Jessie was given the problem 3 2/5 ÷ 3/10 = to solve. Jessie’s work looks like this:
3 2/5 ÷ 3/10 =
17/5 ÷ 3/10 =
17/5 ⋅ 3/10 = 17 ⋅ 3/5 ⋅ 10
51/50 = 1 1/50
Jessie’s answer is incorrect. Answer the following questions about Jessie’s work.
a. Find and describe Jessie’s error.
b. What is the correct answer?
a. Jessie's error is in the multiplication step. They incorrectly multiplied the numerators and denominators together instead of multiplying the fraction by its reciprocal.
b. The correct answer is 51/50, which can be simplified to 1 1/50.