Question

in a classroom of 33 students, the ratio of boys to girls is 3 : 8. How many boys are in the class?

Answer 1

If the ratio is 3:8, then this means that if there are 6 boys, there are 16 girls, and so on. Now we see that the sum of the number of boys to girls goes up 11 students each time. Now all we have to do is figure out how many times this must be repeated to reach the number 33. If 8 + 3 is 11, then this means that the ratio must be multiplied as shown:
`3(3 : 8) = 9 : 24`. And the sum of 9 and 24 is 33, so you know you are right. This means that there are nine boys in the class.

Answer 2

9

Explanation:

The total of ratio units is 3+8 = 11, so each one stands for 33/11 = 3 students. Multiplying the ratio by 3, we get

... boys : girls = 9 : 24 . . . . . . . note the total is 33

There are 9 boys in the class.