Final answer:
By analyzing the original and new ratios of maple to oak trees, we determined there were 304 maple trees before the bug problem and 64 after. After subtracting, it is found that there were 240 more maple trees before the bug problem.
Step-by-step explanation:
Shayla originally observed the ratio of maple trees to oak trees as 8:5. When resolving this problem, we must find out how many maple trees there were before and after the bug problem. To do this, we first examine the new ratio of maple trees to oak trees given as 4:12.
Since there are 192 oak trees after replanting, and the ratio is 4 maples to 12 oaks, this simplifies to a 1:3 ratio (by dividing both numbers by 4). For every 3 oak trees, there is 1 maple tree. Thus, the number of maple trees after the planting is 192 oak trees divided by 3, equalling 64 maple trees after the problem.
To determine the number of maple trees before the bug problem, we utilize the original ratio of 8 maples to 5 oaks. To make the number of oaks equal to 192, we find a common multiple of 5 that equals 192 when multiplied by some factor. Since 192 divided by 5 is 38.4, we need to multiply both parts of the original ratio by 38 to keep the ratio but scale it up to the number of trees before the bug problem. 8 maples times 38 equals 304 maple trees before the bug problem.
To find out how many more maple trees were in the woodlot before the bug problem than after, we subtract 64 (the number after) from 304 (the number before), which equals 240. Therefore, there were 240 more maple trees before the bug problem than there are after the problem and replanting.