For every 5 boys there are 3 girls. if there are 60 students, how many boys are there? ?
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  37.5 boys

Step-by-step explanation:

Assuming students are either boys or girls, 5 of every 8 are boys.

  (5/8)×60 = 300/8 = 37.5

There are 37.5 boys in the group of 60 students.

For the ratio to be exact, there must be a multiple of 8 students. 60 is not a multiple of 8, so the ratio 5:3 is not exact. Since we don't know what the ratio actually is, the best we can do is round this number up or down. The ratio 37:23 is closer to 5:3 than is the ratio 38:22, suggesting the number of boys is 37.

  5/3 - 37/23 = (115 -111)/69 = 4/69

  38/22 -5/3 = (114 -110)/66 = 4/66 > 4/69

Set up a proportion:

In a sample of 5:3, you have 8 kids in all.

So the the ratio of boys to kids in a sample of 8 is 5:8.

So set up a proportion:

=

8x = 300

X = 37.5

Therefore, 37.5 students were boys.