Question

Donald can type 240 words in 6 minutes. How long will it take him to type a 1000-word essay if he types at the same rate?

Fill in the blanks with the correct values.

Answer 1

Donald can type 240 words in 6 minutes. How long will it take him to type a 1000-word essay if he types at the same rate?

This question can be solved by using proportions. The question has already given a proportion you need to fill in, which looks like this:

`\displaystyle (A)/(B) =(x)/(1000)`

As you can see, the denominators are B and 1000, which represents the number of words. That means the number of words will go on the bottom, which leaves you with the number of minutes as the numerator.

Donald can type 240 words in 6 minutes. The number of words, 240, is the denominator, and the number of minutes, 6, is the numerator.

Substitute A and B with these values:

`\displaystyle (A)/(B) =(x)/(1000) \rightarrow (6)/(240) =(x)/(1000)`

Now you need to cross multiply.

`1000 * 6=240 * x`

Simplify:

`6000=240x`

Lastly, you need to divide both sides by 240 to find the value of x alone. This is because 240 is being multiplied by x, and in order to leave x alone, you must do the opposite of it, which is dividing.

`\displaystyle (6000)/(240) =(240x)/(240)`

`\displaystyle x=25`

That means Donald can type 1000 words in 25 minutes. A is also equal to 6, and b is equal to 240.

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`\displaystyle {\bf(6)/(240) =(x)/(1000)`

Solving this proportion indicates Donald could type his essay in 25 minutes.

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