Math Question: It takes 1 2/3 hours for Nathan to ride his bike along 4/9 of a trail. He wants to know how many hour it will take him to ride his bike along the entire trail if he rides at the same rate.

This is definitely a tricky fraction problem. There are several ways to do it; here's how I did it: first, he traveled 4/9 of the trail, so he has 5/9 to go. Set up a direct proportion: 5/3 (1-and-2/3 as an improper fraction) over an unknown (x) = 4/9 over 5/9. Solve for x (remember when you divide by a fraction, you multiply by its reciprocal) to get 225/108 which simplifies to 25/12, which represents the time it takes for him to travel to other 5/9 of the way. Now add this to the 5/3 (his partial journey) remembering to set up common denominators, and you will arrive at 45/12, which simplifies to 15/4 hours to go the whole trail. This is a great problem: it addresses improper fractions, adding/multiplying/dividing fractions, simplifying, and general problem solving.
Answered On 10/03/2022 16:21