Problema Solution
Each marble bag sold by Latoya's Marble Company contains
3
blue marbles for every
4
purple marbles. If a bag has
20
purple marbles, how many blue marbles does it contain?
Answer provided by our tutors
Let
b = the number of blue marbles in the bag, b is integer, b>=0
p = the number of purple marbles in the bag, p is integer, p>=0
b : p = 3 : 4 cross-multiply
3p = 4b
p = (4/3)b
Also we know that the total number of marbles is 20:
b + p = 20
plug p = (4/3)b into b + p = 20
b + (4/3)b = 20
........
click here to see the equation solved for b
........
b = 8.57
Nut since the number of marbles can only be integers follows the problem has not solutions.