College

What are the means of the proportion [tex]$17 / 51 = 28 / 84$[/tex]?

A. 51 and 28
B. 51 and 84
C. 17 and 51
D. 17 and 84

Answer :

To solve the question "What are the means of the proportion [tex]\( \frac{17}{51} = \frac{28}{84} \)[/tex]?", it's important to understand what means are in a proportion.

A proportion is a statement in which two ratios are equal. In the proportion [tex]\( \frac{17}{51} = \frac{28}{84} \)[/tex], we have two pairs of numbers called the terms of the proportion.

The terms are generally in the form [tex]\( \frac{a}{b} = \frac{c}{d} \)[/tex]. In this setup:

- [tex]\( a \)[/tex] and [tex]\( d \)[/tex] are called the extremes.
- [tex]\( b \)[/tex] and [tex]\( c \)[/tex] are called the means.

For the given proportion:
- The first ratio is [tex]\( \frac{17}{51} \)[/tex].
- The second ratio is [tex]\( \frac{28}{84} \)[/tex].

So according to our setup:
- The extremes are 17 and 84.
- The means are 51 and 28.

Therefore, the means of the proportion [tex]\( \frac{17}{51} = \frac{28}{84} \)[/tex] are 51 and 28.

So, the correct answer is:
a) 51 and 28.