Interpret remainders as extra groups, whole items, fractions or decimals.
Example 1
395 students need transport. A minibus holds 6 students. What is the fewest number of minibuses needed?
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Answer: 66
- 6395=65 remainder 5.
- The remaining 5 students need one more minibus: 66.
Example 2
A maker has 375 beads. Each complete bracelet needs 7 beads. How many complete bracelets can be made?
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Answer: 53
- 7375=53 remainder 4.
- The 4 leftover beads cannot make a complete bracelet, so the answer is 53.
Example 3
275 litres of juice are shared equally into 8 containers. How many litres go into each container? Give a decimal.
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Answer: 34.375
- 8275=34 remainder 3.
- Convert the remainder: 83=0.375. Each container receives 34.375L.