Final answer:
To estimate the number of departments that can be supplied with water bottles, we round the total bottles to 3,000 and the requirement per department to either 50 or 60. Both options (a) and (b) provide possible estimates, with 60 being the more cautious choice.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks us to find compatible numbers to estimate the number of departments that can receive bottles of water based on a total number of bottles and the requirement per department. Compatible numbers are numbers that are easy to divide mentally and that are close to the actual numbers. Given the scenario, where a company purchased 3,128 bottles of water, and each department needs 55 bottles, we can use compatible numbers to estimate how many departments can be supplied.
To estimate, we can round the number of bottles to 3,000 because it is close to 3,128 and is a round number that makes it easier to calculate. For the number of bottles required per department, we can round 55 to either 50 or 60, as these are both multiples of 10 and will simplify the division.
Option (a) suggests 3,000 divided by 60 and option (b) suggests 3,000 divided by 50. Both estimations will provide a rough idea of the number of departments we can supply. 60 is a little higher than 55, giving us a more cautious estimate, while 50 is a little lower, providing an optimistic estimate. There is enough information to determine a better estimate, so options (c) and (d) are incorrect.