Learn how a ratio compares two amounts, and how to share things out fairly.
Lesson 1 of 6 in Mathematics
Imagine making a fruit drink with 3 cups of orange juice for every 2 cups of mango juice. If you make a bigger jug, it should still taste the same. A ratio is a way of comparing amounts like this. We write it as and say "3 to 2".
The order matters. means orange first, mango second. Swap them and you get a very different drink!
Ratios behave a lot like fractions. If a class has 12 girls and 8 boys, the ratio of girls to boys is . Both numbers can be divided by 4:
Ratios Lesson
Simplify the Middle
Math Antics - Ratios And Rates
mathantics
3 questions · 0 answered
That was a free sample. The rest is for schools on RudimentaryLabs.
Next up: Rates and unit rates, one of 5 more lessons in Mathematics.
This is called simplifying the ratio. A ratio is in its simplest form when no whole number bigger than 1 divides into every part.
Ratios that describe the same mix are called equivalent ratios. You make them by multiplying or dividing every part by the same number:
| Orange cups | Mango cups | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | |
| 6 | 4 | |
| 9 | 6 |
Every row tastes exactly the same, because each one simplifies to .
Ama and Kofi share £40 in the ratio . How much does each person get?
Step 1. Add the parts to find the total number of shares.
Step 2. Find the value of one part.
Step 3. Multiply to find each share.
Step 4. Check: £15 + £25 = £40. ✓
Ama gets £15 and Kofi gets £25.
Ratios are everywhere once you start looking. Recipes use them: 2 cups of flour to 1 cup of milk makes pancake batter, whether you cook for two people or twenty. Painters mix colours in ratios to get the same shade every time. Maps use a scale such as , meaning 1 cm on the map is 50 000 cm (half a kilometre) in real life.
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