A furniture maker used $3\frac{1}{2}$ cans of paint to paint $5$ chairs. He used the same amount of paint for each chair. How many cans of paint did he use for each chair? $\newline$ Write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number. $\newline$ _____ cans

Full solution

Q. A furniture maker used

3\frac{1}{2}

cans of paint to paint

5

chairs. He used the same amount of paint for each chair. How many cans of paint did he use for each chair?

\newline

Write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number.

\newline

_____ cans

Identify Total Paint and Chairs: Step $1$ : Identify the total amount of paint used and the number of chairs painted. $\newline$ Total paint used: $3 \frac{1}{2}$ cans $\newline$ Number of chairs: $5$ $\newline$ We need to divide the total paint by the number of chairs to find out how much paint was used per chair.
Convert Mixed Number: Step $2$ : Convert the mixed number to an improper fraction for easier division. $\newline$ $3 \frac{1}{2} = \frac{7}{2}$ (since $3 \frac{1}{2} = (3\times2 + 1)/2 = \frac{7}{2}$ ) $\newline$ Now, divide $\frac{7}{2}$ by $5$ to find the paint per chair. $\newline$ $\frac{7}{2} \div 5 = \frac{7}{2} \times \frac{1}{5} = \frac{7}{10}$ $\newline$ Each chair used $\frac{7}{10}$ of a can of paint.