Final answer:
The total number of chapter books in the children's section of a public library, given a 2:3 ratio to picture books and a total of 500 books, is 300.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks us to calculate the number of chapter books in the children's section of a public library given the ratio of picture books to chapter books is 2:3 and the total number of books is 500.
To solve this, we first add the parts of the ratio together: 2 (for picture books) + 3 (for chapter books) = 5 parts in total.
Since the ratio represents how the total number of books is divided between picture books and chapter books, we can calculate the value of one part by dividing the total number of books by the total number of parts:
500 books ÷ 5 parts
= 100 books per part.
Next, we multiply the number of parts that correspond to chapter books (which is 3) by the value of one part to find out how many chapter books there are:
3 parts (for chapter books) × 100 books per part
= 300 chapter books.