The U.S. population in 1900 was 92 million and in 2006 was 299 million.

Question

There were 2,777,000 births in the United States in 1900 and 4,266,000 in 2006. Determine the birth rates, per 1000 population for those two years. The U.S. population in 1900 was 92 million and in 2006 was 299 million.

Answer 1

You can set up an equation with a fraction on each side to solve these ratio problems. The ratio of total births to the total population (on the left side) should be equal to the ratio of an unknown number x to 1,000 (on the right side). Then you can cross-multiply or multiply by the denominator of one side to solve for x.

For 1900:

2,777,000/92,000,000 = x/1,000

2,777/92,000 = x/1,000

2,777/92 = x

The birth rate is about 30.18 per 1,000 people.

For 2006:

4,266,000/299,000,000 = x/1,000

4,266/299,000 = x/1,000

4,266/299 = x

The birth rate for 2006 is about 14.27 per 1,000 people.