To determine how much flour is needed to make 72 cookies, we can start by finding out how much flour is needed for one cookie. We know that 3 cups of flour makes 48 cookies, so we can calculate the amount of flour per cookie by dividing the total flour by the number of cookies:
Flour per cookie:
3 cups ÷ 48 cookies = 0.0625 cups per cookie
Now, to find out how much flour is needed for 72 cookies, we multiply the amount of flour needed for one cookie by the total number of cookies (72):
Total flour for 72 cookies:
0.0625 cups per cookie × 72 cookies = 4.5 cups
Therefore, to make 72 cookies, you will need 4.5 cups of flour.