Final answer:
To determine how many trees Clyde can prune in 1 hour, we divide the number of trees pruned by the number of hours it took. Clyde can prune approximately 3.4 trees in 1 hour.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find out how many trees can be pruned in 1 hour, we need to determine the pruning rate per hour. First, we divide the number of trees pruned (8 1/2) by the number of hours it took (2 1/2) to find the pruning rate per hour.
Pruning rate per hour = (8 ½ trees) / (2 ½ hours).
We can simplify this expression by converting the mixed number to an improper fraction: Pruning rate per hour = (17/2 trees) / (5/2 hours). Now, we can divide to find the rate: Pruning rate per hour = 17/2 ÷ 5/2 = 17/2 × 2/5 = 17/5.
Therefore, Clyde can prune 17/5 trees in 1 hour. In decimal form, this is approximately 3.4 trees.