Question

Liam had a container of oatmeal that contained 5 and one-half cups of oatmeal. Liam ate StartFraction 4 over 9 EndFraction cup of oatmeal every morning before school for a week. Which is the best estimate of the number of cups of oatmeal that Liam had left in the container at the end of the five-day week?

2 and one-half
3
3 and one-half
5

Answer 1

9514 1404 393

Answer:

3 1/2

Explanation:

The amount is reduced by 4/9 cup each day for 5 days, so the amount remaining is ...

(5 1/2) - 5(4/9) = 11/2 -20/9 = (99 -40)/18 = 59/18 = 3 5/18 ≈ 3.28 . . . cups

This value is (slightly) closer to 3.5 than to 3.0.

The best estimate of the remaining amount is 3 1/2 cups.