Oatmeal Recipe:
Water 3/4 cup
Salt: 1/4 teaspoon
Oats: 1/3 cup
If the least possible multiple of the recipe above is prepared so that a whole number of cups of both water and oats are used, how many teaspoons of salt would be required?
Multiply by 12.
To find the least possible multiple of the recipe where a whole number of cups of both water and oats are used, we need to find the least common multiple (LCM) of the fractions involved.
Let's start by converting all the measurements to a common denominator. In this case, the common denominator can be taken as 12 because it's the least common multiple of 4, 3, and 12.
Water: 3/4 cup --> 9/12 cup
Salt: 1/4 teaspoon --> 3/12 teaspoon
Oats: 1/3 cup --> 4/12 cup
Now, we can calculate the LCM of the numerators (9, 3, and 4) to find the total amount required for each ingredient:
- The LCM of 9, 3, and 4 is 36.
Water: 9/12 cup --> (9/12) * 36 = 27 cups
Salt: 3/12 teaspoon --> (3/12) * 36 = 9 teaspoons
Oats: 4/12 cup --> (4/12) * 36 = 12 cups
Therefore, if the least possible multiple of the recipe is prepared, 9 teaspoons of salt would be required.