Divide the total amount of mulch by the number of flower beds. Rewrite the whole number as a fraction. Then, multiply the first fraction by the reciprocal of the second fraction.
Equation: 34÷ 5= Solution: 320 ton
Practice makes perfect
We are told that Carlota has 34 ton of mulch that she is going to divide evenly among 5 flower beds. We want to determine how much mulch each flower bed will contain. To do so, we will write and solve an equation. The desired amount will be the result of a division of the total amount of mulch by the number of flower beds. We can write the following equation to represent this situation.
3/4÷ 5=
Now, to find the solution of this equation, we need to divide a fraction by a whole number. Before we do so, we will write the whole number as a fraction.
3/4÷ 5=3/4÷5/1
Next, recall that dividing fractions is the same as multiplying the first fraction by the reciprocal of the second fraction. In our case, the reciprocal of 51 is 15, because 51* 15=1.
3/4 ÷ 5/1=3/4 * 1/5
When multiplying fractions, remember that the product of two fractions is equal to the product of the numerators over the product of the denominators.
Finally, we can write the solution of the previously written equation.
3/4÷ 5=3/20
This means that each flower bed will contain 320 ton of mulch.
Checking Our Answer
We can check our answer by substituting the obtained result for the first fraction and multiplying it by the second fraction from the transformed equation. The product we get should be the dividend of the written expression.
