The problem states that there are red and yellow counters in a bag, with a ratio of red to yellow counters of 7:8. This means that for every 7 red counters, there are 8 yellow counters.
To find the fraction of counters that are red, we need to consider the total number of red and yellow counters together and then find out what portion of that total is made up of red counters.
Step 1: Understand the ratio.
The ratio of red to yellow counters is 7:8, and this doesn't tell us the actual number of counters, but how they compare to each other in quantity.
Step 2: Calculate the sum of the parts of the ratio.
Total parts in the ratio = red part + yellow part
Total parts in the ratio = 7(red part) + 8(yellow part) = 15 parts
Step 3: Find the fraction of red counters.
The fraction of the bag that is red counters is given by the number of parts that are red divided by the total number of parts.
Fraction of red counters = Number of red parts / Total number of parts
Fraction of red counters = 7 / 15
Thus, the fraction of the counters that are red is 7/15.
