Nora’s fruit stand sold 12 fewer pineapples than bananas last week. The stand sold 48 bananas last week.

[eddy2017]

48 ?s
Every 4 ?----- 3 ?
48 ÷4=12
12×3
36 bananas pineapples ? were sold

A slip of the finger, Doc. Been at this the whole day!. Nonstop!

how many pineapples?

how many pineapples+banana ?

48 bananas + 36 pineapples= 84

Well, Doc Khan, thank you so much and to Steve for the help with this problem. Tomorrow will be another day, like my Grandpa used to say.
Have yourself a goo night!

 

[Deleted member 4993]

My question is
There is no way to find how many pineapple were sold in total?.

You should have known this answer - Steve gave it to you in in response #2

48 bananas and 36 pineapples

 

[eddy2017]

48 bananas and 36 pineapples is a 4 to 1 ratio???? It is a 48:36 ratio!! This ratio can be expressed in many ways. Which one to do you think they are looking for?

Yes, he certainly did. From where did you think I knew there was a 36 in the picture?. Right after he dropped this. ? thank you Steve. Have a good night too.

 

[Deleted member 4993]

I thought you re-read (like you are supposed to) the subject line of your thread which is:

Nora’s fruit stand sold 12 fewer pineapples than bananas last week. The stand sold 48 bananas last week.​

 

[JeffM]

Eddy

Please, I beg you, read carefully before you do anything. We are not in a race (even on a timed test, it is far more important to get a correct answer than a quick answer).

I have told you now several times that the first thing to do after making sure you understand the question is to name the unknowns. How many unknowns do you have? Two.

[math]p = \text {number of pineapples sold last week.}\\ r = \text {ratio of bananas sold last week to pineapples sold last week.}[/math]
So you have two unknowns. How many equations do you need?

 

[eddy2017]

Eddy

Please, I beg you, read carefully before you do anything. We are not in a race (even on a timed test, it is far more important to get a correct answer than a quick answer).

I have told you now several times that the first thing to do after making sure you understand the question is to name the unknowns. How many unknowns do you have? Two.

[math]p = \text {number of pineapples sold last week.}\\ r = \text {ratio of bananas sold last week to pineapples sold last week.}[/math]
So you have two unknowns. How many equations do you need?

Just one simple equation where,
b= number of bananas sold
p= number of pineapples sold
b=48
p= b -12 = 36

Ratio of b/p= 48/36 = 4/3

 

[eddy2017]

Jeff, it is simple now
b=Number of bananas sold
p= Number of pineapples sold

b=48
p=b-12=36
r= b/p
r=48/36
r=4/3

 

[JeffM]

Just one simple equation where,
b= number of bananas sold
p= number of pineapples sold
b=48
p= b -12 = 36

Ratio of b/p= 48/36 = 4/3

Jeff, it is simple now
b=Number of bananas sold
p= Number of pineapples sold

b=48
p=b-12=36
r= b/p
r=48/36
r=4/3

Now you are thinking systematically and getting to a correct solution. The key point is that the number of equations you need equals the number of variables you name.

I point out that the number of bananas is known so you do not need to name a variable for that. Of course you can do so if you find it helpful. So let’s follow your way.

[math]b = \text {number of bananas.}\\ p = \text {number of pineapples.}\\ r = \text {ratio of bananas to pineapples.}[/math]
Three variables means three equations.

[math]b = 48.\\ p = b - 12.\\ r = \dfrac{b}{p}.[/math]
Now it is trivial to solve

[math]p = 48 - 12 = 36.\\ r= \dfrac{48}{36} = \dfrac{4}{3}.[/math]
This method will work for ANY word problem in algebra.

 

[eddy2017]

Now you are thinking systematically and getting to a correct solution. The key point is that the number of equations you need equals the number of variables you name.

I point out that the number of bananas is known so you do not need to name a variable for that. Of course you can do so if you find it helpful. So let’s follow your way.

[math]b = \text {number of bananas.}\\ p = \text {number of pineapples.}\\ r = \text {ratio of bananas to pineapples.}[/math]
Three variables means three equations.

[math]b = 48.\\ p = b - 12.\\ r = \dfrac{b}{p}.[/math]
Now it is trivial to solve

[math]p = 48 - 12 = 36.\\ r= \dfrac{48}{36} = \dfrac{4}{3}.[/math]
This method will work for ANY word problem in algebra.

Thank you so much, Jeff. It is very clear now. I have dealt with other ratio problems before but this one confused me. Thanks.

Now you are thinking systematically and getting to a correct solution. The key point is that the number of equations you need equals the number of variables you name.

I point out that the number of bananas is known so you do not need to name a variable for that. Of course you can do so if you find it helpful. So let’s follow your way.

[math]b = \text {number of bananas.}\\ p = \text {number of pineapples.}\\ r = \text {ratio of bananas to pineapples.}[/math]
Three variables means three equations.

[math]b = 48.\\ p = b - 12.\\ r = \dfrac{b}{p}.[/math]
Now it is trivial to solve

[math]p = 48 - 12 = 36.\\ r= \dfrac{48}{36} = \dfrac{4}{3}.[/math]
This method will work for ANY word problem in algebra.

Nice and clean example of the steps here. Thanks.

Well, Doc Khan, thank you so much and to Steve for the help with this problem. Tomorrow will be another day, like my Grandpa used to say.
Have yourself a good night!