A carpenter's tool box is made up of nails, screws,
washers, and brackets in a ratio of 4:11:9:6. The
total number of the pieces in the box is 60. If 5
carpenters have identical tool boxes, how many
total washers are in the boxes?

45 total washers

Step-by-step explanation:

Looking at the ratio of 4:11:9:6, we know that there are,

4 nails in each tool box

11 screws in each tool box

9 washers in each tool box

6 brackets in each tool.

Given that there are 5 carpenters with identical tool boxes, we can find the total amount of washers by multiplying the amount of washers in each box with how many carpenters there are.

9 * 5  = 45

Step-by-step explanation:

One way to do this follows:  Find the ratio, r, which when multiplied by each of the four numbers in the ratio produces the actual number of parts present:

4r + 11r + 9r + 6r = 60

Summing these up results in 30r = 60, so r is 2.

There are 4(2), or 8, nails,

11(2), or 22, screws,

9(2), or 18, washers, and

6(2), or 12, brackets.

Note that 8 + 22 + 18 + 12 = 60 (total number of parts)

If 5 carpenters have identical boxes, there will be 5(18), or 90, total washers.