Share $72 in the ratio 4 : 5.

Step by step

The question

Question: share 72 in the ratio 4 to 5.

The ratio says how many equal parts each one gets: 4 for the first and 5 for the second.

Careful!

4 to 5 does not mean dividing 72 by 4 and by 5.

It counts parts of the same size.

1 Count the parts

All together there are 4 plus 5: 9 equal parts.

2 Draw the bar

We draw the amount as a bar of 9 equal parts.

4 parts for the first share and 5 parts for the second share.

All 9 parts together make 72.

3 Find one part

9 parts make 72.

So one part is 72 divided by 9: 8.

Every part is 8.

4 Find each share

The first share has 4 parts: 4 times 8 is 32.

The second share has 5 parts: 5 times 8 is 40.

So the shares are 32 and 40.

5 Check

Let's check.

The shares add up: 32 plus 40 is 72.

And divided by 8, they give 4 to 5 again.

So the answer is right!

Let's look back.

First: count the parts.

Then: draw the bar.

Then: find one part.

Then: find each share.

Last: check.