What is half of 2/3 cup?

[CharlieD]

how many times can can you take away 1/2 of the contents of a cup before it is empty?

Infinite number of times

 

[CharlieD]

Yeah, did you see that thread 5/8, really how do you mesure it 5/8 if it's not on the mesuaring thing? It's just prooves my point

 

[boufa06]

Bucky, 567 times approximately!

 

[boufa06]

24 replies and still counting!! Who needs Gobo to start threads! BTW, what does all this have to do with maths, the metric system or the man on the moon! Are you serious?

 

[boufa06]

Infinite number of times

Oh yeah? Halve the contents of a cup 567 times and tell me how much you got left. See what I mean? It is a reasonable shortcut to your 'infinite number of times' which would take a little longer to carry out. Incidentally, another reasonable shortcut would be 365 times or 763 if a bit more of accuracy is desired.

 

[bethzaring]

how many times can can you take away 1/2 of the contents of a cup before it is empty?

I'd say infinity.

24 posts? This thread is just getting started, I love numbers.

 

[bethzaring]

And I agree with Katie. I thought this question was quite elemental.

What I have a mental block with is measuring butter. I actually have a hand made chart on the frig with measurements in T., oz., sticks, pounds and cups. I get butter in many different forms so I imagine that contributes to my confusion.

 

[boufa06]

I'd say infinity.

24 posts? This thread is just getting started, I love numbers.

Have you ever tried to halve (not to mention quarter) a single grain of rice or a particle of powdered sugar? If yes, tell me how you do it. I would like to sharpen my maths too!

 

[bethzaring]

boufa, I don't get it. Do you mean mathmatically or physically? But the answer would still be, no

 

[boufa06]

boufa, I don't get it. Do you mean mathmatically or physically? But the answer would still be, no

bethzaring, my post was meant as a joke! It seems that too many people here got sidetracked with higher mathematics and lost sight of simple practical ways to resolve ordinary little problems. Mathematics is useful to solve problems not to create bigger ones. Yes, mathematics might tell you that removing one half of the contents of a cup each time would take infinite turns at it in order to empty the cup, ie. the cup would never be emptied. You may agree with this. However, mathematics also predict that if you take a hot pan out of your oven and put it out to cool in your kitchen, it will also take infinite time to reach the exact temperature of your kitchen ie. it will never cool to the same temperature as that of your kitchen. Does your practical experience agree with this? Mathematics does have its limitations after all.

 

[bethzaring]

bethzaring, my post was meant as a joke!

Well I enjoy getting sidetracted with mathmatics. My mathmatics were not too high . I've been looking for nuggets of wisdom in each post.

 

[Barb L.]

I'm a little amazed at the response to Barb's question. Very simply...she's begun with "2" thirds. That means there are two of them. If she wants only half of them, she'll need only "1" third.

However, I must agree with those who've discussed "scale" measuring. I've been cooking using an electronic scale for quite a few years and love it. It not only is an accurate way of portioning ingredients, it also is an efficient way as far as clean-up is concerned. I've made any number of things and have dirtied up very few spoons, cups and bowls because I've zeroed the scale before each ingredient was measured.

P.S. As for the "half" part of Barb's question, I've tutored math and her question just caught my interest from a number person's point of view. Seemed elementary to me.

Must defend my (elementary question) the reason asked, when looking at the measuring cup - 1/3 did not look like half, looked a lot less! Period

 

[Andy M.]

If you break the cup measure down to tablespoons, you have 16. If you divide 16 by 3 to get a third of a cup, you get 5 1/3 tablespoons. You don't have to estimate a third of a tablespoon because that's a teaspoon.


...or you could use milliliters.

 

[boufa06]

Righto Andy! I did feel in my bones from the start that there should be a simple answer to this problem. Now my hunch has been proven right. BTW, why don't we break down 2/3 cup into teaspoons right from the start so that we wouldn't have to face the vexing problem of how to estimate 1/3 tablespoons even for a moment?

 

[auntdot]

LOL Bucky, old philosophy question.

By only being able to go 1/2 of a measure one can obviously never get to the end.

But that defies reality.

Haven't thought about that in years.

As far as metric vs. English systems of measurements goes, we were both brought up with English but learned metric and now are equally facile in either. And can go from one to the other quite easily.

When I gain a few lbs I prefer to discuss my weight in stones, or in kilos, it makes me sound more svelte.

The hardest thing, even keeping within any system, is going between volume and weight.

Things get particularly confusing when speaking of weight in ounces vs volume ounces.

At least the metric system does not include that confusion.

But for most people going from English to metric is fairly simple.

And in ten minutes can get anyone facile with the metric system, at least enough to buy a hunk of meat or cheese. No one can really tell the difference between a quart and a liter (for day to day practical purposes). And a meter is about a yard.

Used to teach that stuff, and people become used to the system very rapidly.

Frankly think we would be better off with the metric system, but really do not care personally.

 

[boufa06]

When I gain a few lbs I prefer to discuss my weight in stones, or in kilos, it makes me sound more svelte.

auntdot, that must be the best recipe for instant slimming!

 

[Andy M.]

Righto Andy! I did feel in my bones from the start that there should be a simple answer to this problem. Now my hunch has been proven right. BTW, why don't we break down 2/3 cup into teaspoons right from the start so that we wouldn't have to face the vexing problem of how to estimate 1/3 tablespoons even for a moment?

Measuring out 16 teaspoons of a liquid is not preferrable to the "vexing problem of how to estimate 1/3 tablespoons even for a moment."

 

[boufa06]

Measuring out 16 teaspoons of a liquid is not preferrable to the "vexing problem of how to estimate 1/3 tablespoons even for a moment."

Right again! I do concede that the convenience of measuring out 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon far outweighs the instinctive fear (at least for the less mathematically oriented of us) of having to estimate 1/3 of a tablespoon outright. By the way, if I had to halve 2 apples rather than 2/3 of anything, is there a suitable smaller unit that would let me carry out the halving calculation with the same ease and precision as halving 2/3 of a cup?

 

[expatgirl]

Wow, what interesting discussions this thread has wrought!!!!! My biggest problem is that I've taken excellent nonmetric recipes to a metric posting and therefore available ingredients are in metric amounts. Butter is a perfect example. If I remember correctly the butter is in 500gm blocks and there is no hash marks to cut it down to size. Hence, the use of the electronic scale is essential for me. Even when I"ve eyeballed what I think is 1/2 cups (and I"ve been cooking for over 25 years) I'm amazed at how much I vary from what the electronic scale weighs. THis isn't a big problem for just general cooking but it may make a difference when it comes to baking. And sure enough when I pile 6 regular cukes on the electronic scale I'm usually looking at 1 kilo!