Question

A carpenter has a board 18 1/2 feet long. He needs to cut as many 1 3/4 feet long pieces as possible. How many pieces can the carpenter cut? Explain how you found your answer.

Answer 1

So you know that the carpenter has a board that is 18.5ft long and he wants to cut 1.75ft pieces.

Assume that x is the amount of boards he cuts,

1.75x = 18.5

Isolate x by dividing each side by 1.75.

x = 18.5/1.75 = 10.57 pieces.