac{21}{5}} \text{ gallons} \quad \text{or} \quad 4 \frac{1}{5} \text{ gallons} \]