How do you find the ratio of a to b in lowest terms if #a= 12# cm and #b= 84# cm?

Question

Nathan Axel · Accepted Answer

The ratio of #a:b# is #1# cm #:7#cm. Given #a = 12# cm and #b = 84# , the ratio #a:b# would be 
#12#cm : #84#cm Dividing both sides by #12# gives us:
#1#cm #:7#cm

Eli Assouline · Answer

Try dividing both by the same quantity.

#a/b = 12/84=# (divide both by 12 and you get) #=1/7#

If you're not very good at multiplication tables, you can work through this step-by-step (we'll work through 2-2-3):

#a/b =12/84 =6/42=3/21=1/7#

Eva Abramson · Answer

undefined To find the ratio of a to b in lowest terms:
1. Divide both a and b by their greatest common divisor (GCD).
2. GCD(a, b) = GCD(12, 84) = 12
3. Divide both a and b by 12.
4. a / 12 = 12 cm / 12 = 1 cm
5. b / 12 = 84 cm / 12 = 7 cm
6. The ratio of a to b in lowest terms is 1:7.

Eva Adamson · Answer

undefined To find the ratio of $a$ to $b$ in lowest terms when $a = 12 \, \text{cm}$ and $b = 84 \, \text{cm}$, divide both $a$ and $b$ by their greatest common divisor (GCD). The GCD of 12 and 84 is 12. So, dividing both $a$ and $b$ by 12, we get:

$a = 12 \, \text{cm}$  
$b = 84 \, \text{cm}$

Reducing to lowest terms, we have:

$a = 1 \, \text{cm}$  
$b = 7 \, \text{cm}$

Therefore, the ratio of $a$ to $b$ in lowest terms is $1:7$.