Translate a complement statement to a ratio: If 3/4 of the employees in a supermarket are not college graduates, what is the ratio of college graduates to non-graduates?

Introduction / Context: Statements about who is not in a category can be flipped to find proportions that are in the category. Here, knowing three-fourths are not graduates determines the remaining one-fourth who are, enabling a direct ratio.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Non-graduates fraction = 3/4 of total employees.
• Graduates fraction = 1 − 3/4 = 1/4.

Concept / Approach: Ratio of graduates to non-graduates is simply (1/4) : (3/4). Cancel the common 1/4 factor to simplify the ratio to smallest integers.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check: For a hypothetical 100 employees, 25 graduates and 75 non-graduates give 25 : 75 = 1 : 3.

Why Other Options Are Wrong: 1 : 4 suggests only one-fifth are graduates; 3 : 1 reverses roles; 3 : 4 mixes categories; 4 : 1 implies 80% graduates, contradicting the premise.

Common Pitfalls: Confusing the complement; ensure you subtract from 1 to get the remaining fraction for graduates.

Final Answer: 1 : 3