Final answer:
The equation representing the proportional relationship between the number of beads and packets is b = 12p, which indicates that each packet contains 12 beads.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question talks about the relationship between the number of beads (b) and the number of packets (p). According to the given information, 36 beads come in 3 packets, 48 beads come in 4 packets, 60 beads come in 5 packets, and 72 beads come in 6 packets. To write the equation representing this proportional relationship, we must find the constant factor of beads per packet. We can do this by dividing the number of beads by the number of packets for any of the given data points.
For example, 36 beads / 3 packets = 12 beads per packet.
48 beads / 4 packets = 12 beads per packet.
We can see that each packet contains 12 beads, so our proportional relationship is b = 12p.
Therefore, the correct equation for the given proportional relationship where b is the number of beads and p is the number of packets is b = 12p, which corresponds to option (b).