I have a board that is five feet long. I would like to cut it into six equal pieces. what would be the length in feet?

Question

Emma has a board that is five feet long. She cuts the board into six equal parts. How could I figure this out in length, feet of each piece of board.

 

Answer 1

Imagine an easier version of this problem:  You have a board 5 feet long that you must cut (divide, right?) into two equal parts.  It is probably clear to you that you simply divide the length (5) by the number of parts you're dividing it into (2) to obtain the length of each piece (2.5 feet).

 

Use the same method for your problem 5 feet divided by 6 is 0.83 feet per piece.

 

We do not ordinarily divide feet into decimal portions, but instead into inches.  Since an inch is 1/12 of a foot, you could simply say 5/6 = how many twelfths?  or 5/6 = n/12  Solve this by inspection or by cross multiplying 5 times 12 equals n times 6.  So n must equal 10, and your pieces of board are each 10 inches long.