To determine how many cans will be in each stack, let's break it down step-by-step.
1. Identify the total number of cans: Mrs. Thibodeaux has 12 cans of beans.
2. Identify the number of stacks: She needs to make 4 stacks, as there is only enough room for 4 cans across on the shelf.
3. Divide the total number of cans by the number of stacks: To find out how many cans will be in each stack, we need to divide the total number of cans by the number of stacks.
This can be represented mathematically as:
[tex]\[
\text{Number of cans per stack} = \frac{\text{Total number of cans}}{\text{Number of stacks}}
\][/tex]
Substituting the given values:
[tex]\[
\text{Number of cans per stack} = \frac{12}{4}
\][/tex]
4. Perform the division:
[tex]\[
\frac{12}{4} = 3
\][/tex]
So, each stack will have 3 cans.
The correct option is:
3
