Question

Ted is installing lighting in a new block of 12 apartments. He will need 60 metres of cable for each apartment. Each new spool holds 100 metres of cable. What is the smallest number of new spools that Ted will need for this job?

Answer 1

The total length of cable that is needed for the installation of the lighting in the new apartments is calculated by multiplying the number of apartments and the length of cable needed for each apartment. The calculation is shown below.
L = (12 apartments)(60 m/apartment) = 720 meters of cable

As given in the problem, each spool holds 100 meters of cable. The number of spools needed is therefore calculated by dividing the total length by the length of cable per spool as shown below.
S = (720 meters of cable) / (100 meters/spool)
S = 7.20 spools

Hence, the smallest number of new spools that Ted will need for this job is equal to 8 spools.