Math  /  Algebra

QuestionThe ratio of girls to boys in your class is 5 to 7 . Two girls joined your class. Now the ratio of girls to boys is 6 to 7 . How many students are now in your class? Explain how you got your answer.

Studdy Solution

STEP 1

What is this asking? If the ratio of girls to boys is 5 to 7, and then it changes to 6 to 7 after 2 girls join, how many total students are there now? Watch out! Don't forget that the number of boys *doesn't change*!

STEP 2

1. Set up the initial ratio.
2. Set up the new ratio.
3. Find the number of boys.
4. Calculate the total number of students.

STEP 3

Initially, the ratio of girls to boys is 5 to 7.
This means for every 5 girls, there are 7 boys.
We can write this as a fraction: Number of girlsNumber of boys=57\frac{\text{Number of girls}}{\text{Number of boys}} = \frac{5}{7}.
Since we don't know the *actual* number of girls and boys, we'll use a variable to represent a scaling factor.
Let's use xx!

STEP 4

So, the number of girls is 5x5x and the number of boys is 7x7x.
This keeps the ratio at 5 to 7, no matter what xx is!
For example, if x=1x = 1, there are 5 girls and 7 boys.
If x=2x = 2, there are 10 girls and 14 boys, and the ratio is still 1014=57\frac{10}{14} = \frac{5}{7}!

STEP 5

Two girls join the class.
Awesome! Now the number of girls is 5x+25x + 2.
The number of boys *stays the same* at 7x7x.
The *new* ratio is 6 to 7, so we can write this as 5x+27x=67\frac{5x + 2}{7x} = \frac{6}{7}.

STEP 6

Now we have an equation we can solve! **Multiply** both sides of 5x+27x=67\frac{5x + 2}{7x} = \frac{6}{7} by 7x7x to get 5x+2=6x5x + 2 = 6x.
We're multiplying by 7x7x because it's the denominator on both sides, and we want to get rid of those fractions.
Remember, we're dividing by 7x7x on the left and multiplying by 7x7x, which is the same as multiplying by one.
And on the right, we're also multiplying and dividing by 7x7x, which is also the same as multiplying by one.

STEP 7

**Subtract** 5x5x from both sides of 5x+2=6x5x + 2 = 6x to get 2=x2 = x.
We're subtracting 5x5x from both sides to isolate xx and find its value.
Great, we found our scaling factor!

STEP 8

Since the number of boys is 7x7x, we **substitute** x=2x = 2 to find that there are 72=147 \cdot 2 = 14 boys.

STEP 9

The new number of girls is 5x+25x + 2.
With x=2x = 2, we have 52+2=10+2=125 \cdot 2 + 2 = 10 + 2 = 12 girls.

STEP 10

Now, **add** the number of girls and boys to find the total number of students: 12+14=2612 + 14 = 26 students.

STEP 11

There are now **26** students in the class.

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