Question

A library has \(14,588\) books which fill its 313 equal-size shelves. What is the average number of books per shelf?

Short answer

The average number of books per shelf is approximately 47.

Step-by-step solution

Identify the given numbers

In this problem, there are \(14,588\) books that are to be distributed equally among 313 shelves in a library.

Construct average calculation based on problem

To find the average number of books per shelf, divide the total number of books (which is \(14,588\)) by the total number of shelves (which is 313). In this case, the average is calculated by the formula \( \frac{total number of books}{total number of shelves} \)

Perform the Calculation

On performing the calculation, we have \( \frac{14588}{313} = 46.559744408945686 \)

Round off the result (If Necessary)

If necessary, round off the result to the nearest whole number or as per the requirement of the problem. In this case, it's approximately 47 books per shelf when rounding to the nearest whole book since we cannot have a fraction of a book.