A study found that 27% of the fish in a river are trout, 36% are salmon, and 18% are sturgeon. If a large fish trap is set and it captures 200, what is the likely ratio of trout to salmon to sturgeon as expressed in lowest terms?
9 is the GCF (greatest common factor)
3 : 4 : 2
To find the ratio of trout to salmon to sturgeon, we first need to determine the number of fish of each species in the 200 captured.
Given that 27% of the fish are trout, we calculate the number of trout as follows:
27% of 200 = (27/100) * 200 = 54 trout
Similarly, 36% are salmon:
36% of 200 = (36/100) * 200 = 72 salmon
And 18% are sturgeon:
18% of 200 = (18/100) * 200 = 36 sturgeon
Therefore, the ratio of trout to salmon to sturgeon is:
Trout:Salmon:Sturgeon = 54:72:36
To express this ratio in lowest terms, we divide each number by the greatest common divisor (GCD) of the three numbers, which is 18.
Dividing each number by 18, the ratio becomes:
54/18 : 72/18 : 36/18
Simplifying, we get:
3 : 4 : 2
So, the likely ratio of trout to salmon to sturgeon, expressed in lowest terms, is 3:4:2.