I could have used any letter I liked for my variable. I chose to use "c" because this will help me to remember what the variable is representing. An "x" would only tell me that I'm looking for "some unknown value"; a "c" can remind me that I'm looking for "centimeters". Warning: Don't fall into the trap of feeling like you "have" to use "x" for everything. You can use whatever you find most helpful.
A metal bar ten feet long weighs 128 pounds. What is the weight of a similar bar that is two feet four inches long?
First, I'll need to convert the "two feet four inches" into a feet-only measurement. Since four inches is four-twelfths, or one-third, of a foot, then:
2 feet + 4 inches = 2 feet + 1/3 feet = 7/3 feet
I will set up my ratios with the length values on top, set up my proportion, and then solve for the required weight value:
length (ft) : weight (lbs): 10 / 128 = (7/3) / w
10/128 = (7/3)/w, 10w = 896/3, w = 448/15
Since this is a "real world" word problem, I should probably round or decimalize my exact fractional solution to get a practical "real world" sort of number.
The bar will weigh 448/15 , or about 29.87, pounds.