Question

An art teacher has 47 1/3 pounds id clay. He wants to give each student in his class 2 1/2 pounds of clay. The teacher estimates that he has enough clay for 9 students. Is this the best estimate? Explain

Answer 1

See explanation

Explanation:

An art teacher has
`47(1)/(3)` pounds of clay.

He wants to give each student in his class
`2(1)/(2)` pounds of clay.

To estimate how many student the teacher can give
`2(1)/(2)` pounds of clay, just divide the whole amount of clay by
`2(1)/(2):`

`47(1)/(3)=(47\cdot 3+1)/(3)=(142)/(3)\\ \\2(1)/(2)=(2\cdot 2+1)/(2)=(5)/(2)\\ \\47(1)/(3):2(1)/(2)=(142)/(3):(5)/(2)=(142)/(3)\cdot (2)/(5)=(142\cdot 2)/(3\cdot 5)=(284)/(15)\\ \\(284)/(15)=(270+14)/(15)=(18\cdot 15+14)/(15)=18(14)/(15)`

This means 18 students can get
`2(1)/(2)` pounds of clay. Thus, the teacher estimation is not the best estimate.