To find the ratio of girls to boys, divide the number of girls by the number of boys (write a fraction using the number of girls as numerator and the number of boys as denominator):
[tex]\frac{\text{number of girls}}{\text{ number of boys}}=\frac{16}{24}[/tex]Next, simplify the fraction 16/24. Since both numbers are divisible by 8, divide both numerator and denominator by 8:
[tex]\frac{16}{24}=\frac{16\div8}{24\div8}=\frac{2}{3}[/tex]Therefore, the ratio of girls to boys is:
[tex]2\colon3[/tex]