A teacher's aide was given 5 1/2 pounds of molding clay and asked to separate it into equal amounts for 3 classrooms. How many pounds of clay did each classroom receive?

Answer

To find out how much clay each classroom receives, we need to divide the total amount of clay by the number of classrooms. 1) Identify values: Total clay = 5 1/2 pounds, Number of classrooms = 3. 2) Convert the mixed number to an improper fraction: 5 1/2 = (5 * 2 + 1) / 2 = 11/2. 3) Set up the division: (11/2) / 3. 4) Perform the division by multiplying by the reciprocal: (11/2) * (1/3) = 11/6. 5) Convert the improper fraction back to a mixed number: 11 ÷ 6 = 1 with a remainder of 5. This gives 1 5/6. Therefore, each classroom receives 1 5/6 pounds of clay.