Final answer:
To make 5 1/2 fruit cakes, you need 12 3/4 pounds of fruit.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find out how much fruit you need, you can multiply the amount of fruit needed for each cake by the number of cakes you plan to make. In this case, you need 2 1/4 pounds of fruit for one cake, and you plan to make 5 1/2 cakes. So, you can calculate the total amount of fruit needed by multiplying:
2 1/4 pounds of fruit/cake * 5 1/2 cakes = 2 1/4 * 5 1/2 = 12 3/4 pounds of fruit
Therefore, you need 12 3/4 pounds of fruit to make the desired number of fruit cakes.