A smoking cessation program was organized for 623 employees of a company, and 216 successfully stopped smoking. What was the approximate ratio of successes to failures?

A smoking cessation program was organized for 623 employees of a company, and 216 successfully stopped smoking. What was the approximate ratio of successes to failures?

• A. 2 to 3
• B. 1 to 2
• C. 3 to 1
• D. 4 to 2

Answer: (B)

You're being asked to compare how many people stopped smoking to how many did not. First find the number of failures: 623 total minus 216 successes equals 407 failures. The ratio of successes to failures is 216 to 407. Now approximate: 216/407 is about 0.53, which is just over one-half. The closest simple whole-number ratio is 1 to 2 (because 1/2 = 0.5). So the approximate ratio is 1 to 2. Other presented possibilities would imply much larger or smaller proportions (for example, a ratio like 2 to 3 is about 0.667, and 3 to 1 is 3), which don’t match the actual 216 to 407 ratio.

You're being asked to compare how many people stopped smoking to how many did not. First find the number of failures: 623 total minus 216 successes equals 407 failures. The ratio of successes to failures is 216 to 407.

Now approximate: 216/407 is about 0.53, which is just over one-half. The closest simple whole-number ratio is 1 to 2 (because 1/2 = 0.5). So the approximate ratio is 1 to 2.

Other presented possibilities would imply much larger or smaller proportions (for example, a ratio like 2 to 3 is about 0.667, and 3 to 1 is 3), which don’t match the actual 216 to 407 ratio.