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| Question 710376:  A 3 inch by 5 inch picture is enlarged so that the longer side measures 6 foot. What is the length of the shorter side?
 Answer by josh_jordan(263)
      (Show Source): 
You can put this solution on YOUR website! To solve, we need to set this problem up as a proportion.  The picture is originally 3 by 5, so  .  It's enlarged to something by 6 feet.  In other words,  , where x is our unknown.  In proportional form, this would look like 
 
   
 To solve this proportion, cross multiply, and place the results on each side of the equal sign:
 
 6*3 = 5*x
 
 18 = 5x
 
 Divide both sides by 5, to get x by itself.  This gives us
 
 
   
 In decimal form, this equals 3.6
 
 So, the length of the shorter side is 3.6 feet
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