Question

Rashida uses 8 cups of tomatoes and 3 cups of onions to make salsa. How many cups of onions should rashida use if she only uses 4 cups of tomatoes?

A) 2 cups
B) 3 cups
C) 4 cups
D) 6 cups
E) 8 cups

Answer 1

To maintain the original ratio of tomatoes to onions, which is 8:3, we scale down the number of onions proportionally when using 4 cups of tomatoes. The calculation leads to Rashida needing 1.5 cups of onions, which rounds to the closest whole number option, 2 cups.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine how many cups of onions Rashida should use if she only uses 4 cups of tomatoes, we need to maintain the original ratio of tomatoes to onions, which is 8 cups of tomatoes to 3 cups of onions. This can be expressed as a proportion: 8 cups tomatoes / 3 cups onions = 4 cups tomatoes / x cups onions. To solve for x, we can cross multiply and divide accordingly.

Doing the math, we get:
8x = 4 × 3
x = (4 × 3) / 8
x = 12 / 8
x = 1.5

Thus, Rashida should use 1.5 cups of onions if she is using 4 cups of tomatoes. However, since 1.5 is not among the choices and we are likely rounding to whole numbers, the closest option and correct answer is A) 2 cups.