3.12 Interpreting Remainders
I can interpret remainders
Notes
When using division to solve real world problems, there are three ways to
interpret the remainder.
1) Round the answer up to the next whole number
a. Use this option when the remainder represents items or people who
would be left out and cannot be left out.
2) Leave the remainder off the answer
a. Use this option when the remainder represents some items which cannot
be used to make up a whole group and do not have to be used.
3) Use the remainder as part of the answer
a. Use this option when the answer represents a measurement or some
other type of answer in which using a fraction as part of the answer is
appropriate.
Examples
1)
There are 1,853 athletes and parents signed up for a sports picnic. Each
table will seat 6 people. How many tables will be needed?
308
First do the division. 6)1,853
-18
05
- 00
53
- 48
5
2)
5
6
Now think about what the
5 represents. This would be 5
people without a place to sit at
table, so we will need to order 309
tables because 308 will not be
enough.
Erik made punch with 3 ounces of lemon juice, 32 ounces of orange juice,
32 ounces of lemonade, and 64 ounces of ginger ale. How many 6-ounce
servings did the punch make? (32+32+64+3=131)
21
5
6
First do the division. 6)131
-12
11
-6
5
Now think about what the 5 represents.
This would be 5 ounces of punch which
cannot be used to make a 6 ounce serving.
So in this case, we drop the remainder and
leave the answer at 21.
3)
Mrs. Clarke brought a 145-inch rope to demonstrate tying knots. She
divided the rope into 4 pieces of equal length. How long was each piece
of rope?
36
First do the division. 4)145
-12
25
-24
1
1
4
In this problem the rope is divided into 4
equal pieces. The pieces are all 36 and onefourth inches. Since one-fourth of an inch is
an acceptable measurement, we can leave the
fraction in the answer.
Samples
1) Mr. DC was cutting a length of jump rope into 5 equal pieces. If the rope was
6,398 cm, how long was each piece?
2) The band banquet will have 2,787 people in attendance. If each table seats 8,
how many tables should the banquet hall have ready?
3) The Girl Scouts were assembling kits of hygiene products for needy families.
Each kit contained 7 items. If they started with 9,277 items, how many
complete kits could they assemble?