how do I find a value of x that will make each proportion true??
12 = x
___ ___
16 20
and
8 = 14
__ ___
12 x
See previous post.
i still don't get it sorry
Cross multiply to find x.
Here's the first one; perhaps you can try the second one on your own.
12/16 = x/20
Take 12 * 20, which is 240. Take 16 * x, which is 16x. This is cross multiplying.
Therefore:
16x = 240
Divide both sides by 16 to solve for x.
You will find that x = 15
You can check by substituting 15 for x in your original problem.
12/16 = 15/20
This is a true statement, so you know the answer is correct.
I hope this is clearer.
Thanks for posting, MathGuru. Really good work.
To find the value of x that will make each proportion true, you can follow these steps:
1. Write down the given proportion, where two ratios are set equal to each other. For example, in the first proportion: 12/16 = x/20 and in the second proportion: 8/12 = 14/x.
2. Cross multiply by multiplying the numerator of the first ratio by the denominator of the other ratio, and vice versa.
For the first proportion:
12 * 20 = 16 * x
For the second proportion:
8 * x = 14 * 12
3. Simplify each equation to isolate x.
For the first proportion:
240 = 16x
For the second proportion:
8x = 168
4. Solve for x by dividing both sides of the equation by the coefficient of x.
For the first proportion:
240/16 = x
x = 15
For the second proportion:
8x = 168
x = 168/8
x = 21
5. Check if the solution is correct by substituting the value of x back into the original proportion.
For the first proportion:
12/16 = 15/20
0.75 = 0.75 (which is true)
For the second proportion:
8/12 = 14/21
0.67 = 0.67 (which is true)
Therefore, the values of x that make both proportions true are x = 15 for the first proportion and x = 21 for the second proportion.