Question

The length and width of a rectangular table have a ratio of 8 to 5. The width of the table is 40 in. Find the length of the table.

Answer 1

Solution:

Let the length and the width of the rectangular table be represented as L and W respectively.

Given that the length and the width have a ratio of 8 to 5, this implies that

$\frac{L}{W}=\frac{8}{5}$

If the width of the table is 40 in, the length of the table is evaluated as

$\begin{gathered} \frac{L}{40}=\frac{8}{5} \\ \text{cross multiply} \\ 5\times L=8\times40 \\ \implies5L=320 \\ \text{divide both sides by the coefficient of L, which is 5} \\ \text{thus,} \\ \frac{5L}{5}=\frac{320}{5} \\ \therefore L=64\text{ in.} \end{gathered}$

Hence, the length of the table is 64 in.