Question

An average ant is 1/4 inch long. An average aphid is 3/32 inch long.how many times longer is an average ant that an average aphid. Please put in simplest form

Answer 1

An average ant is
`2(2)/(3)` times longer than an average aphid

Explanation:

Let

x------> an average ant long

y-----> an average aphid long

we have

`x=(1)/(4)\ in`

`y=(3)/(32)\ in`

we know that

`(x)/(y)=((1/4))/((3/32))=(32)/(12)=(8)/(3)`

convert to mixed number

`(8)/(3)=(6)/(3)+(2)/(3)=2+(2)/(3)=2(2)/(3)`

therefore

`(x)/(y)=2(2)/(3)`

isolate the variable x

`x=2(2)/(3)y`

Answer 2

this is a proportion which can be obtained just dividing the sizes;

(1/4) / (3/32) = 8/3 ≈ 2.7 times larger