Question

Malcolm is filling bags with rice. He starts with a five 1/4-pound container of rice and fills each bag with 5/8 pounds of rice. How many bags of rice can Malcolm fill?

a) 5/8
b) 1/4
c) 5/8×4/1
d) 4/5

Answer 1

To find the number of bags Malcolm can fill, convert the initial container's weight to an improper fraction and divide it by the weight of a bag. Malcolm can fill 42/5 bags of rice.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the number of bags Malcolm can fill, we need to calculate how many times the weight of a bag (5/8 pound) fits into the initial container of rice (5 1/4 pounds).

We can start by converting the mixed number 5 1/4 into an improper fraction. To do this, we multiply the whole number (5) by the denominator (4) and then add the numerator (1).

5 1/4 = (5 * 4 + 1) / 4 = 21/4

Now we can divide 21/4 by 5/8 to find the number of bags Malcolm can fill.

Dividing fractions involves multiplying the first fraction by the reciprocal of the second fraction.Reciprocal of 5/8 is 8/5.

So, 21/4 ÷ 5/8 = 21/4 * 8/5 = 168/20

Simplifying this fraction by dividing both the numerator and denominator by their greatest common divisor of 4, we get 42/5.

Therefore, Malcolm can fill 42/5 bags of rice.