To start off, we need to make a non-simplified ratio of the
number of girls to the
total number of students. We are given the total number of girls,
16, in the problem, and we need to find the total by adding the number of girls to the number of boys. If there are 12 boys and 16 girls, and
12 + 16 = 28, there is then a total of
28 students in the class. Now, we make our ratio!
Now, all that's left to do is simplify! Both 16 and 28 are divisible by , so divide each number by four and you get:
The answer is
4 girls : 7 students. This means that for every 7 students in the classroom, 4 are girls.
Hope this helps!