Question

one sixth of the students go to a local college are senior the number of freshman students is 2 1/2 times that amount , what fraction of the students are freshman ?

Answer 1

5/12 of the students are freshmen.

Explanation:

Let n represent the total number of students.

Then (1/6)n are seniors; (2 1/2)(1/6)n are freshmen, or

(1/6)n are seniors and 5/12 are freshmen. This comes from multiplying 2.5 by 1/6: we get .416666..., which is equivalent to 5/12.