A plumber needs 4 sections of pipe 2and 7/8 feet long. Can this be cut from a 12 ft. section? If so, how much pipe will be left over? If not, why not?
I came up with yes, you will use 11 1/8th amount and have a section of 1 and 1/8th left. Is this correct?
not exactly. yes, the plumber will have enough, but I came up with 11 1/2 ft
2 7/8 * 4 = 23/8 * 4 = 23/2 = 11 R1 or rather 1/2 (remainder)
Hope that helped!
To solve this problem, let's start by determining if it is possible to cut four sections of pipe, each measuring 2 and 7/8 feet from a 12-foot section.
To find out, we need to multiply the length of one section by the number of sections required:
2 and 7/8 * 4 = 11 and 4/8 = 11 and 1/2 feet.
As we can see, the total length required is 11 and 1/2 feet. Since a 12-foot pipe is longer than 11 and 1/2 feet, it is indeed possible to cut the required sections from it.
Now, to find out how much pipe will be left over, we subtract the total length required from the original length of the pipe:
12 - 11 and 1/2 = 1/2 feet.
So, after cutting four sections measuring 2 and 7/8 feet each from a 12-foot section, there will be 1/2 foot (or 6 inches) of pipe left over.
Your answer is almost correct. The leftover section of pipe will be 1/2 feet (not 1 and 1/8 feet).