Final answer:
To yield 150 pounds of pure copper, approximately 9.375 pounds of ore would need to be refined.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find out how much ore would need to be refined in order to yield 150 pounds of pure copper, we first need to determine the amount of ore that corresponds to 1 pound of pure copper. Since three-sixteenths (3/16) of the ore is pure copper, one-sixteenth (1/16) of the ore would correspond to 1 pound of pure copper.
Therefore, to find the amount of ore corresponding to 150 pounds of pure copper, we need to multiply 1/16 by 150:
1/16 x 150 = 9.375 pounds of ore.
So, approximately 9.375 pounds of ore would need to be refined in order to yield 150 pounds of pure copper.