Question

Ms. Garcia, an art teacher, is buying supplies for her next unit on ceramics. Her 25 sixth graders are making mugs, and she estimates each one will use about 3/4

of a pound of clay. She also wants to have 20 pounds of clay for her seventh graders' sculptures. If Ms. Garcia has 5 2/5 pounds of clay leftover from last year, how much more clay does she need?

Answer 1

Answer: 2 1/2 pounds of more clay

Explanation:

To calculate how much more clay Ms. Garcia needs, we need to add up the clay requirements for each grade level and then subtract the amount she already has.

For the sixth graders:

Number of students: 25

Clay required per student: 3/4 pound

Total clay required for sixth graders: 25 * (3/4) = 75/4 = 18 3/4 pounds

For the seventh graders:

Clay required for sculptures: 20 pounds

Total clay required for both grade levels: 18 3/4 + 20 = 38 3/4 pounds

Clay leftover from last year: 5 2/5 pounds

To find out how much more clay Ms. Garcia needs, we subtract the clay she already has from the total required:

38 3/4 - 5 2/5 = 38 3/4 - 27/5 = 38 3/4 - 27/5 = (155 - 108 + 3)/20 = 50/20 = 5/2 = 2 1/2 pounds

Therefore, Ms. Garcia needs an additional 2 1/2 pounds of clay.