Eli's Dad made him a birthday cake, but forgot to buy candles. He could only find a few. But Eli was smart in math, so his Dad said,"The ratio of candles to years is 3 to 5." That gave him the right number. How old was Eli?

3 candles --> 5 years old

6 candles --> 10 years old
9 candles --> 15 years old

etc

The question mean if he has 3 candles, that mean Eli's age is 5 years old. but this question suppose to has picture of cake with the number of how many candles Eli's dad has, so if dad has 3 candles, that mean Eli's age is 5 years old. if dad has 6 candles, tha mean Eli's age is 10 years old. if dad has 9 candles, Eli's age is 15 years old.so you have to double the 2nd number with the same number you doubled with the first number.

To determine Eli's age, we can use the ratio of candles to years. According to the given information, the ratio is 3 to 5.

Let's denote the number of candles as 'c' and Eli's age as 'a'.

Based on the ratio, we can set up the equation:

c / a = 3 / 5

To find the value of 'a', we need to determine the common factor between 3 and 5. Since there is no common factor other than 1, the fraction 3/5 is already in simplest form.

Therefore, 'a' should be the denominator, which is 5. This means that Eli's birthday cake had 5 candles.

Therefore, Eli was 5 years old.

To determine Eli's age, we can use the given ratio of candles to years, which is 3 to 5. Let's break down how to solve this problem step by step:

1. Define the variables:
- Let's assume Eli's age is represented by 'x'.
- The number of candles Eli's dad found can be represented by 'y'.

2. Set up the ratio as an equation:
- The ratio of candles to years is 3 to 5, which can be written as y/x = 3/5.

3. Solve the equation:
- To solve for 'x', we need to isolate it on one side of the equation. We can start by cross-multiplying:
(y/x) * 5 = 3 * 1
5y = 3x

4. Find the value of 'x':
- We know that Eli's dad found a few candles, so 'y' must be a non-zero value.
- If we divide both sides of the equation by '3', we get:
(5/3)y = x

5. Determine Eli's age:
- Since Eli's dad found the right number of candles using this ratio, Eli's age must match the value of 'y' for the given ratio.
- Therefore, Eli is 'y' years old.

Hence, Eli's age is equal to the number of candles his dad found, 'y', as per the given ratio. Without the specific value of 'y', we cannot determine Eli's exact age.