Question

What strategy would be the best to solve this problem?

Ann-Marie bought apples. She kept one-third for herself and gave the rest to 4 friends. Each friend got 2 apples. How many apples did Ann-Marie buy?

Answer 1

12

Explanation:

1/3 for herself.

that means 2/3 to her 4 friends.

that means we have to divide 2/3 into 4 equal parts.

we know each of these parts is 2 apples.

then we need to see what is the multiplication factor to transform such a part into a 1/1 whole fraction, and we apply that factor to 2 apples, and we get how many she originally bought.

so,

2/3 / 4 = 2/3 / 4/1 = (2×1) / (3×4) = 2/12 = 1/6

so, 1/6 = 2 apples.

the whole (6/6) = 1/6 × 6 = 2×6 = 12 apples