Word Problem Involving Fractions and Multiplication

Problem 1:

A food joint used five pounds of vegetables during a lunch rush. If they used one-twelfth as much meat, how many pounds of meat did they use?

Step 1:

Number of pounds of vegetables used = 5

Step 2:

Number of pounds of meat used = $\frac{1}{12}$ of 5 pounds

= $\frac{1}{12}$ × 5 = $\frac{5}{12}$ pounds.

Problem 2:

A cook used seven kilograms of rice for a dinner party. If the guests only ate three-fifths of the rice he cooked, how much did they eat?

Step 1:

Number of kilograms of rice cooked = 7

Step 2:

Number of kilograms of rice eaten

= $\frac{3}{5}$ of 7 = $\frac{3}{5}$ × 7

= $\frac{3}{5}$ × $\frac{7}{1}$ = $\frac{(3×7)}{(5×1)}$

= $\frac{21}{5}$ = 4$\frac{1}{5}$

Problem 3:

Each day a company used nine-tenths of a box of paper. How many boxes would they have used after three days?

Step 1:

Number of boxes of paper used per day = $\frac{9}{10}$

Step 2:

Number of boxes of paper used in three days

= 3 × $\frac{9}{10}$ = $\frac{3}{1}$ × $\frac{9}{10}$

= $\frac{(3×9)}{(1×10)}$ = $\frac{27}{10}$ = 2$\frac{7}{10}$