Question

Problem of the Week Problem C Painting the Way

Alexia, Benito, and Carmen won a team art competition at their local park. As
part of their prize, they can paint the 5 km (5000 m) paved path through the
park any way they like.
They decided Alexia will paint the first 70 m, then Benito will paint the next
15 m, then Carmen will paint the next 35 m. They will keep repeating this
pattern until they reach the end of the 5 km path.
What percentage of the path will each person paint? please tell me how you solved it.

Answer 1

Answer: Alexia, Benito and Carmen will paint 58.3%, 29.2% and 12.5% of the path, respectively.

Explanation: Percentage is a ratio expressed as a fraction of 100, i.e., it represents a part from a total multiplied by 100.

In the way they decided to paint, they will have painted 120 m.

Alexia will paint 70 m. So the percentage is

`(70)/(120).100` = 58.3%

Benito will paint the next 15 m. The percentage is

`(15)/(120).100` = 12.5%

Carmen will paint the next 35 m. The percentage is

`(35)/(120).100` = 29.2%

Now, since it is a ratio, which means it is a proportion, percentage for all the path will be the same as the percentage of only a part of the path.

Then, the answer is Alexia will paint 58.3%, Benito, 12.5% and Carmen, 29.2% of the 5 km path.