Question

Communicate Mathematical Ideas The amount of rhubarb in the original recipe is 3 cups. Using what you know of whole numbers and what you know of fractions, explain how you could triple that mixed number. a. Multiply 3 by 3

b. Add 3 to itself three times
c. Convert 3 to a fraction and triple it
d. Divide 3 by 3 and then triple the result

Answer 1

To triple the amount of rhubarb from 3 cups in a recipe, you can multiply 3 by 3, add 3 to itself three times, or convert 3 to a fraction (3/1) and triple it, each method resulting in 9 cups.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question is asking how to triple the amount of rhubarb, which is given as 3 cups in a recipe. To triple a whole number, you have three options: a) multiply 3 by 3, b) add 3 to itself three times, or d) convert 3 to a fraction (which would be 3/1) and then triple it. Option c) is incorrect as dividing 3 by 3 would give you 1, and tripling that would only return to 3, not 9. The correct answer to this mathematical problem is to use one of the three methods that actually multiply the original amount by 3.

Here are the corresponding mathematical operations for each option:

• Multiply 3 by 3 to get 9 (3×3=9).
• You can also add 3 to itself three times: 3+3+3=9.
• Or convert 3 to a fraction as 3/1 and then triple it, which results in the same fraction: (3/1)×3=9/1, which is 9.

Thus, to triple the amount of rhubarb you would need 9 cups for the modified recipe.