Question

If you can buy four bulbs of elephant garlic for $8, then how many can you buy with $32?

Answer 1

`16` bulbs

Explanation:

If you have `$32` and you want to see how many bulbs of elephant garlic you want to buy if four bulbs costs `$8`, you first need to see how many `$8` can fit into `$32`.

Thus, divide `32` by `8`.

`32-:8`

`=4`

Now that you know `$8` can fit into `$32` `color(red)"four"` times, multiply `color(red)4` by `4color(white)(i)"bulbs"`, since there are four bulbs per `$8`.

Thus:

`4xx4color(white)(i)"bulbs"`

`=color(green)(|bar(ul(color(white)(a/a)16color(white)(i)"bulbs"color(white)(a/a)|)))`

Answer 2

Just another way of saying the same thing

You can buy 16 bulbs with $32

Explanation:

`color(blue)("Not using algebra")`
Each of the $8 carries 4 bulbs.

You can fit 4 lots of $8 into $32 so you have
`" "`4 lots of 4 bulbs = 16 bulbs

'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
`color(blue)("Using algebra")`
Let the number of bulbs you can by for $32 be `x`

This is a ratio problem. They crop up all over the place!

Instead of representing the ratio like this `color(blue)( (4"bulbs") : $8)`

Do it this way:

`color(blue)((4" bulbs")/($8))`

Then we can write:

`4/8= x/32`

Multiply both sides by 32

`4/8xx32 =x xx32/32`

But `32/32=1`

`(4xx32)/8=x`

`=> x=16`