Three members of a teen hiking group hiked 3

Question

5
of the entire Appalachian trail. The hikers took turns carrying a backpack of supplies. If each teen carried the backpack the same distance, what part of the total distance did each hiker carry the backpack?

In this problem, the numerator is the same number as the
.
So the answer will be a
.
Each hiker carried the backpack for
of the total trail distance.

Answer 1

To find out how much of the total distance each hiker carried the backpack, we need to divide the total distance that the group hiked (which is \( \frac{3}{5} \) of the entire Appalachian trail) by the number of hikers (which is 3).

We can set this up as follows:

\[ \text{Distance each hiker carried} = \frac{\text{Total distance hiked}}{\text{Number of hikers}} = \frac{\frac{3}{5}}{3} \]

To divide \( \frac{3}{5} \) by 3, we can rewrite 3 as \( \frac{3}{1} \):

\[ \frac{\frac{3}{5}}{3} = \frac{3}{5} \times \frac{1}{3} = \frac{3 \times 1}{5 \times 3} = \frac{3}{15} \]

Next, we simplify \( \frac{3}{15} \):

\[ \frac{3}{15} = \frac{1}{5} \]

Thus, each hiker carried the backpack for \( \frac{1}{5} \) of the total trail distance.

In conclusion:

• The answer will be a fraction.
• Each hiker carried the backpack for \( \frac{1}{5} \) of the total trail distance.