Mr. Yamamoto has a piece of plywood that is 15 1/2 ft. long and 12 3/4 ft. wide. He needs to cut the wood into 12 pieces for the students in his carpentry class. Mr. Yamamoto cuts the length into 4 equal pieces and the width into 3 equal pieces. What are the dimensions of each piece? Express the answers in simplest form.
To find the length of each piece, divide the total length of the plywood by the number of pieces: 15 1/2 ft. / 4 = <<15.5/4=3 7/8>>3 7/8 ft.
To find the width of each piece, divide the total width of the plywood by the number of pieces: 12 3/4 ft. / 3 = <<12.75/3=4.25>>4 1/4 ft. Answer: \boxed{3 \frac{7}{8}} \text{ ft. by } \boxed{4 \frac{1}{4}} \text{ ft.}.