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Problem-Solving and Data Analysis Difficulty: Easy

A cherry pitting machine pits 12 pounds of cherries in 3 minutes. At this rate, how many minutes does it take the machine to pit 96 pounds of cherries?

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Explanation

Choice C is correct. It's given that the cherry pitting machine pits 12 pounds of cherries in 3 minutes. This rate can be written as 12 pounds of cherries3 minutes. If the number of minutes it takes the machine to pit 96 pounds of cherries is represented by x , the value of x can be calculated by solving the equation 12 pounds of cherries3 minutes=96 pounds of cherriesx minutes, which can be rewritten as 123=96x, or 4=96x. Multiplying each side of this equation by x yields 4x=96. Dividing each side of this equation by 4 yields x=24. Therefore, it takes the machine 24 minutes to pit 96 pounds of cherries.

Choice A is incorrect. This is the number of minutes it takes the machine to pit 32 , not 96 , pounds of cherries. 

Choice B is incorrect. This is the number of minutes it takes the machine to pit 60 , not 96 , pounds of cherries. 

Choice D is incorrect. This is the number of minutes it takes the machine to pit 144 , not 96 , pounds of cherries.