Suppose that 15 inches of wire costs 45 cents. At the same rate, how many inches of wire can be brought for 24 cents?

Answer 1

Let's set this up as a proportion.

15 inches/45 cents = x inches/24 cents

Reduce 15/45 to 1/3

x/24 = 1/3

Cross multiply:

3x = 24

Divide both sides by 3:

x = 8 inches