Eli needs pieces of ribbon cut into strips that are 2 1/2 feet long. The roll of ribbon is 7 1/2 feet long. Which expression could be one of the steps in determining how many strips can be cut? Eli needs pieces of ribbon cut into strips that are feet long. The roll of ribbon is feet long. Which expression could be one of the steps in determining how many strips can be cut?

Hi there! 2 ½ is equivalent to 2.5 and 7 ½ is equivalent to 7.5. An expression that can be used to find out how many strips can be cut is this:

2.5x = 7.5

This is because the length of the ribbon needed to be cut is 2.5 ft long and we are looking for how many of that length could be cut out of a roll of ribbon that is 7.5ft long. All you have to do for this is divide both sides by 2.5 to isolate the variable. 7.5/2.5 is 3. x = 3. Eli can cut 3 strips of 2½ ft long ribbon.