Answer:
The art teacher is incorrect.
Explanation:
Coming Up with Compatible Estimate Numbers:
The teacher has 47 1/3 pounds of clay. We can round this to 50. Now we have 50 pounds of clay.
Explaining the Operations:
The teacher wanted to distribute the clay by 2.5 lbs. This means we need to divide the amount of clay by 2.5.
Performing the Operations:
Divide 50 by 2.5 ---> 50÷2.5=(5÷2.5)*10--->5÷2.5=2--->2*10=20
Final Conclusion
For every student, the art teacher plans to give 2.5 lbs of clay. This means he will divide his 47 1/3 pounds by 2.5 piles and hand them out to the students. If we round 47 1/3 to 50 (about 2 points higher) and divide 50 by 2.5, you get 20. This means he would have a little less than enough clay for 20 students, not 9. Therefore, the art teacher is incorrect.
****ANOTHER POSSIBLE SOLUTION****
You can also multiply 9 x 2.5 and see if the product is close to 47 1/3. In this case, you can round 2.5 to 3 and proceed with the multiplication. 9*3=27 Since 27 is a lot lower than 47 1/3, the art teacher is incorrect.