In order to find this out, let's convert both of them into percents. Since 17.5 is already a percent, we only have to convert 1/6 into a percent. To convert 1/6 into a percent, you have to divide the numerator by the denominator. If you do that, you will get 0.1666..... as a repeating decimal. Now, multiply the decimal by 100 or just move the decimal 2 spaces to the right to get the percent. If you do that, you will get 16.6%. Since it is a repeating decimal, you can round it to 16.7%. So, 17.5% is larger than 1/6.
Hope it helps :)
