Division fractions story problems

Question

I want to study 5 hours for a spelling bee. I study for 1/3 hour per night, how many nights will I have to study?

Answer 1

Hi Jamie! To solve this problem, you have to break it down into a few steps.

Problem: I want to study 5 hours for a spelling bee. I study for 1/3 hour per night, how many nights will I have to study?

Key takeaways:

Total study time: 5 hrs

Time per night: 1/3 hrs

Total number of nights: ?

Step 1: Find how many nights it takes to study for 1 whole hour. Our time per night is 1/3 hrs. When we think of fractions, we know that 3/3 is one whole. So, the numerator in this instance is the number of nights. It will take 3 nights to study for 1 whole hour.

Step 2: Now we are going o multiply the total study time (5 hrs) by the number of nights it takes to study 1 whole hour (3 nights). 5 x 3 = 15 total days!

Answer 2

5 hours ÷ 1/3 hours per night = 15 nights.

Check your work:

15 nights × 1/3 hours per night = 5 hours⋅