Question

Mary used 14 meters of ribbon to make bows and strips. she used 3/4 as much ribbon for bows as she did for strips. how many meters of ribbon did she use for bows and how many for strips?

Answer 1

total = 14 m.
ratio of bows:strips = 3:4
Length for bows = 3/(3+4)*14=6 m
Length for strips = 4/(3+4)*14=8 m

Check: 6m + 8m = 14 m = total, ok.

Answer 2

Answer: Mary used 6 meters of ribbon for bows and 8 meters for strips.

Explanation:

Given : The total length of the ribbon = 14 meters

Let x be the part Mary uses for strips.

Then part of ribbon she uses for bows =
`(3)/(4)x`

According to the question , we have

`(3)/(4)x+x=14\\\\\Rightarrow\  (3x+4x)/(4)=14\\\\ \Rightarrow\  7x=4(14)\\\\ \Rightarrow\  x=(4(14))/(7)= 4(2)=8`

i.e. The length of ribbon she use for strips = 8 meters

The length of ribbon she use for bows =
`(3)/(4)*8 = 3*2=6\text{ meters}`

∴ Mary used 6 meters of ribbon for bows and 8 meters for strips.