Question

Marcus is playing dodge ball with some of hi friends during recess. He catches 2 out of every 5 balls that are thrown in his direction. If he catches 14 balls, how many were thrown toward him?

Answer 1

If he catches 2 out of 5, that mean he catches 14 out of x. We multiply 2 by 7 to get 14, so we multiply 7 by 5 to get 35. 35 balls were thrown at him. To check your work you can simply simplify 14/35 to get 2 out of 5 again. Hope this helps!