5:3. If there are 18 more boys than girls, work out how many people there are in total.

72

Step-by-step explanation:

Since there are 18 more boys than girls, we know that in the ratio 5:3, 5 is for boys and 3 is for girls.

Now, we can set up a proportion to first find the number of girls.

Let's name the number of girls x.

The number of boys is x+18.

3/5=x/x+18

Cross multiply.

5x=3 (x+18)

Distribute.

5x=3x+54

Subtract 3x from both sides.

2x=54

Divide both sides by 2.

x=27

There are 27 girls.

We know that there are 18 more boys that girls.

27+18=45

There are 45 boys.

Add the number of boys and girls together to find total number of people.

27+45=72

There are 72 people in total.