A total of 140,000 votes was cast for two candidates. Skinner and Whitehouse. If Skinner won by a ratio of 4 to 3, how many votes were cast for Whitehouse?

Options

A. `30,000`
B. `40,000`
C. `60,000`
D. `80,000`

Answer

To find out how many votes were cast for Whitehouse, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the ratio of votes
The problem states that Skinner won by a ratio of 4 to 3. This means that for every 4 votes Skinner received, Whitehouse received 3 votes.

### Step 2: Set up the equation
Let the number of votes for Skinner be represented as \(4x\) and the number of votes for Whitehouse be represented as \(3x\). The total number of votes cast is given as 140,000. Therefore, we can write the equation:

\[ 4x + 3x = 140,000 \]

### Step 3: Combine like terms
Combine the terms on the left side of the equation:

\[ 7x = 140,000 \]

### Step 4: Solve for \(x\)
To find the value of \(x\), divide both sides of the equation by 7:

\[ x = \frac{140,000}{7} \]

Calculating this gives:

\[ x = 20,000 \]

### Step 5: Calculate the votes for Whitehouse
Now that we have the value of \(x\), we can find the number of votes for Whitehouse. Since the votes for Whitehouse are represented as \(3x\):

\[ \text{Votes for Whitehouse} = 3x = 3 \times 20,000 \]

Calculating this gives:

\[ \text{Votes for Whitehouse} = 60,000 \]

### Final Answer
Thus, the number of votes cast for Whitehouse is **60,000**.

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