Working together, 6 friends pick 14 2/5 pounds of pecans at a pecan farm. They divide the pecans equally among themselves. How many pounds does each friend get?
what is 14 2/5 ÷ 6 ?
= (72/5)(1/6) = 12/5 pounds each , or 2.4 pounds each
To find out how many pounds each friend gets, we first need to determine the total weight of the pecans they picked, and then divide that by the number of friends.
The total weight of the pecans picked is given as 14 2/5 pounds.
To convert the mixed number 14 2/5 into an improper fraction, we multiply the whole number (14) by the denominator (5), which equals 70. Then we add the numerator (2) to this result. The fraction 2/5, when multiplied by 5, stays the same and becomes 2. So, 14 2/5 is equivalent to (70 + 2)/5 = 72/5 pounds.
Now, we divide the total weight of the pecans, 72/5 pounds, by the number of friends, which is 6.
When we divide a fraction by a whole number, we keep the numerator the same and multiply the denominator by the whole number.
So, (72/5) / 6 can be written as (72/5) * (1/6).
To multiply fractions, we multiply the numerators together and the denominators together.
Thus, (72/5) * (1/6) = (72 * 1) / (5 * 6) = 72/30 pounds.
To simplify this fraction, we can divide both the numerator and denominator by their greatest common divisor, which is 6.
So, 72/30 simplifies to (72 ÷ 6) / (30 ÷ 6) = 12/5 pounds.
Therefore, each friend will get 12/5 pounds of pecans.