Question

The construction engineer calculated that he needed 2 support pillars of equal size. He ordered 8 1/2 tons of concrete to make the support pillars. How much concrete did he use for each support pillar?

Answer 1

Explanation:

If the engineer ordered 8 1/2 tons of concrete to make 2 support pillars of equal size, we can divide the total amount of concrete by 2 to find out how much concrete he used for each support pillar.

First, we need to convert the mixed number 8 1/2 to an improper fraction:

8 1/2 = 17/2

Now we can divide 17/2 by 2:

(17/2) ÷ 2 = (17/2) × (1/2) = 17/4

Therefore, the engineer used 17/4 tons of concrete for each support pillar.