in a small town, 20 out of every 39 people voted for the current mayor. Her opponents received a total of 741 votes. How many people voted in the election?

Question

in a small town, 20 out of every 39 people voted for the current mayor.  Her opponents received a total of 741 votes.  How many people voted in the election?

jdoe0001 · Answer

so for every 39, 20 voted for her
and 19 voted for her opponents

so.... what's 19 of 39 in percentage?   well
let's say 39 is the 100%, so what's 19 of 39 then?   well $\large \begin{array}{ccllll}
quantity&percentage\
\hline\
39&100\
19&x
\end{array}\implies \bf \cfrac{39}{19}=\cfrac{100}{x}$

solve for "x" to see  how much is 19 in percent of 39

whatever you find, we know that's 741, and you could just use that to find the quantity that voted for her :)