Vivian wants to buy 5 1/2 cups of almonds. There are 1 3/8 cups of almonds in each package. How many packages of almonds should Vivian buy?

Answer 1

Suppose the problem instead was that Vivian needed 10 cups of almonds and that each package contained 2 cups. To determine number of packages required answer the question how many "2s" are contained in 10? The operation that answers that question is division. 10 / 2 = 5. As a check if she bought 5 packages at two cups each. she would have 5(2) = 10 cups.

Now follow the same pattern for the given problem. How many "1 3/8s" are contained in 5 1/2 cups. Division operation answers that question. 5 1/2 / 1 3/8.

To actually do that division change the mixed numbers to improper fractions.

5 1/2 = 11/2

1 3/8 = 11/8

(11/2) / (11/8) = (11/2) (8/11) [multiply numerator by reciprocal of denominator]

Since the 11s cancel: 8/2 = 4 packages

Check:

4 ( 1 3/8) = 4(11/8) = 11/2 = 5 1/2.