It is recommended that for every 8 square feet of surface, a pond should have 2 fish. A pond that has a surface of 72 square feet should contain how many fish?
72/8 = x
2x = number of fish
To determine the number of fish a pond should contain based on the recommended ratio, you need to calculate the fish-to-surface ratio and then multiply it by the surface area of the pond.
Let's break it down step by step:
Step 1: Calculate the fish-to-surface ratio
According to the recommendation, for every 8 square feet of surface, a pond should have 2 fish. So, the fish-to-surface ratio is 2 fish / 8 square feet. We can simplify this ratio to 1 fish / 4 square feet.
Step 2: Determine the surface area of the pond
The given surface area of the pond is 72 square feet.
Step 3: Multiply the fish-to-surface ratio by the surface area of the pond
Multiply the fish-to-surface ratio (1 fish / 4 square feet) by the surface area of the pond (72 square feet):
(1 fish / 4 square feet) * 72 square feet = 18 fish
Therefore, a pond with a surface area of 72 square feet should contain 18 fish based on the recommended fish-to-surface ratio.