We know there are a total of 36 marbles. We also know 24 out of 36 are black and 12 out of 36 are blue. A ratio is pretty much a division problem... The problem wants the 24 black marbles over the 12 blue marbles. So, 24/12 = 2/1. Now, what this means is that for every 2 black marbles, there is one 1 blue marble. Good luck!
(a) = 400 (b) (c) Only the positive solution makes sense because you cannot have a negative side length. (d) Since one side of the painting is 20 inches, all four sides together will be 20*4 = 80 inches