If the ratio of blue eyes to brown eyes in the poetry group is 1:7, this means that for every one member with blue eyes, there are 7 members with brown eyes.
If 7 members have blue eyes, we can use the ratio to find the number of members with brown eyes. For every one member with blue eyes, there are 7 members with brown eyes, so we can write:
7 members with blue eyes : x members with brown eyes = 1 : 7
where x is the number of members with brown eyes.
To solve for x, we can cross-multiply and simplify:
7 * 7 = 1 * x
49 = x
Therefore, there are 49 members with brown eyes in the poetry group.