Question

A florist ordered a shipment of red, blue, and white flowers to use for table decorations at a banquet.
The ratio of red : blue : white flowers in the shipment is .
There are 60 white flowers in the shipment.
What is the total number of flowers in the shipment?

Answer 1

To find the total number of flowers in the shipment, we need to know the ratio of red, blue, and white flowers. However, you've mentioned the ratio as a placeholder "red : blue : white flowers in the shipment is .", so I can't see the specific numbers.

Let’s assume you have a ratio of \( r : b : w \).

From the information given, we know:
- The number of white flowers (\( w \)) is 60.

If we express the ratio in terms of white flowers, we can say:
- The ratio can be written as \( r : b : 60 \).

Let's say the ratio is represented as \( r : b : w = r : b : 1 \) (to simplify, with \( w = 60 \)):
- In that case, the total number of parts in the ratio is \( r + b + w \), which is \( r + b + 1 \) (where \( w \) is taken as 1).

If we denote the common multiplier for the parts of the ratio as \( k \), we can express the number of red and blue flowers as:
- Red flowers: \( r \cdot k \)
- Blue flowers: \( b \cdot k \)
- White flowers: \( 60 \), which means \( k \) should be adjusted to make \( w = 60\), giving us \( k = \frac{60}{1} = 60\).

So, we can calculate the total number of flowers as:
\[
Total = r \cdot k + b \cdot k + w = (r + b + 1) \cdot k = (r + b + 1) \cdot 60
\]
Substituting the corresponding values of \( r \) and \( b \) would give you the total.

If you provide the specific ratio of red to blue to white flowers, I would be able to calculate the exact total number of flowers for you. Please share the ratio so I can assist you further!