Final answer:
It will take Latrell's office 6 weeks to recycle a total of 18 kilograms of paper, based on the unit rate of 3 kilograms per week.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student asks how many weeks it will take Latrell's office to recycle a total of 18 kilograms of paper, given that they recycled a total of 15 kilograms over 5 weeks. To solve using unit rates, first we calculate the rate at which Latrell's office recycles paper per week by dividing 15 kilograms by 5 weeks, getting 3 kilograms per week. Then, we divide the total amount of paper we want to recycle, 18 kilograms, by the unit rate of 3 kilograms per week to find out how many weeks it will take. The answer is 6 weeks.
Step 1: Calculate the unit rate = Total recycled paper (15 kg) ÷ Number of weeks (5) = 3 kg/week
Step 2: Number of weeks needed = Total paper to recycle (18 kg) ÷ Unit rate (3 kg/week) = 6 weeks