A dumptruck contains 2/3 of a ton of dirt; but it is only 3/10 full. How many tons of dirt can the truck hold?

Question

Stuck on this question and I need it done for tomorrow

Answer 1

I think this is a homework question so I won't give you the final answer. It looks like you are learning to multiply fractions and/or divide them.

First, try to stop and think about what this is describing. The truck has a certain amount of dirt, but it's only partly full compared to how much it is capable of carrying. That means whatever answer you get should be MORE than 2/3. It's a good way to double check your answer.

 

If you think you're better at multiplying fractions than dividing them, here's a trick I did when I was learning. I'd figure out which fraction I could flip, then flip one and multiply. When you do this, you'll see one flipped fraction gets you an answer lower than 2/3 and the other gets you an answer higher than 2/3. Based on the thinking you did before, maybe you can figure out which fraction can be flipped before you multiply them. So try 3/2 * 3/10 and 2/3 * 10/3. Which answer makes more sense to you? Why do you think the one fraction can be flipped, but the other can't?

Hopefully this helps, and good luck on your homework!

Answer 2

Shaun, the current load is 3/10 of a full load. The word "of" means to multiply. If we let x = a full load, then (3/10)x = 2/3.

 

x = 20/9 = 2 2/9 tons.

 

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Hi Shaun,

Let 'x' be the capacity of the dump truck.  It is currently 3/10 full, or (3/10)x.  It currently has 2/3 tons, so...

 

(3/10)x = 2/3

Multiply by the reciprocal of 3/10...

 

(10/3)(3/10)x = 2/3 (10/3)

 

x = 20/9 tons or 2  2/9 tons

 

Hope this helps.

Mary Ann