Question

At Brian’s Bookstore, 0.3 of the shelves hold mysteries, 25% of the shelves hold travel books, and 7/20 of the shelves hold children’s books. Which type of book covers the most shelf space in the store? Explain how you arrived at your answer

Answer 1

Childrens books

Explanation:

What is a fraction?

A fraction is a fragment of a whole number, used to define parts of a whole. The whole can be a whole object, or many different objects. The number at the top of the line is called the numerator, whereas the bottom is called the denominator.

To solve for which type of book covers the most space, we need to first convert 25% from a percentage to a fraction.

What is a percentage?

A percentage is a ratio, or a number expressed in the form of a fraction of 100. Percentages are often used to express a part of a total.

If percentages are fractions of 100, then 25% as a fraction would look like this:

• 25% =
  `(25)/(100)`

We can do the same to 0.3, although it isn't a percentage.

• 0.3 = 0.30 =
  `(30)/(100)`

Now, we need to convert the fractions (
`(25)/(100)`,
`(30)/(100)`,
`(7)/(20)`) to have a common denominator.

What is a common denominator?

A common denominator consists of two or more fractions that have the same denominator. This makes it easier to perform numeric equations, and to solve them.

To make
`(7)/(20)` have a denominator of 100, we can multiply the 20 by 5 to get 100.

• 7 × 5 = 45

• 20 × 5 = 100

Now the fraction is
`(35)/(100)`.

The three fractions given are:

• 
  `(30)/(100)` (Mystery books)

• 
  `(25)/(100)` (Travel books)

• and
  `(35)/(100)` (Children books)

The larges given fraction is
`(35)/(100)` meaning that the children's books cover the most shelf space in the store.