Calculate the 5-Floor Buildings: Solving for Unknowns

Weighted Averages with Unknown Quantities

Each building on the street has an average of 4.29 4.29 floors.

There are two buildings with 11 floors, 4 buildings with 2 floors, and 5 buildings with 3 floors.

How many buildings have 5 floors?

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1

Understand the problem

Each building on the street has an average of 4.29 4.29 floors.

There are two buildings with 11 floors, 4 buildings with 2 floors, and 5 buildings with 3 floors.

How many buildings have 5 floors?

2

Step-by-step solution

Let's solve the problem step-by-step:

  • First, summarize the data:

    • 2 buildings with 11 floors

    • 4 buildings with 2 floors

    • 5 buildings with 3 floors

    • Let x x be the number of buildings with 5 floors.

  • Calculate the total number of buildings:

  • Total buildings=2+4+5+x=11+x \text{Total buildings} = 2 + 4 + 5 + x = 11 + x

  • Compute the weighted sum of floors:

  • Sum of floors=(2×11)+(4×2)+(5×3)+(5×x)=22+8+15+5x=45+5x \begin{aligned} \text{Sum of floors} &= (2 \times 11) + (4 \times 2) + (5 \times 3) + (5 \times x) \\ &= 22 + 8 + 15 + 5x \\ &= 45 + 5x \end{aligned}

  • Set up the weighted average equation:

  • 4.29=45+5x11+x 4.29 = \frac{45 + 5x}{11 + x}

  • Multiply both sides by 11+x 11 + x to eliminate the fraction:

  • 4.29(11+x)=45+5x 4.29(11 + x) = 45 + 5x

  • Expand and solve the equation:

  • 4.29×11+4.29x=45+5x47.19+4.29x=45+5x47.1945=5x4.29x2.19=0.71x \begin{aligned} 4.29 \times 11 + 4.29x &= 45 + 5x \\ 47.19 + 4.29x &= 45 + 5x \\ 47.19 - 45 &= 5x - 4.29x \\ 2.19 &= 0.71x \end{aligned}

  • Solve for x x :

  • x=2.190.71=3 x = \frac{2.19}{0.71} = 3

Therefore, the number of buildings with 5 floors is 3 3 .

3

Final Answer

3 3 buildings

Key Points to Remember

Essential concepts to master this topic
  • Setup: Define variable for unknown, then use average formula
  • Technique: Cross-multiply: 4.29(11+x)=45+5x 4.29(11 + x) = 45 + 5x
  • Check: Verify total floors ÷ total buildings = 4.29 average ✓

Common Mistakes

Avoid these frequent errors
  • Forgetting to include the unknown buildings in total count
    Don't calculate average as 45 ÷ 11 = 4.09 ≠ 4.29! This ignores the x buildings with 5 floors. Always include ALL buildings in your denominator: total buildings = 11 + x.

Practice Quiz

Test your knowledge with interactive questions

Norbert buys some new clothes.

When he gets home, he decides to work out how much each outfit cost him on average.

PriceOutfit4 T-shirts2 pairs of shorts3 pairs of pants2 sweaters45$50$80$100$210$1 coat

What answer should he come up with?

FAQ

Everything you need to know about this question

Why do I need to set up a weighted average equation?

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A weighted average considers both the number of items and their values. Since buildings have different numbers of floors, you need to multiply each floor count by how many buildings have that many floors.

How do I know what variable to use for the unknown?

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Choose a clear variable like x for the unknown quantity you're solving for. In this case, x = number of buildings with 5 floors. Always define your variable clearly!

What if I get a decimal answer instead of a whole number?

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Since we're counting buildings, the answer must be a whole number. If you get a decimal, check your arithmetic - you likely made a calculation error somewhere.

How do I verify my answer is correct?

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Substitute x = 3 back into the problem: Total floors = 22 + 8 + 15 + 15 = 60. Total buildings = 2 + 4 + 5 + 3 = 14. Average = 6014=4.29 \frac{60}{14} = 4.29

Can I solve this without setting up an equation?

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You could try guess and check, but setting up the weighted average equation is much more efficient and reliable. It guarantees you'll find the exact answer in fewer steps.

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