Lorraine prepared a 2.5-gallon pot filled with tomatoes to be canned in jars. Each jar will hold 1.25 quarts of tomatoes. If 1 gallon equals 4 quarts, how many jars can Lorraine fill?
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
To determine how many jars Lorraine can fill, we need to first convert the gallons of tomatoes into quarts and then divide by the amount of tomatoes each jar can hold.
Step 1: Convert gallons to quarts
We know that 1 gallon equals 4 quarts. Lorraine has 2.5 gallons of tomatoes, so we can calculate the total number of quarts as follows: 2.5 gallons×4 quarts per gallon=10 quarts2.5 \, \text{gallons} \times 4 \, \text{quarts per gallon} = 10 \, \text{quarts}2.5gallons×4quarts per gallon=10quarts
Step 2: Calculate how many jars can be filled
Each jar holds 1.25 quarts. To find out how many jars can be filled, divide the total quarts by the quarts each jar holds: 10 quarts1.25 quarts per jar=8 jars\frac{10 \, \text{quarts}}{1.25 \, \text{quarts per jar}} = 8 \, \text{jars}1.25quarts per jar10quarts=8jars
Final Answer:
Lorraine can fill 8 jars with 2.5 gallons of tomatoes.

This calculation is straightforward, as it simply requires converting the units and dividing the total amount of tomatoes by the amount each jar holds. By breaking the problem down into smaller steps, it’s easier to see how we arrived at the solution.