In a local election the votes were labour 1200, conservative 5312, liberal democrats 878. Write this ratio in the form 1:n:m. Correct n and m to three significant figures.Please help!
To solve the problem, if you are writing the solution in full,in the form
lab:con:lib
then the solution would be
1200:5312:878
In order to make the first number=1, you must divide all the numbers by 1200. Therefore, because 5312/1200=4.427 and 878/1200=0.732 the solution becomes
1 : 4.427 : 0.732
I have written the figures to 3 DECIMAL figures as opposed to the 3 figures that Drewhound used.
Hope this explanation helps.