Question

Ramona put her dog, butch, on a diet for 5 months. at the end of the diet, butch's total weight change was −11 1/5 pounds. what was butch's average weight change each month of the diet? enter your answer as a mixed number, in simplified form, in the box.

Answer 1

(-11 1/5) / 5 =
(-56/5) / 5 =
-56/5 * 1/5 =
-56/25 =
- 2 6/25 <===

Answer 2

`-2(6)/(25)`

Explanation:

If the total weight change was
`-11 (1)/(5)lb` in 5 months, then the average would be the quotient between these two quantities, that is

`-11 (1)/(5)lb / 5`

However, we need to transform the mixed number into a fraction. We do that by multiplying -11 by 5 and summing the reminder of 1, so the expression would be

`-(56)/(5)lb / 5`

Now,we divide

`-(56)/(5)lb * (1)/(5)=-(56)/(25)=-2(6)/(25)`

Therefore, the average weight change is

`-2(6)/(25)`