College

Betty the Baker is baking cakes. Each cake uses [tex]$1 \frac{1}{2}$[/tex] cups of flour. She has a 50-pound bag of flour, which equals [tex]$181 \frac{1}{2}$[/tex] cups.

How many cakes can she bake with 50 pounds of flour?

Write an equation to solve the problem. Be prepared to explain how you determined your answer.

Answer :

To solve this problem, we need to determine how many cakes Betty can bake with the flour she has available.

Here's a step-by-step solution:

1. Identify the Total Amount of Flour in Cups:
Betty has a total of [tex]\( 181 \frac{1}{2} \)[/tex] cups of flour. This can also be written as 181.5 cups.

2. Understand the Flour Requirement for Each Cake:
Each cake requires [tex]\( 1 \frac{1}{2} \)[/tex] cups of flour, which can be expressed as 1.5 cups.

3. Set Up the Division Equation:
To find out how many cakes can be baked, divide the total amount of flour by the amount needed per cake:
[tex]\[
\text{Number of cakes} = \frac{181.5}{1.5}
\][/tex]

4. Calculate the Number of Cakes:
When you perform the division [tex]\( \frac{181.5}{1.5} \)[/tex], you find that Betty can bake 121 cakes.

Therefore, with 181.5 cups of flour, Betty can bake a total of 121 cakes.