The ratio of forks to knives in Mabel's kitchen drawer is 4 to 5. There are 16 forks in the drawer. How many knives are there?

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Answer 1 · 2016-10-30T21:02:34

20 knives

Set up the problem as a ratio of forks to knives.

#("forks")/("knives")=4/5=16/x#

#4/5=16/x#

Cross multiply

#4 *x = 5*16#

#4x=80#

Dividide both sides by 4.

#(4x)/4=80/4#

#x=20# knives

Answer 2 · 2016-10-30T21:09:33

#4:5#

#=4*4:5*4#

#=16:20#

This means that there are 16 forks and 20 knives.