Question

You have 187 yards of ribbon to attach to balloons. Each balloon will have the same length of ribbon. You want to use all of the ribbon. Should each ribbon be 7 1/2, 8 1/2, or 9 1/2 feet long?

Answer 1

To use all of the ribbon, each ribbon should be long enough so that it evenly divides the total length of the ribbon. However, none of the given options (7 1/2, 8 1/2, or 9 1/2 feet) will evenly divide 187 yards. Therefore, a different length needs to be chosen.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the length of each ribbon, we need to divide the total length of the ribbon (187 yards) by the number of balloons. Since we want to use all of the ribbon, the length of each ribbon should be such that it evenly divides 187 yards. Let's calculate the lengths for the given options:

1. 
   
3. 7 1/2 feet: To convert yards to feet, we multiply by 3. So, the length in feet would be 187 * 3 = 561 feet. Dividing this by 7.5 (since we want each ribbon to be 7 1/2 feet long) gives us 561 / 7.5 = 74.8 balloons, which is not a whole number.
4. 
   
6. 8 1/2 feet: Following the same steps as above, the length in feet would be 561, and dividing by 8.5 gives us 561 / 8.5 = 66 balloons, which is also not a whole number.
7. 
   
9. 9 1/2 feet: Again, converting yards to feet gives us 561, and dividing by 9.5 gives us 561 / 9.5 = 59.1 balloons, which is not a whole number.

Based on the calculations, none of the given options will allow us to use all of the ribbon on an equal number of balloons. Therefore, none of the lengths (7 1/2, 8 1/2, or 9 1/2 feet) will work. We need to find a different length that evenly divides 187 yards.