Question 7·Easy·Ratios, Rates, Proportional Relationships, and Units
A printing machine produces 480 brochures in 12 minutes. At this rate, how many brochures can the machine produce in 30 minutes?
For rate problems, first convert the given information into a unit rate (such as brochures per minute) by dividing the total amount by the total time. Then multiply that unit rate by the new time to get the desired amount. As a quick check, compare the new time to the original time (here, 30 is 2.5 times 12), and make sure your answer is scaled by the same factor and is reasonable compared to the original quantity.
Hints
Think about the rate
First find how many brochures the machine makes in 1 minute based on the information given.
Use division to get brochures per minute
Use the numbers and to calculate brochures per minute. Which operation will give you "per minute"?
Scale up to 30 minutes
Once you know how many brochures are made in 1 minute, multiply that rate by to find the total for minutes.
Alternative: Use a proportion
You can also set up a proportion: , where is the number of brochures in minutes, and solve for .
Desmos Guide
Compute the total directly
In Desmos, type the expression (480/12)*30 and press Enter. The output value is the number of brochures the machine can produce in 30 minutes at the given rate.
Step-by-step Explanation
Find the unit rate (brochures per minute)
We are told the machine produces brochures in minutes.
Compute how many brochures it produces in 1 minute by dividing:
This gives the production rate in brochures per minute.
Calculate the numerical value of the rate
Now actually do the division:
So, the machine produces brochures each minute.
Scale the rate up to 30 minutes
If the machine makes brochures each minute, then in minutes it makes
So the machine can produce brochures in minutes, which corresponds to answer choice D.