Question

Addison used 5/8 of a pallet of bricks to build a set of steps. She used 5/32 of a pallet for each step. How many steps did she build?

Answer 1

To determine the number of steps Addison built, the total fraction of the pallet used, 5/8, is divided by the fraction used for each step, 5/32, resulting in 4 steps.

Step-by-step explanation:

Addison used 5/8 of a pallet to build a set of steps, and each step required 5/32 of a pallet. To find out how many steps she could build, we need to divide the total amount of the pallet she used by the amount needed for one step.

Dividing fractions is the same as multiplying by the reciprocal. So, the calculation will be:

(5/8) ÷ (5/32) = (5/8) × (32/5)

Next, we can simplify by multiplying the numerators together and the denominators together:

5 × 32 = 160

8 × 5 = 40

So, (5/8) × (32/5) = 160/40

And after simplification, we get:

160/40 = 4

Therefore, Addison built 4 steps using 5/8 of a pallet.