Question

A company purchased 3,128 bottles of water. Each department needs 55 bottles. Find compatible numbers to estimate the number of departments that can get the bottles they need. Explain your reasoning.

Answer 1

By rounding 3,128 up to a compatible number of 3,300, which is easily divisible by 55, we estimate that approximately 60 departments can receive the bottles they need.

Step-by-step explanation:

To estimate the number of departments that can get the bottles they need, we will use compatible numbers to approximate the division of 3,128 bottles by 55 bottles per department.

First, we round 3,128 bottles up to a number that is easy to divide by 55. A compatible number close to 3,128 that is divisible by 55 is 3,300 bottles. This is because 55 x 60 is exactly 3,300, which makes calculations simpler. Next, we estimate by dividing 3,300 bottles by 55 bottles per department to get 60 departments.

The estimate is that approximately 60 departments can get the 55 bottles they need.