Question

ratios seem so harmless when presented in math classes, 2 fish is to 3 bunnies as 8 fish is to 12 bunnies. in the real world we run into difficult tables of information like the one below. test your quantitative literacy skills and see if you can answer the following questions. good luck!
table 2.1 taming the river
number of courses taken during freshman and sophomore year
(standardized cohort of 1,000 students)

1. what does the number 541 mean in the first column?
2. compute the ratio of english to art classes for each column, and scale the ratios so that the second quantity is 1. round to 2 decimal places.

Explanation:

Step1: Identify the number of English and Art classes for each ethnic group

• Whites: English = 1567, Art = 541
• Asians: English = 1414, Art = 459
• Latinos: English = 1536, Art = 505
• Blacks: English = 1589, Art = 291

Step2: Calculate the ratio for each group (English / Art)

• Whites: $\frac{1567}{541}\approx 2.8965$
• Asians: $\frac{1414}{459}\approx 3.0806$
• Latinos: $\frac{1536}{505}\approx 3.0416$
• Blacks: $\frac{1589}{291}\approx 5.4605$

Step3: Round to 2 decimal places

• Whites: $2.90$
• Asians: $3.08$
• Latinos: $3.04$
• Blacks: $5.46$

Answer:

• Whites: $2.90$
• Asians: $3.08$
• Latinos: $3.04$
• Blacks: $5.46$