Question

meg makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a 3:1 ratio of peanut butter to jelly. if meg uses 3 tablespoons of jelly to make sandwiches, how many tablespoons of peanut butter does she use?

Explanation:

Step1: Define the ratio relationship

Let \( p \) be the amount of peanut butter (in tablespoons) and \( j \) be the amount of jelly (in tablespoons). The ratio of peanut butter to jelly is \( 3:1 \), so we can write the proportion \( \frac{p}{j}=\frac{3}{1} \).

Step2: Substitute the known value of jelly

We know that \( j = 3 \) tablespoons. Substitute \( j = 3 \) into the proportion: \( \frac{p}{3}=\frac{3}{1} \).

Step3: Solve for \( p \)

Cross - multiply to solve for \( p \). From \( \frac{p}{3}=\frac{3}{1} \), we get \( p\times1=3\times3 \). So \( p = 9 \).

Answer:

9