14. A cafeteria has created a healthy snack by mixing unsalted cashews and peanuts in a ratio of 2:3 respectively. If Jane has 4 pounds of cashews, how many pounds of peanuts does she have to use?
Answer: B
Jane has to use 6 pounds of peanuts.
To maintain the ratio of 2:3 between unsalted cashews and peanuts, if Jane has 4 pounds of cashews, she will need 6 pounds of peanuts.
A) 4 pounds
This option is incorrect because using 4 pounds of peanuts would not maintain the required 2:3 ratio. With 4 pounds of cashews, the corresponding amount of peanuts should be higher to reflect the established ratio.
B) 6 pounds
This option is correct as it maintains the ratio of 2:3. For every 2 parts of cashews (4 pounds), there should be 3 parts of peanuts. Therefore, 4 pounds of cashews corresponds to 6 pounds of peanuts, fulfilling the ratio requirement.
C) 8 pounds
This option is incorrect since 8 pounds of peanuts would exceed the necessary amount to maintain the 2:3 ratio. If Jane were to use 8 pounds of peanuts, she would be using more peanuts than the ratio allows for the 4 pounds of cashews.
D) 10 pounds
This option is also incorrect. Using 10 pounds of peanuts would significantly disrupt the 2:3 ratio, resulting in an imbalance where the proportion of peanuts is too high compared to the amount of cashews.
Conclusion
The correct answer is 6 pounds of peanuts, as it precisely maintains the 2:3 ratio with 4 pounds of cashews. All other options fail to adhere to this ratio, either by providing insufficient or excessive amounts of peanuts in relation to the cashews.