Question

Finding the Error

A 2-column table with 4 rows. Column 1 is labeled Tons with entries 2, 4, 10, 12. Column 2 is labeled Pounds with entries 4,000, 8,000, 20,000, 40,000. 40,000 is crossed out. An arrow goes from 2 to 12 and a second arrow goes from 4,000 to 40,000.

What error did the student most likely make?
The student multiplied by 6 instead of 10.
The student multiplied by 10 instead of 6.
The student used the ratio of 1:4,000 instead of 2:4,000.
The student used the ratio of 2:2,000 instead of 1:2,000.

Answer 1

The student likely used an incorrect ratio of 1:4,000 instead of the correct 1:2,000 when converting 12 tons to pounds, resulting in 40,000 pounds instead of the correct 24,000 pounds.

Step-by-step explanation:

The error the student most likely made was using the incorrect ratio to convert from tons to pounds. The student seems to have used a ratio of 1:4,000 instead of 1:2,000. The correct method is to multiply the number of tons by the unit equivalence, which is 2,000 pounds per ton. Therefore, for 12 tons, the correct calculation is 12 × 2,000 which equals 24,000 pounds, not 40,000 pounds as initially calculated by the student. To correct the mistake, the student should adjust the pounds column for 12 tons to 24,000 pounds.

Answer 2

The student most likely made the error of using the ratio of 2:2,000 instead of 1:2,000