Question

A machine made 4 1/2 pencils in 3 1/3 minutes. How many pencils did the machine make in one minute?

Answer 1

Given parameters:

Number of pencils =
`4(1)/(2)` pencils

Time taken =
`3(1)/(3)` minutes

Unknown:

Number of pencils produced in 1 minute;

Solution:

To solve this problem, let us first find the rate of the machine;

Rate of machine =
`(number of pencils )/(time taken)`

Rate of machine =
`((9)/(2) )/((10)/(3) )` =
`(9)/(2) x (3)/(10)` =
`(27)/(20)` pencils/minute

Now, number of pencils produces in 1 minute;

Number of pencils = rate of machine x time taken

Number of pencils =
`(27)/(20)` pencils/ min x 1 min

Number of pencils =
`(27)/(20)`pencils

The number of pencils produced in 1 minute is
`(27)/(20)`