Leon is at the lake with his friends. It costs $8.50 to rent a paddleboat for a
1
2
-hour ride. Together, Leon and his friends have $25.50. How long can they ride in a paddleboat if they spend all of their money?
Leon and his friends have a total of $25.50 and the cost of renting a paddleboat for 1/2 hour is $8.50. Therefore, they can ride in a paddleboat for 25.50/8.50 = <<25.50/8.50=3>>3 sets of 1/2 hour rides.
Hence, they can ride in a paddleboat for 3 x 1/2 = <<3*1/2=1.5>>1.5 hours. Answer: \boxed{1.5}.
To find out how long Leon and his friends can ride in a paddleboat, we need to divide the total amount of money they have by the cost to rent a paddleboat for a 1/2-hour ride.
Total money they have = $25.50
Cost to rent a paddleboat for a 1/2-hour ride = $8.50
So, we divide $25.50 by $8.50 to determine how many 1/2-hour rides they can afford.
$25.50 / $8.50 = 3
Therefore, Leon and his friends can ride in a paddleboat for 3, 1/2-hour rides.