Question

A stick is 10 1/5 inches in length. A carpenter will cut it into shorter pieces, each 1 2/15 inches in length. How many pieces will the stick be cut into?

Answer 1

9 pieces

Step-by-step explanation:

From the question, we're told that the length of the stick is 10 1/5 inches, let's convert the mixed fraction into an improper fraction;

`10(1)/(5)=(51)/(5)`

Also, we're told that the stick was cut into shorter pieces of length 1 2/15 inches each. Converting 1 2/15 into an improper fraction, we'll have;

`1(2)/(15)=(17)/(15)`

To determine the number of pieces that the stick will be cut into, we'll need to divide 51/5 by 17/15;

`((51)/(5))/((17)/(15))=(51)/(5)\ast(15)/(17)=(15)/(1)\ast(3)/(17)=(153)/(17)=9`