Final answer:
Vanessa can make 7 full skirts with 3 yards of cotton, given that she requires 2/5 yard of cotton per skirt. The fractional part, 0.5, represents half of the 2/5 yard of cotton that would be needed to make another skirt, indicating excess fabric.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks how many skirts Vanessa can make with 3 yards of cotton when she needs 2/5 yard for each skirt. To find the number of skirts Vanessa can make, we divide the total yards of fabric by the yardage needed for one skirt: 3 yards ÷ (2/5) yards/skirt = 3 ÷ (2/5) = 3 ÷ 2 ÷ 5 = 15/2 = 7.5 skirts. So Vanessa can make 7 full skirts, and the fractional part indicates the amount of fabric she will have left over after making 7 skirts. In other words, Vanessa will have half of the 2/5 yard needed for another skirt left over.