A container holds 28 cups of water. How much is this in gallons?
Write your answer as a whole number or a mixed number in simplest form. Include the correct unit in your answer. Note: In 1 gallon, there are 16 cups. So, we divide 28 cups by 16 to find the number of gallons.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
To convert cups of water into gallons, we need to understand the relationship between these two units of volume. The conversion factor we will use is that 1 gallon is equal to 16 cups. Therefore, to find out how many gallons are in 28 cups, we can set up a simple division problem:
[
\text{Number of gallons} = \frac{\text{Number of cups}}{\text{Cups per gallon}} = \frac{28 \text{ cups}}{16 \text{ cups/gallon}}
]
Now, performing the division:
[
\frac{28}{16} = 1.75
]
This result can also be expressed as a mixed number. To convert the decimal 1.75 into a mixed number, we note that the whole number part is 1, and we take the decimal part (0.75) and convert it into a fraction. The decimal 0.75 can be written as:
[
0.75 = \frac{75}{100} = \frac{3}{4} \quad \text{(after simplifying)}
]
Thus, we can express 1.75 as:
[
1.75 = 1 \frac{3}{4}
]
Finally, we summarize our findings: 28 cups of water is equivalent to 1.75 gallons or as a mixed number, it is 1 (\frac{3}{4}) gallons.
To present the answer clearly, we state:
28 cups of water is equal to 1 (\frac{3}{4}) gallons.
This conversion process illustrates how unit conversion requires understanding the equivalence between the units involved, applying division appropriately, and recognizing how to express numbers in different forms (such as decimals and mixed numbers). Using these skills, we can easily convert between various measurement units in cooking, scientific applications, and everyday life scenarios where precise volume measurement is crucial.