During a thunderstorm, 143 out of 333 houses lost electrical power. a. Write the decimal equivalent for \( \frac{143}{333} \). b. Use Structure What do you notice about the digits in the decimal equivalent?

To find the decimal equivalent of \( \frac{143}{333} \), we can perform the division: a. Calculating \( \frac{143}{333} \): \[ \frac{143}{333} \approx 0.429 \] To be more precise, if we perform the division, we find: \[ \frac{143}{333} \approx 0.429429429... \] This decimal is a repeating decimal, where "429" repeats indefinitely. b. Observing the structure of the decimal equivalent: The decimal \( 0.429429429... \) shows that the digits "429" repeat. This indicates that the fraction \( \frac{143}{333} \) is a rational number, and its decimal representation is non-terminating but repeating. The repeating part consists of three digits, which is a common occurrence in fractions where the denominator is not a factor of the base (in this case, 10). In summary, the decimal equivalent is approximately \( 0.429 \) with "429" repeating, and this structure indicates that it is a rational number with a repeating decimal representation.