If there are 4 quarts in a gallon, and 2 pints in a quart, and 2 cups in a pint, then how many cups are in a gallon? Show your calculation or explain how you arrive at your answer

Answer 1

dimensional analysis: Multiply by fractions whose value is 1. eg multiply by 4 quarts/gallon. Then cancel out the units that appear both top and bottom.

1 gal * 4 quarts/gal * 2 pints/quart * 2 cups/pint = 16 cups

Answer 2

To find out how many cups are in a gallon, you need to multiply the number of cups in a pint by the number of pints in a quart and then by the number of quarts in a gallon, like so:

Cups in a pint x pints in a quart x quarts in a gallon = 2 x 2 x 4 = 4 x 4 = 16. Therefore, there are 16 cups in a gallon.

Incidentally, the number of cups in a pint x the number of pints in a quart is the number of cups in a quart, so now you know that information, as well!