A loaf of bread uses 2 1/2 cups of flour. If you bake 4 loaves, how many cups of flour are needed?

• A. 7 1/2 cups
• B. 12 cups
• C. 9 cups
• D. 10 cups

Answer: (D)

You're scaling the flour up by how many loaves you bake. Each loaf uses 2 1/2 cups, which is 2.5 cups. For four loaves, multiply 2.5 by 4: 2.5 × 4 = 10. So you’ll need 10 cups of flour in total for four loaves. If you had three loaves, it would be 7.5 cups (2.5 × 3).