Question

A candle maker has 4 1/2 pounds of clear wax. He wants to cut the wax into pieces that are 2/3 pound each. How many 2/3 pound pieces can he divide the wax into? How much wax is left over?

Answer 1

a) 10 pieces of 2/3 pound can be made.

b) 0.54 pounds of wax is left over.

Explanation:

Total amount of clear wax available =
`4(1)/(2)  = (9)/(2)` pounds

So, the maker has in total 4.5 pounds of wax

Now, The weight of each piece =
`(2)/(3)  = 0.66` pounds

To find the number of pieces that can be made out of 4.5 pounds of wax,

let that number = n

So,
`n = \frac{\textrm{Total weight of the clear wax}}{\textrm{Weight of each wax}}`

or, n =
`n = (4.5)/(0.66)  = 6.81`

So, nearly 6 pieces can be made completely out of the clear wax

Left over amount of wax = Total weight - Weights of the pieces made

= 4.5- 6(0.66)

= 0.54 pounds

Hence, 0.54 pounds of wax is left over