Final answer:
Joy used 3/8 of a cup of frosting on each cupcake by dividing the total 3/4 cup of frosting equally between two cupcakes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student wants to know how much frosting Joy used on each cupcake if she used a total of 3/4 of a cup of frosting to decorate two cupcakes. To find out, we simply divide the total amount of frosting by the number of cupcakes.
Here's how you do it:
- Start with the total amount of frosting Joy had, which is 3/4 of a cup.
- Since she is dividing this frosting equally between two cupcakes, you divide 3/4 by 2.
- To divide a fraction by a whole number, you multiply the fraction by the reciprocal of the whole number. So, you multiply 3/4 by 1/2 (which is the reciprocal of 2).
- Doing the multiplication, (3/4) * (1/2) = 3/8.
Therefore, Joy used 3/8 of a cup of frosting on each cupcake.