The ratio of cats to dogs is 3 : 7. 12 dogs escaped and the ratio is now 3 : 4.
Work out how many animals there were at the beginning.

Given:

The ratio of cats to dogs is 3:7.

12 dogs escaped and the ratio is now 3 : 4.

To find:

The total number of animal at the beginning.

Solution:

Let the number of cats and dogs at the beginning are 3x and 7x respectively.

12 dogs escaped. So, the remaining number of dogs is (7x-12).

New ratio of cats and dogs is 3:4.

Divide both sides by -9.

Now, the total number of animals at the beginning is

Therefore, the total number of animals at the beginning is 40.

a variable is any characteristics, number, or quantity that can be measured or counted. a variable may also be called a data item. hope i !