Question

in this example, the rapper wants to divide a recipe in half to make a cake for 5 people instead of 10. explain why he multiplies the first ingredient, ¾ of a cup sugar, by ½.

Explanation:

The original recipe serves 10 people, and scaling it to serve 5 (half the number) means reducing all ingredients to half their original quantity. Multiplying the original amount of sugar by $\frac{1}{2}$ is the mathematical operation to find half of that quantity.

Answer:

Multiplying the $\frac{3}{4}$ cup of sugar by $\frac{1}{2}$ calculates half of the original amount, which is needed because the recipe is being scaled down from serving 10 people to 5 (half the intended servings).