Question

A chef had to fill up 2 1/2 containers with mashed

potatoes. He ended up using 2 1/2 pounds of
mashed potatoes. How many pounds would he use if
he had to fill up 3 containers?

Answer 1

See a solution process below:

Explanation:

First, convert:

2

1

4

to

2.25

3

1

2

to

3.5

We can now write this problem as a ratio:

3.5

pounds

→

2.25

contains

:

p

→

3

containers

We can now write this as an equation and solve for

p

pounds:

p

3

=

3.5

2.25

3

×

p

3

=

3

×

3.5

2.25

3

×

p

3

=

10.5

2.25

p

=

4

.

¯

6

4

.

¯

6

=

4

2

3

Chef would need

4

2

3

pounds of potatoes to fill 3 containers

Explanation: