The ratio of sandcastles to kites was 3 to 5 so if 15 kites were spotted that meant that the 5 was multiplied by 3 so then we multiply the 3 by 3. Now there are 9 sandcastles and 15 kites so now we add 9 to 15 to figure out how many items were seen in all. Nine added to 15 equals 24 which means that 24 items were seen in total.
