Walt has a piece of rope which is 10 1/3 feet long. He has to cut it into 4 equal pieces. How long will each piece be? I took 10 1/3 divided by 4 which is 2.58333. How can I explain this to my 5th grader in fractions?
10 1/3 = 31/3
31/3 divided by 4 =
31/3 * 1/4 = 31/12 = 2 7/12
25
To explain this to your 5th grader in fractions, you can use division and mixed numbers. Let's break down the steps:
1. First, explain that we need to divide the length of the rope, which is 10 1/3 feet, into 4 equal pieces.
2. Start by dividing the whole number part, 10, by 4: 10 ÷ 4 = 2.
3. Next, explain that we need to divide the fractional part, 1/3, into 4 equal parts.
4. To divide 1/3 by 4, we can multiply the numerators and denominators: 1 ÷ 3 × 1 ÷ 4 = 1 ÷ 12.
5. Now, explain that we can add the whole number part and the fractional part together to find the length of each piece: 2 + 1/12.
6. To simplify the fraction, explain that we can find a common denominator by multiplying the whole number by the denominator: 2 × 12 = 24.
7. Then, add the numerator to get the final fraction: 2 + 1/12 = 25/12.
8. Explain that 25/12 represents 2 whole pieces (24/12) plus 1/12 of a piece.
9. To make it easier to understand, you can also convert the improper fraction to a mixed number. Explain that 25 divided by 12 is equal to 2 with a remainder of 1. So, each piece will be 2 1/12 feet long.
Therefore, each of the four equal pieces will be 2 1/12 feet long.