Final answer:
The restaurant should use 12 pounds of pasta for a party of 56 people, as the amount of pasta needed is directly proportional to the number of guests.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a restaurant uses 3 pounds of pasta for a party of 14 people, to calculate how much pasta will be needed for a party of 56 people, we can set up a proportion because the number of people is directly proportional to the amount of pasta needed. Since there are 4 times as many people (56 divided by 14 equals 4), the restaurant should use 4 times the amount of pasta. Therefore, if 14 people require 3 pounds of pasta, 56 people would require:
3 pounds × 4 = 12 pounds of pasta.