Question

A recipe for salad dressing asks for 1 1/2 cups of olive oil and 1 1/2 cups of vinegar. How many cups of olive oil do you need to mix with 5 1/2 cups of vinegar?

A) 1 1/2 cups
B) 2 cups
C) 2 1/2 cups
D) 3 cups

Answer 1

Find out how many cups of olive oil you need to mix with 5 1/2 cups of vinegar, you can set up a proportion. The answer is 5.5 cups of olive oil.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find out how many cups of olive oil you need to mix with 5 1/2 cups of vinegar, you can set up a proportion. Since the original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of olive oil and 1 1/2 cups of vinegar, the ratio between the two ingredients is 1:1. Therefore, you can set up the proportion: 1.5 cups of olive oil / 1.5 cups of vinegar = x cups of olive oil / 5.5 cups of vinegar.

Cross-multiplying, you get 1.5 cups of olive oil * 5.5 cups of vinegar = 1.5 cups of vinegar * x cups of olive oil. Simplifying, you get 8.25 cups of vinegar = 1.5 cups of vinegar * x cups of olive oil. Then, dividing both sides of the equation by 1.5 cups of vinegar, you find that x cups of olive oil = 8.25 cups of vinegar / 1.5 cups of vinegar. This gives you x = 5.5 cups of olive oil.