five eights of the people on a hike were children. there are 20 children on the hike. how many people total

There were a total of 32 people on the hike.

Step-by-step explanation:

Represent the number of people total by p.  Then:

(5/8)p = c = the number of children

Since there are 20 children on the hike, (5/8)p must equal 20:

(5/8)p = 20

Solve for p by multiplying both sides by (8/5):

(8/5)(5/8)p = 20(8/5), or

              p = 32

There were a total of 32 people on the hike.