Final answer:
Mei drank 7.2 fluid ounces of water from a pitcher when she consumed 15% of the total 48 fluid ounces.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the amount of water Mei drank from a pitcher containing 48 fluid ounces when she consumed 15%, a straightforward calculation is performed. The first step involves converting the percentage to a decimal. In this case, 15% is equivalent to 0.15 when expressed as a decimal.
Next, to find the amount of water Mei drank, multiply the total volume of water in the pitcher (48 fluid ounces) by the decimal representation of the percentage (0.15):
\[ 48 \, \text{fluid ounces} \times 0.15 = 7.2 \, \text{fluid ounces} \]
Therefore, Mei drank 7.2 fluid ounces of water from the pitcher.
This calculation follows the basic principle of finding a percentage of a quantity, where the percentage is converted to a decimal and then multiplied by the total amount. In this context, Mei's consumption corresponds to 15% of the initial volume of 48 fluid ounces.
Understanding such calculations is essential not only in everyday scenarios like measuring liquid intake but also in various mathematical applications. It provides a practical method for determining a fraction of a whole, a skill applicable in fields ranging from finance to science, where percentages and proportions are frequently encountered.