Question

ATHLETES At Piedmont High School, 3 out of every 8 students are athletes. If there are 1280 students at the school, how many are not athletes?

Short answer

800 students are not athletes.

Step-by-step solution

Step 1. Write down the given statement.

It is given that 3 out of every 8 students are athletes.

Step 2. By method of proportion.

Let the total athletes be x. Therefore the proportion can be written as:

$$\begin{gathered} \frac{3}{8}=\frac{x}{1280} \\ 8\left(x\right)=3\left(1280\right) \\ 8x=3840 \\ \frac{8x}{8}=\frac{3840}{8} \\ x=480\text{\hspace{0.17em}athletes} \end{gathered}$$

Step 3. Subtracting 480 from a total of 1280 will give the students who are not athletes.

Students that are not athletes will be:

$$\begin{gathered} =1280-480 \\ =800\text{students} \end{gathered}$$