To solve this problem, we need to understand the concept of ratios. The ratio 5:7 means that in simplest form, there are 5 apples to 7 oranges. But, there are most likely more than this amount, just keeping the same proportion (an equivalent fraction to 5/7, multiplying the same number by both 5 and 7).
Therefore, we can set up the following equation:
5x + 7x = 84
This is because we know that the total amount of fruit is 84 pieces, and we can multiply our ratio by a certain number to get this amount.
To simplify this equation, we should combine like terms on the left side of the equation.
12x = 84
Next, we should divide both sides by 12 to get the variable x alone.
x = 7
This means that we should multiply our simplest form ratio by 7 to get the actual numbers of apples or oranges.
5(7) = 35 apples, 7(7) = 49 oranges
This means that there were 35 apples in the basket.
Hope this helps!