A scale drawing of a room uses the scale 3 centimeters = 2 feet. In the drawing, one wall has a length of 24 centimeters. What is the actual length, in feet, of this wall?

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Be careful when doing unit conversions. It would be a mistake to convert centimeters into inches and then into feet. Instead, use the scale conversion that is given.

$$ 24 \text{ centimeters} \cdot \frac{2 \text{ feet}}{3 \text{ centimeters}} $$ $$ = 24 \cdot \frac{2}{3} \text{ feet} $$ $$ = \frac{\cancel{3} \cdot 8 \cdot 2}{\cancel{3}} \text{ feet} $$ $$ = \boxed{16} \text{ feet} $$

Using a simple proportion:

$$ \frac{3 \text{ centimeters}}{2 \text{ feet}}= \frac{24 \text{ centimeters}}{x \text{ feet}} $$ $$ 3x=24\cdot 2 $$ $$ x=\boxed{16} $$