Question

The bag contained only red marbles and white marbles. If the ratio of red marbles to white marbles was 5 to 4, what fraction of the marbles were white? *Complete the statement by providing the correct response in number form, using / as the fraction symbol.

The fraction of white marbles is

Answer 1

The fraction of white marbles is 4/9

Explanation:

The fraction of white marbles is 4/9. This is because the ratio provided states that for every 5 red marbles in the bag there are 4 white marbles. Therefore, in a set of 9 total marbles (5+4) we can assume that exactly 4 of those marbles will be white since that is the ratio that has been provided. If there are a total of 18 marbles we can assume that exactly 8 will be white marbles, and so on. Each of which represent the fraction of white marbles in the bag as 4/9