The ratio of girls to boys in a science class is 5:6. Can there be 15 boys in the class? Explain why or why not.

5/6 = x/15

Solve for x. If the result is a whole number, then the answer is yes. If not, it is no.

4:3

To determine if there can be 15 boys in the science class given a ratio of 5:6, we can use the concept of proportions.

First, let's define the ratio as 5x:6x, where x represents a common factor. This means that for every 5 girls, there are 6 boys.

Now, assume there are 15 boys in the class. This would mean that the number of girls in the class should be (15/6) * 5 = 12.5.

Since the number of students must be a whole number, it is not possible to have 12.5 girls. Therefore, there cannot be 15 boys in the class.

Hence, based on the given ratio of 5:6, it is not possible for there to be 15 boys in the science class.

To determine if there can be 15 boys in the class, we need to examine the given ratio of girls to boys, which is 5:6.

In this ratio, 5 represents the number of girls and 6 represents the number of boys.

If we assume that there are 15 boys in the class, we can set up a proportion to compare the ratio of girls to boys:

5 girls / 15 boys = 5/6

To simplify the proportion, we can multiply both sides by 6:

5 girls = (5/6) * 15 boys

Simplifying further, we get:

5 girls = 75/6 boys

Now, it is clear from this equation that we cannot have a fraction of a person, so the ratio cannot be satisfied if there are exactly 15 boys in the class.

Therefore, it is not possible to have 15 boys in the science class based on the given ratio of 5:6.