Final answer:
To make 1 1/2 dozen oatmeal muffins, Jeffrey will need 3 3/8 cups of oatmeal, which is calculated by scaling the original recipe proportionally.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is about determining how much oatmeal Jeffrey will need to use if he scales up his recipe for oatmeal muffins from one dozen to one and a half dozen. Since the original recipe calls for 2 1/4 cups of oatmeal for one dozen muffins, we can set up a proportion to find out how much oatmeal is needed for 1 1/2 dozen muffins.
First, we convert the one and a half dozen to a numerical value that we can work with. A dozen is 12, so one and a half dozen is 12 * 1.5, which equals 18 muffins. Now, we can set up the following proportion:
2 1/4 cups oatmeal / 12 muffins = x cups oatmeal / 18 muffins
Solving for x gives us:
x = (2 1/4 cups oatmeal) * (18 muffins) / 12 muffins
To simplify the calculation, first, change 2 1/4 cups to a single fraction format, which is 9/4 cups.
x = (9/4 cups oatmeal) * (18 muffins) / 12 muffins
Multiply 9/4 by 18 and then divide by 12:
x = (9/4) * (3/2) cups oatmeal
Multiply the fractions:
x = 27/8 cups oatmeal
Finally, simplify the fraction:
x = 3 3/8 cups oatmeal
Jeffrey will need 3 3/8 cups of oatmeal to make 1 1/2 dozen muffins.