A diagram measuring 20 cm long is reduced on a copy machine to 15 cm long. If the width of the original copy is 16 cm, what is the width of the reduced copy? Show your work.
15/20 = 3/4
(3/4) * 16 = ?
To find the width of the reduced copy, we can use the concept of proportions.
First, let's set up a proportion using the given information:
Original width / Original length = Reduced width / Reduced length
Plugging in the given values:
16 cm / 20 cm = Reduced width / 15 cm
To find the reduced width, we can cross-multiply and then solve for the reduced width:
(16 cm * 15 cm) / 20 cm = Reduced width
Simplifying the expression:
240 cm² / 20 cm = Reduced width
Calculating:
12 cm = Reduced width
Therefore, the width of the reduced copy is 12 cm.