Chris is trimming trees he can trim 2/3 of a tree in 1/2 of an hour at what rate can chris trim trees

Question

I need this anwser for my semester exam study guide and I cannot figure it out

Answer 1

Hi Clair!

First: create a rate from what you are told.

(2/3 tree)/(1/2 hour)

Second: adjust this fraction to match the fraction you desire. Presumably, we want to know how many trees per hour rather than how many trees per half hour.

(2/3 tree)/(1/2 hour) * 2/2

We are allowed to do this since multiplying by 2/2 won't change a thing: we just multiplied by a fancy-looking 1! But it will benefit us, since now the denominator will simplify to just 1 hour.

(4/3 tree)/hour

So the rate is 4/3 trees per hour! Hope this helps.