A baker uses 12 cups of flour to make 3 cakes. How much flour is needed for 5 cakes?

To determine how much flour is needed for 5 cakes, first, find out how much flour is required for one cake. The baker uses 12 cups of flour for 3 cakes, so to find the amount of flour per cake, you divide:

12 cups / 3 cakes = 4 cups per cake.

Now that you know each cake requires 4 cups of flour, multiply the amount of flour needed for one cake by the total number of cakes you want to make:

4 cups per cake × 5 cakes = 20 cups.

This calculation indicates that to make 5 cakes, a total of 20 cups of flour is required. Therefore, the answer reflects the proper multiplication based on the initial ratio given, leading to the conclusion that for 5 cakes, you need 20 cups of flour.