Tag: ratio

This is our second page on ratio and proportion, an area of maths which is less well covered than the traditional four rules but nevertheless involves key concepts.

An important part of this page is to be able to show the ratios in the simplest form. This process is similar to showing fractions in their simplest form, for example 6:4 can be simplified to 3:2 by dividing each by 2.

Remember, when finding the proportion of something the whole total of all items needs to be worked out. So to find what proportion of the total orders was tea, add up all the orders, which comes to 80. So the proportion of tea is 24/80. This can be simplified to 3/10.

Ratio and proportion (2)

This can be quite a tricky subject for children to fully understand. If there are 6 yellow cubes and four blue cubes we can say that the ratio of yellow to blue is 6 to 4. This can be simplified to 3 to 2.

The proportion is usually written as a fraction of the whole lot, so the proportion of yellow cubes would be 6 out of 10, or when simplified, 3 out of 5. This can be written as a fraction 3/5.

In the same way, the proportion of blue cubes would be 4 out of 10 or 2 out of 5 (2/5).

A good way to check that the proportions are correct is to add the fractions which should make one.

3/5 + 2/5 = 5/5 or 1.

Ratio and proportion (1)