Question

Monica makes tomato sauce with the plants she grows in her garden. She uses 3 basil leaves in her sauce for every 8 tomatoes. She is making a big batch of sauce with 32 tomatoes from her garden.
How many basil leaves should Monica use in her sauce?

Answer 1

To determine how many basil leaves Monica needs for her batch of sauce, we can set up a proportion based on the ratio of basil leaves to tomatoes.

Monica uses 3 basil leaves for every 8 tomatoes. Given that she is using 32 tomatoes, we can set up the following equation:

\[
\text{Number of basil leaves} = \left(\frac{3 \text{ basil leaves}}{8 \text{ tomatoes}}\right) \times 32 \text{ tomatoes}
\]

Now, calculate the number of basil leaves:

\[
\text{Number of basil leaves} = \frac{3}{8} \times 32
\]

To simplify:

\[
= \frac{3 \times 32}{8}
\]
\[
= \frac{96}{8}
\]
\[
= 12
\]

Monica should use **12 basil leaves** for her sauce.