Basketball Practice

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Marcus is practicing his free throws every day after school. He keeps track of how many successful shots he makes during each practice session. Marcus is quite consistent and averages 8 successful shots every 5 minutes.

Questions

(a) If Marcus practices for 15 minutes each day, how many successful shots do you expect him to make in a single practice session?

(b) How many days will it take for Marcus to complete at least 300 successful shots if he practices for 15 minutes every day?

Solution

(a) To find out how many successful shots Marcus makes in a 15-minute practice session:

First, calculate how many shots he makes in 5 minutes: 8 shots
Then, determine how many 5-minute periods are in 15 minutes: 15 ÷ 5 = 3
Finally, multiply the number of shots in 5 minutes by 3: 8 × 3 = 24 shots

Therefore, we expect Marcus to make 24 successful shots in a single 15-minute practice session.

(b) To find out how many days it will take Marcus to complete at least 300 successful shots:

We know he makes 24 successful shots per day (from part a)
Divide 300 by 24: 300 ÷ 24 = 12.5 days
Since we can’t have a partial day, we need to round up to the next whole number

Therefore, it will take Marcus 13 days to complete at least 300 successful shots.