There are 363 students in a class. Four boys to every seven girls. How many boys are there in the class?

Answer 1

This is an equivalent ratio word problem dealing with when given a total. The easiest way to solve this is using tape diagrams.

First draw 7 boxes for the girls and 4 boxes for the boys.

Boys ∏∏∏∏

Girls ∏∏∏∏∏∏∏

Divide your total 363 by how many boxes you have to find how much each box represents.

363 ÷ 11 = 33

Add up the boxes in each row:

Boys 33 + 33 + 33 + 33 = 132

Girls 33 + 33 + 33 + 33 + 33 + 33 + 33 = 231

So your answer is there are 132 boys in the class.