Question

Joe watered $\frac{1}{4}$th of his garden in 40 minutes. How much time will he take to water the entire garden?

• A. $5\frac{2}{3}$h
• B. $2\frac{2}{3}$h
• C. $4\frac{2}{3}$h

Answer 1

The correct option is B $2\frac{2}{3}$h

1 h = 60 min
40 min $=\frac{40}{60}h=\frac{2}{3}h$

Time taken to water $\frac{1}{4}$th of the garden $=\frac{2}{3}$h
Time taken to waterthe entire garden $=\frac{2}{3}÷\frac{1}{4}$h
To divide a fraction by another fraction, we first need to determine the reciprocal of the second fraction.

The reciprocal of $\frac{1}{4}is\frac{4}{1}$.

Next, we multiply the first fraction by the reciprocal of the second fraction.
$=\frac{2}{3}\times \frac{4}{1}=\frac{8}{3}$

$\frac{8}{3}=\frac{3+3+2}{3}=\frac{3}{3}+\frac{3}{3}+\frac{2}{3}=2+\frac{2}{3}$

$\frac{9}{4}=2\frac{2}{3}$

It will take Joe $2\frac{2}{3}$ h to water the entire park.