Question

Four sisters buy a total of 3 (1/2) feet of ribbon. The sisters want to share the ribbon equally. How many feet of ribbon will each sister receive? Express your answer in simplest form.

a)1/4ft
b)7/8ft
c)1/2ft
d)3/8ft

Answer 1

Each of the four sisters will receive 7/8 feet of ribbon when a total of 3 (1/2) feet of ribbon is divided equally among them. The correct answer is option B.

Step-by-step explanation:

The four sisters collectively purchase 3 (1/2) feet of ribbon. To determine the amount each sister receives, divide the total length by the number of sisters. This equates to (3 (1/2)) / 4. First converting the mixed number to an improper fraction yields 7/2, and dividing this by 4 involves multiplying by the reciprocal of 4, resulting in 7/8. Thus, each sister will receive 7/8 feet of ribbon. The answer, therefore, is option (b) 7/8ft. This conclusion is reached by understanding the principles of dividing a quantity equally among a given number of recipients and simplifying the resulting fraction to its simplest form.

To determine how much ribbon each of the four sisters will receive when sharing 3 (1/2) feet of ribbon equally, we divide the total amount of ribbon by the number of sisters. We convert the mixed number to an improper fraction:

3 (1/2) feet = (3 × 2 + 1) / 2 feet = 7/2 feet.

Now, dividing this by the number of sisters:

7/2 feet ÷ 4 = 7/2 ÷ 4/1 = (7 × 1) / (2 × 4) = 7/8 feet.

So, each sister will receive 7/8 feet of ribbon. This is answer choice b) 7/8ft.