Taivon is training for a duathlon, which is a race that consists of running and cycling. The cycling leg is longer than the running leg of the race, so while Taivon trains, he rides his bike more than he runs. During training, Taivon runs 4 miles for every 14 miles he rides his bike.

a. Identify the ratio associated with this problem and find its value.

Use the value of each ratio to solve the following.

b. When Taivon completed all of his training for the duathlon, the ratio of total number of miles he ran to total number of miles he cycled was 80: 280. Is this consistent with Taivon’s training schedule? Explain why or why not.

c. In one training session, Taivon ran 4 miles and cycled 7 miles. Did this training session represent an equivalent ratio of the distance he ran to the distance he cycled? Explain why or why not.

So, Taivon is running 4 miles for every 14 miles he rides his bike. We can identify a ratio of 4:14. However, both numbers have a common multiple and can be reduced to 2:7; saying that taivon runs 4 miles for every 14 miles he rides his bike is the same to say he runs 2 miles for every 7 miles he rides his bike. To find the value of this ratio, we simply divide 2 miles that Taivon runs between 7 miles he rides his bike. The value of the ratio of miles he runs for miles he rides his bike is 0,285.

Once Taivon finished his training the ratio between the of total number of miles he ran to total number of miles he cycled was 80: 280. This is consistent with his training schedule, because if we divide 80 between 280, we obtain the same value of ratio previously calculated: 0,285. This means also that the total number of miles he ran and the miles he runs on one session are multiples; the same applies for the total number of miles he rode and the miles he rides on one session. If we divide 80 between 4, we obtain 20. Furthermore, if we multiply 20 times 14, we obtain 280. We can conclude then that Taivon trained 20 days in preparation to the Duathlon.

In one training session, Taivon ran 4 miles and cycled 7 miles. The ratio of the distance he ran to the distance he cycled in this session changes and for this session is 0,571. This training session does not represent an equivalent ratio of the distance he ran to the distance he cycled, since he actually fell short in the cycling by 7 miles to his usual 14 miles riding the bike.