If 8 servings of food require 3/8 of milk, how much milk is required for 1 serving?

Question

Not quite sure how to set this up and figure it out.

Answer 1

Algebra is a discipline that uses definitions, formulas, and procedures to represent problems in a precise, concise format.

 

One of the most important skills of word problems is to accurately translate the words into variables, operators, and expressions.  So, you should build a table (and add to it daily) for those translations.  For example,

      equals, is                        =

      per                             ratio or percent of

     twice as much as b              2* b

     a more than b                    a + b

etc.

 

This problem is called proportion or ratio.  Note that a kind of problem is usually solved the same way regardless of the values in the problem.

 

This problem states that there must be 7 servings of for 3/8 cup of milk   (I assumed cup, but you should verify this.  It is extremely important to get the units correct.)

That ratio is:

                          8 servings /  (3/8) cups     or you might choose    (3/8) cups / 8 servings

I wrote both, because you must match the one you choose to the other ratio:

                          1 serving / x cups                 or                       x cups / 1 serving

 

The problem asks you to determine the number of    cups / serving, so let's use the second ratios.

 

Restating the given information:

               (3/8) cups / 8 servings   =  x cups / 1 serving           (these are = because the same RATIO or RATE)

 

solving --

            (3/8) / 8 = x/1

             3/64   =  x  cups per serving   =   x cups/serving

 

Now that I think about how little 3/8 cup and 3/64 cup is, I think the units might be gallons; what do you think?

 

 

 

Answer 2

1 serving will require 3/64 of milk.