Suppose that 23 inches of wire costs 92 cents.

Question

At the same rate, how much (in cents) will 17 inches of wire cost?

Answer 1

To find the cost of 17 inches of wire, we can use a proportion. Since 23 inches of wire costs 92 cents, we can set up the proportion:
$\dfrac{23 \text{ inches}}{92 \text{ cents}} = \dfrac{17 \text{ inches}}{x \text{ cents}}$ where $x$ is the unknown number of cents that 17 inches will cost.

Cross-multiplying gives us $23x = 17(92)$ or $23x = 1564$.

Dividing both sides by 23 gives us $x = \boxed{68}$ cents. Answer: \boxed{68}.