Q:

Mrs. rifkin had 84 oranges. 24 of her oranges were rotten; the rest were either ripe or unripe. there were 18 more ripe oranges than unripe oranges. find the ratio of the number of ripe oranges to the number of rotten oranges to the number of unripe oranges.

Accepted Solution

A:
84 oranges - 24 rotten = 60 oranges that are either ripe or unripe Let x = number of unripe orangesLet x + 18 = number of ripe oranges You know that the number of ripe oranges plus the number of unripe oranges is equal to 60 (x) + (x + 18) = 60 Subtract 18 from each side x + x = 42 x + x is the same as 2x, so 2x = 42 Divide each side by 2 2x/2 = 42/2 The 2s on the left side cancel out x = 21  So the number of unripe oranges is 21 The number of ripe oranges is x + 18,which is 21 + 18 = 39 So the number of ripe oranges is 39