Consider the given expression.

3/4 x 1/2

Which situation matches the expression?
A.
Susan had of a liter of orange juice in a carton. She poured of it into a jar. How much of a liter did Susan pour into the jar?
B.
Mrs. Carter has a package of butter that weighs of a kilogram. She uses of a kilogram of butter for baking. How much of the butter did Mrs. Carter use?
C.
Chris bikes for of an hour. He stops for a rest and then bikes for another of an hour. How many hours did Chris bike in all?
D.
Tony takes of an hour to mow his lawn. He has already spent of an hour mowing. How much longer will Tony take to mow all of the lawn?

1 answer

The expression \( \frac{3}{4} \times \frac{1}{2} \) represents a situation where you are taking a fraction of a fraction. Specifically, it shows that you have a certain quantity (in this case \( \frac{3}{4} \)) and you are finding \( \frac{1}{2} \) of that quantity.

Looking at the options:

A. Susan had \( \frac{3}{4} \) of a liter of orange juice in a carton. She poured \( \frac{1}{2} \) of it into a jar. How much of a liter did Susan pour into the jar?

  • This situation matches \( \frac{3}{4} \times \frac{1}{2} \), because you find \( \frac{1}{2} \) of \( \frac{3}{4} \) liter.

B. Mrs. Carter has a package of butter that weighs \( \frac{3}{4} \) of a kilogram. She uses \( \frac{1}{2} \) of a kilogram of butter for baking. How much of the butter did Mrs. Carter use?

  • This situation does not match, as it involves using \( \frac{1}{2} \) kg directly, rather than a fraction of \( \frac{3}{4} \).

C. Chris bikes for \( \frac{3}{4} \) of an hour. He stops for a rest and then bikes for another \( \frac{1}{2} \) of an hour. How many hours did Chris bike in all?

  • This situation involves addition rather than multiplication, so it does not match.

D. Tony takes \( \frac{3}{4} \) of an hour to mow his lawn. He has already spent \( \frac{1}{2} \) of an hour mowing. How much longer will Tony take to mow all of the lawn?

  • This is also not a match, as it deals with figuring out how much time is left rather than determining a fraction of a fraction.

Therefore, the correct choice is A:

Susan had \( \frac{3}{4} \) of a liter of orange juice in a carton. She poured \( \frac{1}{2} \) of it into a jar. How much of a liter did Susan pour into the jar?