If 600 cfm of outdoor air is 16% of the total air, what is the total amount of air being handled by the fan?

To determine the total amount of air being handled by the fan when 600 cfm of outdoor air constitutes 16% of that total, we can use the relationship between a part and the whole.

When a specific quantity is known to represent a certain percentage of the total, we can set up the following equation:

Let ( T ) be the total air handled by the fan. According to the problem, 600 cfm is 16% of ( T ). This can be expressed mathematically as:

[ 600 , \text{cfm} = 0.16 \times T ]

To find ( T ), we can rearrange the equation:

[ T = \frac{600 , \text{cfm}}{0.16} ]

Calculating this gives:

[ T = 3,750 , \text{cfm} ]

This shows that the total amount of air being handled by the fan is indeed 3,750 cfm, confirming that the correct answer is associated with that total. Understanding this calculation is crucial in HVAC applications, where managing air quantities and proportions can significantly affect system performance and efficiency.