Answer:
16 1/2, or 16.5 square meters
Step-by-step explanation:
This is a simple explanation, scroll down for the details on how I got to this answer!
Step 1. Find the rate at which Rachel can paint.
(5 1/2 square meters per 1/3 hour)
Step 2. Find the area of wall space Rachel can paint in 1 hour, using this rate.
5 1/2 × 3 = 16 1/2 or 16.5 square meters
1/3 × 3 = 1 hour
Rachel can paint 16 1/2 square meters of wall space in 1 hour.
**How I solved this problem**
Step 1. To find the area of wall space Rachel can paint in 1 hour, we need to find a rate that shows her speed (square meters/hours).
In the first sentence, we are given a rate:
"5 1/2 square meters of wall space in 1/3 hour."
This can be modeled by the fraction: [tex]\frac{5\frac{1}{2} }{\frac{1}{3} }[/tex]
Step 2. To find how much she can paint in 1 hour, we can multiply this rate by 3. This is because the rate tells us that the area of wall space Rachel can paint in 1/3 hour.
Remember, to cancel out a fraction, multiply by its reciprocal, which is the fraction "flipped" (the numerator and denominator switch). We multiply 1/3 by 3/1 (3) because it is 1/3 flipped.
Since Rachel is painting at a constant rate of 5 1/2 square meters per 1/3 hour, we also need to multiply the other part of the fraction by 3, so the rate stays the same.
5 1/2 × 3 = 16 1/2 or 16.5 square meters
1/3 × 3 = 1 hour
This is our final answer: Rachel can paint 16 1/2 square meters of wall space in 1 hour.
