Question

A packet of biscuits is shared between two people so that

one person gets three times as many as the other. Write
down the ratio involved. If there are 20 biscuits in the
packet, how many does each person get?

Answer 1

Ratio 3 : 1

First person 5 biscuits

Second person 15 biscuits

Explanation:

“one person gets three times as many as the other” means “the ratio is 3 to 1 or just 3 : 1”

………………………

Let x be the number of biscuits that the first person got then the second person should get 3x biscuits.

It’s clear that we have to solve this equation:

x + 3x = 20

Solving:

x + 3x = 20

⇔ 4x = 20

⇔ x = 20/4 = 5

Final answer:

First person: 5 biscuits

Second person: 3×5 = 15 biscuits