Question

Rosemarie is trying to divide a 4 2⁄3 pound box of M&Ms into little bags. She wants to make as many little bags as possible to give as snacks to her children. She buys a box of 2⁄3 pound bags and a box of 5⁄6 pound bags. Which sized bags should Rosemarie use to make the most bags of M&Ms for her children? Explain why.

Answer 1

Rosemarie should use the 2⁄3 pound bags to divide her 4 2⁄3 pound box of M&Ms, as she can make a total of 7 bags with this size, compared to only 2 bags if she uses the 5⁄6 pound bags.

Step-by-step explanation:

Rosemarie is trying to divide a 4 2⁄3 pound box of M&Ms into little bags. She has two options for the bags: one with a weight of 2⁄3 pounds and the other with a weight of 5⁄6 pounds. To figure out which bag will yield the most individual snack bags, we need to determine how many times each bag size can fit into the total weight of the box. First, let's convert the weight of the M&Ms box into an improper fraction to make the division easier. The box weighs 4 2⁄3 pounds, which is the same as 14⁄3 pounds when converted.

Next, let's see how many 2⁄3 pound bags can fit into 14⁄3 pounds:

1. Divide 14⁄3 by 2⁄3 which simplifies to 14⁄3 × 3⁄2 = 14⁄2.
2. The result is 7 bags.

Now, let's see about the 5⁄6 pound bags:

1. First, we convert 5⁄6 to an improper fraction which is 5×6⁄6 = 5.
   
2. Next we divide 14⁄3 by 5: this simplifies to 14⁄3 × 1⁄5, which equals approximately 2.8.

Since we cannot have a fraction of a bag, we can make only 2 bags of 5⁄6 pound size. Therefore, Rosemarie should use the 2⁄3 pound bags to make the most snacks for her children, which will give her 7 bags in total.