Ratio - Equivalent ratios and simplest form

If you are making orange squash and you mix one part orange to four parts water, then the ratio of orange to water will be 1:4 (1 to 4).

If you use 1 litre of orange, you will use 4 litres of water (1:4). If you use 2 litres of orange, you will use 8 litres of water (2:8). If you use 10 litres of orange, you will use 40 litres of water (10:40).

These ratios are all equivalent 1:4 = 2:8 = 10:40 Both sides of the ratio can be multiplied or divided by the same number to give an equivalent ratio.

Question
Write the ratio 40:28 in its simplest form. To work this out, look for a number that will divide into 40 and 28. 2 divides into both numbers, so 40:28 can be written as 20:14. You can divide these by 2, so the simplified ratio is 10:7 No number divides into 10 and 7, so 10:7 is the simplest form of the ratio.

Order
It's important to notice what order the parts of the ratio are written in. 2:3 is not the same as 3:2. In the example, the ratio of Dave's money to Lisa's was 2:3. If we swap the order to 3:2 then Dave would get more than Lisa. To keep it the same as in the example we could say that the ratio of Lisa's money to Dave's would be 3:2

Questions
Q1. Amelia and Shabana win a sum of money, which they agree to share in the ratio 5:3. If Amelia receives 150, how much will Shabana receive? Q2. A necklace is made using gold and silver beads in the ratio 3:2. If there are 80 beads in the necklace:

a) How many are gold? b) How many are silver?

A1. Amelia receives 5 parts, which is equivalent to 150. Therefore, 150 represents 5 parts. 150 5 represents one part. So one part is 30 Shabana receives 3 parts: 3 30 = 90. A2. Gold : Silver = 3:2, so there are 5 parts altogether. 80 5 = 16, so 1 part represents 16 beads. a) Gold = 3 16 = 48 beads b) Silver = 2 16 = 32 beads

What is ratio?
Ratio is a way of comparing amounts of something. It shows how much bigger one thing is than another. For example:

Use 1 measure screen wash to 10 measures water Use 1 shovel of cement to 3 shovels of sand Use 3 parts blue paint to 1 part white

Ratio is the number of parts to a mix. The paint mix is 4 parts, with 3 parts blue and 1 part white. The order in which a ratio is stated is important. For example, the ratio of screenwash to water is 1:10. This means for every 1 measure of screenwash there are 10 measures of water. Mixing paint in the ratio 3:1 (3 parts blue paint to 1 part white paint) means 3 + 1 = 4 parts in all.

3 parts blue paint to 1 part white paint = is blue paint to white paint. If the mix is in the right proportions, we can say that it is in the correct ratio.

Simplifying ratios
We can often make the numbers in ratios smaller so that they are easier to compare. You do this by dividing each side of the ratio by the same number, the highest common factor. This is called simplifying. Example: In a club the ratio of female to male members is 12:18 Both 12 and 18 can be divided by 2. 12 2 = 6 18 2 = 9 So a simpler way of saying 12:18 is 6:9. To make the ratio simpler again, we can divide both 6 and 9 by 3 63=2 93=3 So a simplest way of saying 12:18 is 2:3. These are all equivalent ratios, they are in the same proportion. All these ratios mean that for every 2 female members in the club there are 3 males: 12:18 6:9 2:3 2:3 is easier to understand than 12:18!

1. Which of the following ratios is written in its simplest form? 4:6 4:7 4:8

2. What is the missing number from this ratio? 10:7 = [ ]:35 50 10 7

3. What is the missing number from this ratio? 12:8 = [ ]:2 6 3 1

4. Eve divided 24 sweets between her grandchildren in the ratio of their ages. If Kate is 7, Tom is 5, how many does Kate receive? 10 14 12

5. A map has a scale of 1:25000. How much does 1cm on the map represent in real life? 250cm 2m 25000cm

You scored 5 out of 5 1 Which of the following ratios is written in its simplest form? You said: 4:7 Correct. 4:7 is written in its simplest form.

2What is the missing number from this ratio? 10:7 = [ ]:35 You said: 50 Correct. The number 50 is missing from this ratio. 10:7 = 50:35

3 What is the missing number from this ratio? 12:8 = [ ]:2 You said: 3 Correct. The number 3 is missing from this ratio. 12:8 = 3:2

4 Eve divided 24 sweets between her grandchildren in the ratio of their ages. If Kate is 7, Tom is 5, how many does Kate receive? You said: 14 Correct. Kate receives 14 sweets.

5 A map has a scale of 1:25000. How much does 1cm on the map represent in real life? You said: 25000cm Correct. 1cm on the map represents 25000cm in real life.