Joshua is dividing because he is taking the total weight of the bolts (8 pounds) and dividing it by the weight of bolts needed for each kitchen (1/5 pound). This gives him the number of kitchens that can be repaired.
Melanie is multiplying because she is taking the total weight of the bolts (8 pounds) and multiplying it by the weight of bolts needed for each kitchen (1/5 pound). This gives her the total weight of bolts needed for one kitchen, and she can then divide the total weight of bolts by this amount to find the number of kitchens that can be repaired.
The statement "a whole number by a unit fraction is the same as multiplying a whole number by the reciprocal of the unit fraction" is not directly related to the above question, but it is a general math concept that can be used to simplify division of fractions by converting them to multiplication.
Trish is sorting bolts for her home repair business. She has an 8-pound bag of bolts. If each kitchen her team repairs requires
1
5
pound of bolts, how many kitchen can she repair? Joshua solves the problem by finding
8
÷
1
5
=
40
. Melanie solves the problem by finding
8
×
5
=
40
. Use the drop-down menus to explain why Joshua and Melanie are both Multiplying, dividing.
Numorator, denomnator
a whole number by a unit fraction is the same as multiplying a whole number by the
Choose...
of the unit fraction.
1 answer
1 answer