Question

Every summer, Kendra plants a vegetable garden in her yard. Last year, she planted 6 rows of tomatoes and 8 rows of peppers. Kendra wants to keep the same ratio this year, but she only plans to plant 3 rows of tomatoes.
How many rows of peppers will Kendra plant this year?
rows of peppers

Answer 1

To find out how many rows of peppers Kendra will plant this year while keeping the same ratio, we can set up a proportion based on last year's planting.

Last year, Kendra planted 6 rows of tomatoes and 8 rows of peppers. The ratio of tomatoes to peppers can be expressed as:

\[
\text{Ratio} = \frac{\text{rows of tomatoes}}{\text{rows of peppers}} = \frac{6}{8} = \frac{3}{4}
\]

This year, Kendra plans to plant 3 rows of tomatoes. Let \( x \) represent the number of rows of peppers she will plant this year. We can set up the proportion based on the established ratio:

\[
\frac{3}{x} = \frac{3}{4}
\]

To solve for \( x \), we can cross-multiply:

\[
3 \cdot 4 = 3 \cdot x
\]

This simplifies to:

\[
12 = 3x
\]

To isolate \( x \), divide both sides by 3:

\[
x = \frac{12}{3} = 4
\]

Thus, Kendra will plant **4 rows of peppers** this year.