Question

A Gasoline pump delivers 4 2/5 gallons of gas per minute. How many minutes will it take to fill a gas tank that holds 16 and 1/2 gallons

Answer 1

First lets put these numbers into improper fractions. 4 2/5 becomes 22/5 becomes we multiple the 4 by the denominator,5, and add to the dividend.

We do the same process with 16 1/2 and get 33/2.

We then need to set these equations so that they have the same base. In these case a common factor is 10.

We multiple our first equation by 2 and get 44/10, and then we multiple our second equation by 5 and get 165/10.

We then setup the equation (44/10)*x=165/10

We can multiple each side out by 10, leaving us 44x=165

Divide each side by 44, which leaves us with x=165/4

When you simiplify the problem we are left with x and our answer.

When done correctly you will find that it takes 3 3/4 minutes to fill a tank that holds 16 1/2 gallons.