Final answer:
Dawn washed 648 cars to earn $72.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find out how many cars Dawn washed to earn $72, we can set up a proportion based on the given information. Since Dawn earned $54 washing 6 cars, we can write the ratio as 54/6. We can set up another ratio with the unknown number of cars she washed to earn $72 as x/72. We can then set these two ratios equal to each other and solve for x.
54/6 = x/72
Cross-multiplying, we get 6x = 3888.
Dividing both sides by 6, we find that x = 648. Therefore, Dawn washed 648 cars to earn $72.