Question

Sheila has 11 1/2 pounds of potato salad. She wants to divide the potato salad into containers, each of which holds 1 3/4 pounds. How many containers does she need? Complete the explanation.
Containers are counted in numbers, so she will need containers.

Answer 1

Hello!

Answer:

$\boxed{ \bf Sheila~will~need~about~7~containers.}$

__________________________________________________

Explanation:

First, we will need to convert the mixed fractions to improper fractions.

Numerators: (2 · 11) + 1 = 23

                      (4 · 1) + 3 = 7

Denominators: stay the same.

11 $\frac{1}{2}$ ⇒ $\frac{23}{2}$

1 $\frac{3}{4}$  ⇒ $\frac{7}{4}$

Next, we must divide these two fractions:

$\frac{23}{2}$ ÷ $\frac{7}{4}$

We must flip the divisor into a reciprocal:

$\frac{23}{2}$ ÷ $\frac{4}{7}$

Change the division sign to multiplication and multiply:

$\frac{23}{2}$ × $\frac{4}{7}$ = $\frac{92}{14}$

To find out how many containers will be needed, simply convert this fraction to a decimal by dividing the numerator by the denominator.

92 ÷ 14 = 7 (Rounded)