Write the rates comparing the number of winners to the number of entries for both months. To do so, put the number of winners in the numerator, and the number of entries in the denominator.
nwinners/85entries=34winners/170entries
Practice makes perfect
In this exercise, we want to use the given table to write a proportion. First, let's take a look a the table.
May
June
Winners
n
34
Entries
85
170
To form a proportion, we need two rates comparing the same things. Here, we can compare the number of winners to the number of entries in both months. We will write the rates as fractions. To compare the number of winners to the number of entries, we will put the number of winners in the numerator and the number of entries in the denominator.
May:& nwinners/85entries [1.5ex]
June:& 34winners/170entries
Now, we have two rates comparing the same things. We can use them to write a proportion. To do so, we simply need to put an equality sign between the two rates. Such equation will indicate that the number of winners and the number of entries are proportional.
May June
nwinners/85entries = 34winners/170entries
The proportion from our table is nwinners85entries= 34winners170entries.
Extra
Different Approach
Note that we could also do this task differently. We could write rates comparing May to June according to winners and entries. Let's write such rates.
Winners:& nin May/34in June [1.5ex]
Entries:& 85in May/170in June
We can also form a proportion from these rates. Let's do it!
Winners Entries
nin May/34in June = 85in May/170in June
If we wanted to solve this proportion, the result would be the same as the result from our first proportion. This was shown two exercises earlier. Also, this way of comparing quantities is a little less natural than the first way. So, in theory, writing such proportion is correct, but it seems more natural to write the first one.
