Fractions*

Problem 1:
A paint problem: To make a shade of orange paint that you like, you must mix 2/3 of a bottle of red paint with each 4/5 of a bottle of yellow paint that you use. You need 88 bottles of this orange paint. How many bottles of red paint will you need and how many bottles of yellow paint will you need? (All bottles are the same size.)

Can you find more than one way to solve the problem?

Hints?

Problem 2:
A problem about geese: A flock of geese on a pond were being observed continuously. At 1:00 P.M., 1/5 of the geese flew away. At 2:00 P.M., 1/8 of the geese that remained flew away. At 3:00 P.M., 3 times as many geese as had flown away at 1:00 P.M. flew away, leaving 28 geese on the pond. At no other time did any geese arrive or fly away. How many geese were in the original flock?

Can you find more than one way to solve the problem?

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*Problems suggested by Dr. Sybilla Beckman from her course on mathematics for elementary teachers.

Secondary level people should give some thought on how to think about these problems with elementary level mathematics.