Question

A caterer prepared a large ham that weighed 15 1/8 pounds . After cooking , the chef trimmed the ham and removed the bone , so the ham was 1 3/5 pound lighter . How many complete 5/16-pound serving can she provide from this ham?

Answer 1

do 15 1/8-1 3/5 so that is 13 21/40, then 13 21/40 divided by 5/16, so the answer is  48, because it is COMPLETE servings 

Answer 2

43

Explanation:

Givens

• Initially, the ham weighed
  `15 (1)/(8)lb`, which is equivalent to
  `(121)/(8)lb`.
• After cooking and without bone, the ham weighed
  `1(3)/(5) lb` less, which is equivalent to
  `(8)/(5) lb`.

To know the total amount of ham we have to serve, we need to subtract

`(121)/(8)- (8)/(5)=(605-64)/(40)=(541)/(40)`

So, there is 541/40 pounds to serve.

If each serving has 5/16 pounds of the ham, then we need to divide this with the total pounds available, and that would give the total number of servings

`(541)/(40) / (5)/(16)=(541)/(40) * (16)/(5)= (8656)/(200) \approx 43.28`

So, there are 43.28 possible serving. However, we need to round this to the integer because we cannot serve a uncomplete plate.

Therefore, she can provide 43 complete servings with 5/16 pounds of ham.