Question

You have a shelf that holds 25 1/2 pounds how many 1 1/4 pound books can the shelf hold

Answer 1

You would divide 24 1/2 by 1 1/4
49/2 divested by 5/4
Take the reciprocal of 5/4 which is 4/5 them multiply
49/2 * 4/5 = 196/10 or 19.6
This translates to the shelf can hold up to 19 books

Answer 2

less than 12 lbs across the entire shelf