To solve the first step is to change years to months because the time periods are in different units. There are 12 months in 1 year. This means that the company sells 48 tons over 12 months. 4 months is the equivalent of 1/3 of 12 months. This means that we can find the amount sold in 4 months by dividing 48 by 3. 48/3 is 16. Thus, the steel company sells 16 tons in 4 months.
Another way to find the answer is to find the unit rate. The unit rate is how many tons are sold in 1 month. Find this by dividing 48 by 12 because this represents the sales of 1 month. 48/12=4, this means that in 1 month, 4 tons of steel are sold. Next, multiply 4 times 4 to find the amount of steel sold in 4 months. 4 times 4 also gives you the same answer of 16.
