Final answer:
To make 18 small cakes based on the original recipe for 12 cakes which requires 2 eggs, a proportional calculation determines that 3 eggs are needed.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking how many eggs are needed to make 18 small cakes, given the recipe for making 12 small cakes requires 2 eggs. This is a proportional relationship problem in mathematics where the amount of ingredients needs to scale with the number of cakes to be made.
To find the number of eggs needed, we set up a proportion where 2 eggs/12 cakes = x eggs/18 cakes.
By cross-multiplying, we get 12x = 36, which simplifies to x = 3.
Therefore, 3 eggs are needed to make 18 small cakes.