Question

The ratio of petunias to geraniums in the greenhouse was 15 to 2. Combined there was 1020. How many geraniums were in the greenhouse.

Answer 1

in short, we simply split the total amount by the given ratio, so we'll split or divide 1020 by (15 + 2) and then distribute accordingly.

$\bf \cfrac{petunias}{geraniums}\qquad 15:2\qquad \cfrac{15}{2}~\hspace{7em}\cfrac{15\cdot \frac{1020}{15+2}}{2\cdot \frac{1020}{15+2}}\implies \cfrac{15\cdot \frac{1020}{17}}{2\cdot \frac{1020}{17}} \\\\\\ \cfrac{15\cdot 60}{2\cdot 60}\implies \cfrac{900}{120}\implies \stackrel{petunias}{900}~~:~~\stackrel{geraniums}{120}$