Question

the cattle at the butler farm are fed 2 5/6 bales of hay each day. the horses are fed 2 1/4 times as much hay as the cattle. how many bales of hay are the horses fed each day? write your answer as a fraction or as a whole or mixed number.

Explanation:

Step1: Convert mixed - numbers to improper fractions

$2\frac{5}{6}=\frac{2\times6 + 5}{6}=\frac{12 + 5}{6}=\frac{17}{6}$ and $2\frac{1}{4}=\frac{2\times4+1}{4}=\frac{8 + 1}{4}=\frac{9}{4}$

Step2: Multiply the two fractions

The amount of hay for horses is the amount of hay for cattle times the multiplier. So we calculate $\frac{17}{6}\times\frac{9}{4}$.
$\frac{17}{6}\times\frac{9}{4}=\frac{17\times9}{6\times4}=\frac{153}{24}$

Step3: Simplify the fraction

$\frac{153}{24}=\frac{51}{8}=6\frac{3}{8}$

Answer:

$6\frac{3}{8}$