Question

Brett has 2 1/2 pounds of bird seed left to share equally among 4 bird cages in his pet shop. How many pounds can he put in each bird cage?

Answer 1

Brett can put
`(5)/(8)` = 0.625 pounds in each bird cage.

Explanation:

The total amount of bird seed left =
`2(1)/(2)` pounds

=
`(5)/(2)` pounds

Number of birds in pet shop = 4

So, the share of each bird =
`\frac{\textrm{Total available seeds}}{\textrm{Total number of birds in the pet shop}}`

=
`((5)/(2) )/(4)  = (5)/(2)  * (1)/(4)  = (5)/(8)`

Hence, Brett can put
`(5)/(8)` = 0.625 pounds in each bird cage.