Kelly buys three containers of potato salad at the deli. She brings 4/5 of the potato salad to a picnic. How many pounds of the potato salad did Kelly bring to the picnic? Describe two different ways to solve the problem.
To solve the problem, we need to find out how many pounds of potato salad Kelly brought to the picnic. We know that she bought three containers, and she brought 4/5 of the potato salad.
Method 1: Proportional reasoning
Step 1: Determine the total amount of potato salad Kelly purchased. Since she bought three containers, we can say that the total amount of potato salad is 3 containers.
Step 2: Calculate the amount of potato salad she brought to the picnic. Since she brought 4/5 of the potato salad, we can multiply the total amount by 4/5 as follows:
Amount brought to the picnic = 3 containers * 4/5 = 12/5 containers.
Step 3: Convert the fraction to a mixed number if desired. In this case, 12/5 can be written as 2 2/5 containers.
Step 4: If we know the weight of one container, we can convert the amount brought to the picnic in containers to pounds by multiplying by the weight of one container.
Method 2: Calculation using actual numbers
Step 1: Assume a specific weight for each container of potato salad. Let's say each container weighs 2 pounds.
Step 2: Calculate the total weight of the potato salad purchased. Since she bought three containers, the total weight is 3 containers * 2 pounds/container = 6 pounds.
Step 3: Calculate the weight of the potato salad she brought to the picnic. Since she brought 4/5 of the potato salad, we multiply the total weight by 4/5 as follows:
Weight brought to the picnic = 6 pounds * 4/5 = 24/5 pounds.
Step 4: Convert the fraction to a mixed number if desired. In this case, 24/5 can be written as 4 4/5 pounds.