Question

To make a specific hair dye, a hair stylist uses a ratio of 1 1/8 oz of red tone, 3/4 oz of gray

tone, and 5/8 oz of brown tone. If the stylist needs to make 20 oz of dye, how much of
each dye color is needed

Answer 1

We can call the amounts of red, gray, and brown dye 1 1/8x, 3/4x and 5/8 x respectively and we can write the equation:

1 1/8x + 3/4x + 5/8x = 20

2 1/2x = 20

x = 8 which means that the stylist needs 1 1/8 * 8 = 9 oz red, 3/4 * 8 = 6 oz gray and 5/8 * 8 = 5 oz brown.