Question

225 divided by 15 is solved by two students as:

• A. Both Smith and Ashley are correct.
• B. Ashley is correct, but Smith is incorrect.
• C. Smith is correct, but Ashley is incorrect.
• D. Both Smith and Ashley are incorrect.

Answer 1

The correct option is C Smith is correct, but Ashley is incorrect.

The representation of '225 divided by 15' is $225÷15$.

Given,
Smith solves the question as:
$(150÷15)+(75÷15)$

Ashley solves the question as:
$(225÷5)+(225÷10)$

From the distributive property, only the dividend of a divison can be split as the sum of numbers.

$\therefore 225÷15=(150+75)÷6=(150÷6)+(75÷6)$

Therefore, Smith is correct, and Ashley is incorrect.