Carrie is trying to sneak some mashed turnips into her kids' mashed potatoes. She knows they didn't notice when she mixed 2 cups of turnips with 5 cups of potatoes. If she has 20 cups of potatoes, how many cups of turnips can she add? Give me reasons, before answering the question
First find the number of cups of potatoes Carrie adds per one cup of turnips: 5 cups potatoes / 2 cups turnips = 2.5 cups potatoes / cup turnips. Then divide the number of cups of potatoes she has that that ratio to find the number of cups of turnips she adds: 20 cups potatoes / 2.5 cups potatoes / cup turnips = 8 cups turnips. So the final answer is 8.