Answer: Each person gets 1/6 of a pound.
Step-by-step explanation:
See the diagram below.
Draw a rectangle and cut it in half. Only shade in one of those halves.
This represents the 1/2 pound of coffee that we'll distribute to each of the three people.
For each half, divide it into 3 equal pieces. You should have 6 smaller rectangles. This is because 3*2 = 6.
So each person gets 1/6 of a pound.
In other words, you're computing (1/3)*(1/2) = (1*1)/(3*2) = 1/6.
You could use a pie or pizza instead of rectangles, but I find it harder to divide up a circle compared to a rectangle.