Pilar has 3 pounds of flour. She put $\frac{3}{5}$ pound of flour in each jar. How many jars did Pilar fill?
A. $\frac{1}{5}$ jar
B. $1 \frac{4}{5}$ jars
C. 2 jars
D. 5 jars
Answer (1)
To find the number of jars Pilar filled:
Divide the total amount of flour by the amount of flour per jar: 3 ÷ 5 3 .
Multiply by the reciprocal: 3 × 3 5 .
Simplify the fraction: 3 15 = 5 .
Pilar filled 5 jars.
Explanation
Understanding the problem Let's analyze the problem. Pilar has 3 pounds of flour and she puts 5 3 pound of flour into each jar. We need to find out how many jars she can fill. This is a division problem. We need to divide the total amount of flour by the amount of flour per jar.
Setting up the division To find the number of jars Pilar filled, we need to divide the total amount of flour (3 pounds) by the amount of flour in each jar ( 5 3 pound). So, we need to calculate 3 ÷ 5 3 .
Dividing by a fraction To divide by a fraction, we multiply by its reciprocal. The reciprocal of 5 3 is 3 5 . Therefore, we have 3 ÷ 5 3 = 3 × 3 5 .
Performing the multiplication Now, we multiply: 3 × 3 5 = 1 3 × 3 5 = 1 × 3 3 × 5 = 3 15 .
Simplifying the result Finally, we simplify the fraction: 3 15 = 5 . So, Pilar filled 5 jars.
Final Answer Therefore, Pilar filled 5 jars. The correct answer is D.
Examples
Imagine you're baking cookies and a recipe calls for 5 3 cup of sugar per batch. If you have 3 cups of sugar, this problem helps you determine how many batches of cookies you can make. Understanding division with fractions is essential for scaling recipes, managing ingredients, and ensuring you have enough for your baking needs. This skill is useful not only in cooking but also in various situations where you need to divide resources or quantities into equal parts.
