Question

A fancy restaurant put out small dishes of butter at each table. They divided 1/2 of a poundof butter evenly and filled 4 dishes. How much butter did they put in each dish?Write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number,

Answer 1

We know that they divided 1/2 of a pound of butter evenly and filled 4 dishes.

So, we can represent the situation if we divide 1/2 by 4

$\frac{\frac{1}{2}\text{ of a pound of butter}}{4\text{ dishes}}$

Then, to know how much butter they put in each dish we must simplify the fraction

Finally, simplifying the fraction we obtain

$\frac{\frac{1}{2}}{\frac{4}{1}}=\frac{1}{4\cdot2}=\frac{1}{8}$

So, they put 1/8 of a pound of butter in each dish.