# If 74 grams = 214 kcal what is 10g

#### KebabYa

##### New member
Hi there,
I’m terrible at maths but always come across problems like this, so its probably really simple.

how would i go about working this out on a calculator?

If 74 grams = 214 kcal
What would 10 grams be

,thanks

#### ksdhart2

##### Senior Member
The problem tells you how many kilocalories are in 74 grams, so how many would be in 1 gram? Which mathematical operation do you think you would use? Given this information, how many kilocalories are in 10 grams? Which mathematical operation do you think you would use?

#### catherine19

##### New member
Hi there,
I’m terrible at maths but always come across problems like this, so its probably really simple.

how would i go about working this out on a calculator?

If 74 grams = 214 kcal
What would 10 grams be

,thanks
74x = 214 * 10

Now x = 2140÷ 74
=28.92
This is direct proportion so u need to cross mutiply

#### KebabYa

##### New member
Hi ksdhart, thanks for the reply.

I wouldnt know how to get to 1 gram.
74x = 214 * 10

Now x = 2140÷ 74
=28.92
This is direct proportion so u need to cross mutiply
i would of never of worked that out, That makes total sense,
Thank you,

#### ksdhart2

##### Senior Member
Hi ksdhart, thanks for the reply.

I wouldnt know how to get to 1 gram.
Well, provided the fully worked answer truly helped you understand the concepts at play rather than just learn how to solve this one problem, you now know that the intended operation to figure out how many kilocalories in 1 gram was division. But given your apprehension and self-deprecating attitude (re: being "terrible at maths"), it will likely be helpful to play around with it some and see why division is appropriate to use here.

Let's consider some other, simpler examples. Suppose you had two apples and you wanted to equally distribute them into two buckets. How many apples would you put in each bucket? Likewise, what if you had three apples and three buckets? Okay, so, obviously the answer in both cases is 1 apple per bucket, but how did you figure that out? You used division $$\displaystyle \left( \frac{2 \: apples}{2 \: buckets} = \frac{3 \: apples}{3 \: buckets} = \frac{1 \: apple}{1 \: bucket} \right)$$. Now, what would happen if you had six apples and two buckets? Or what if you had twelve apples and three buckets? As before, the answers should be very easy to work out, but the point here is to take a step back and consider how you got those answers, and why you used the operations you did.

In the actual problem at hand, you have 214 "apples" and 74 "buckets," so the answer won't be a nice whole number. However, the process is what's important here, and the process remains the exact same, even when the numbers cause you grief by not playing nicely.

#### KebabYa

##### New member
Well, provided the fully worked answer truly helped you understand the concepts at play rather than just learn how to solve this one problem, you now know that the intended operation to figure out how many kilocalories in 1 gram was division. But given your apprehension and self-deprecating attitude (re: being "terrible at maths"), it will likely be helpful to play around with it some and see why division is appropriate to use here.

Let's consider some other, simpler examples. Suppose you had two apples and you wanted to equally distribute them into two buckets. How many apples would you put in each bucket? Likewise, what if you had three apples and three buckets? Okay, so, obviously the answer in both cases is 1 apple per bucket, but how did you figure that out? You used division $$\displaystyle \left( \frac{2 \: apples}{2 \: buckets} = \frac{3 \: apples}{3 \: buckets} = \frac{1 \: apple}{1 \: bucket} \right)$$. Now, what would happen if you had six apples and two buckets? Or what if you had twelve apples and three buckets? As before, the answers should be very easy to work out, but the point here is to take a step back and consider how you got those answers, and why you used the operations you did.

In the actual problem at hand, you have 214 "apples" and 74 "buckets," so the answer won't be a nice whole number. However, the process is what's important here, and the process remains the exact same, even when the numbers cause you grief by not playing nicely.
that’s fantastic
It makes total sense now
Thank you

#### Paul Belino

##### New member
Just an observation: be very careful using the = symbol when in fact what you really meant was the ≡ (equivalence symbol). It can lead you up the garden path and very confusing for an examiner to follow your logic. Is like saying an apple equals a banana.