Question

Mike wants to make meatloaf. His recipe uses a total of 8 lbs of meat. If he uses a 3 to 1 ratio of beef to pork how much pork will he use?

Answer 1

2 pounds of pork, 6 pounds beef

Answer 2

Let x represent the amount of beef and y represent the amount of pork Mike used in recipe.

He used total 8 lbs of meat, so we can write:

x + y = 8

He uses 3:1 ratio of beef to pork, so we can write:

x :y  = 3 : 1
x = 3y

Using this value of x in first equation, we get:

3y + y =8
4y = 8
y = 2

x = 3y = 3(2) = 6

This means Mike used 6 lbs of beef and 2 lbs of pork for his recipe