Four balls of wool will make eight knitted caps. How many balls of wool will Malcolm need if he wants to make six caps?

2 Answers
David Drayer
Jul 17, 2018

3

Explanation:

Set up a ratio
let 4 balls be the numerator of the first fraction
let 8 caps be the denominator of the first fraction
Let x balls be the numerator of the second fraction
Let 6 caps be the denominator of the second fraction

Set the two fractions equal to each other and solve.

# 4/8 = x/6#

Multiply both sides by 6

# 6 xx (4/8) = 6 xx ( x/6)#

The 6s divide out on the right side giving

# 24/8 = x# so

# 3 = x #

EZ as pi
Jul 18, 2018

#3# balls of wool

Explanation:

You can determine how many caps can be made from one ball of wool.

#8# caps are made from #4# balls of wool.
#:. 2 # caps can be made from #1# ball of wool.

Each cap requires #1/2# ball.

To make #6# caps:

#6xx 1/2= 3# balls of wool.

You can also use direct proportion:

#8/4 = 6/x" "(larr "caps")/(larr"balls")#

#x = 3# balls of wool

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