5. 12 students play on the school's basketball team and 36 students play on the football team. What is the ratio of basketball players to football players?

Step 1 ：Number of basketball players = 12

Step 2 ：Number of football players = 36

Step 3 ：Ratio of basketball players to football players = 12/36

Step 4 ：Simplify the ratio by dividing both numerator and denominator by their greatest common divisor, which is 12

Step 5 ：Ratio of basketball players to football players = 1/3

Step 6 ：\(\boxed{1:3}\)