GCSE Ratio Exercises
[JMC 2000 Q9] Three –quarters of the junior
All solutions are in the accompanying slides.
Exercise 1
1. Simplify the following ratios:
a. 2:6
b. 10:15
c. 24:18
d. 56 : 49
2. Simplify the following:
a. 8: 10: 12
b. 63: 14: 35
3. What is the ratio of shaded to non-shaded
(small) triangles?
4. If £30 is split between two people in the ratio
3:2, what does each get?
Exercise 2
5. To make orange squash I mix concentrate and
water in the ratio 2:7. If I use 150ml of
concentrate, how much water do I use?
6. 120 sweets are shared out into three piles, in
the ratio 3:4:1. How many more sweets does
the biggest pile have than the smallest?
7. The ratio of boys to girls at a birthday party is
4: 5. If there are 35 girls, how many boys are
there?
8. The ratio of boys to girls at another party is
5: 7. There are 8 more girls than boys. How
many boys are there?
9. The ratio of the probability of heads to
probability of tails on an unfair coin is 1: 4.
What is the probability of heads?
10. The ratio of the angles in a quadrilateral are
7: 4: 5: 2. What is the smallest angle?
11. [JMC 2012 Q17] There are six more girls than
boys in Miss Spelling’s class of 24 pupils. What
is the ratio of girls to boys in this class?
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12.
members of a tennis club are boys and the
rest are girls. What is the ratio of boys to girls
among these members?
13. [JMO 2012 A8] An athletics club has junior
(i.e. boy or girl) members and adult members.
The ratio of girls to boys to adults is 3 : 4 : 9
and there are 16 more adult members than
junior members. In total, how many members
does the club have?
14. If 18: 𝑥 = 𝑥: 8, find 𝑥.
15. The ratio of red to blue to green marbles in a
bag is 3 : 10 : 4. If there are 39 red and blue
marbles altogether, how many green marbles
are there?
16. [IMC 2009 Q9] Joseph’s flock has 55% more
sheep than goats. What is the ratio of goats to
sheep in the flock?
17. [JMC 2012 Q19] In rectangle 𝑃𝑄𝑅𝑆, the ratio
of ∠𝑃𝑆𝑄 to ∠𝑃𝑄𝑆 is 1: 5. What is the size of
∠𝑄𝑆𝑅?
A 15° B 18° C 45°
D 72° E 75°
1. For each of the following, determine the ratio
𝑎: 𝑐.
a. 𝑎: 𝑏 = 1: 2, 𝑏: 𝑐 = 3: 4
b. 𝑎: 𝑏 = 4: 3, 𝑏: 𝑐 = 5: 2
c. 𝑎: 𝑏 = 1: 2, 𝑏: 𝑐 = 1: 2
d. 𝑎: 𝑏 = 4: 3, 𝑏: 𝑐 = 4: 3
e. 𝑎: 𝑏 = 11: 2, 𝑏: 𝑐 = 7: 11
2. The ratio of boys to girls at a party is
1 : 2. Of the boys, a quarter brought a present
with them. What fraction of attendees are
boys who brought a present?
3. [JMC 2010 Q10] At the Marldon Apple-Pie-
Fayre bake-off, prize money is awarded for 1st,
2nd and 3rd places in the ratio 3: 2: 1. Last year
Mrs Keat and Mr Jewell shared third prize
equally. What fraction of the total prize
money did Mrs Keat receive?
4. [Edexcel GCSE(9-1) Mock Set 3 Autumn 2017
2F Q24b, 2H Q6b]
Only blue vans and white vans are made in a
factory. The ratio of the number of blue vans
to the number of white vans is 4 : 3 For blue
vans, the number of small vans : the number
of large vans = 3 : 5
Work out the fraction of the number of vans
made in the factory that are blue and large.
 5. [JMC 2006 Q23] At a holiday camp, the ratio Exercise 3
of boys to girls is 3: 4 and the ratio of girls to
1. The ratio of red to blue counters is
adults is 5: 7. What is the ratio of children to
2 : 5 and there are 40 blue counters. When I
adults at the camp?
remove some red counters the ratio is now
A 4: 5 B 5: 4 C 12: 7
1 : 4. How many red counters did I remove?
D 15: 28 E 21: 20

2. The ratio of green to yellow beads is 4 : 5, and

6. The ratio of cats to dogs at a rescue centre is 2
there are initially 27 beads. I add some yellow
: 3. Of the cats, 25% are black and of the dogs,
beads and the ratio is now 1 : 3. How many
50% are black. What percentage of the total
yellow beads did I add?
animals are black?

3. The ratio of boys to girls is 1 : 2. Two boys and

7. [Edexcel GCSE(9-1) Mock Set 2 Spring 2017 2F
two girls enter the room and the ratio is now
Q23, 2H Q2]
5 : 9. How many boys and girls were there
On a school trip the ratio of the number of
originally?
teachers to the number of students is 1: 15
The ratio of the number of male students to
4. The ratio of children to adults on a school trip
the number of female students is 7: 5
is initially 10 : 1. This doesn’t meet
Work out what percentage of all the people
government regulations, so 5 more children
on the trip are female students. Give your
and 5 more adults join the trip so that the
answer correct to the nearest whole number.
ratio is now 9 : 1. How many children are
8. [JMC 2013 Q19] A swimming club has three
there now?
categories of members: junior, senior,
veteran. The ratio of junior to senior members
5. [JMO 2015 A4] My fruit basket contains
is 3: 2 and the ratio of senior members to
apples and oranges. The ratio of apples to
veterans is 5: 2. Which of the following could
oranges in the basket is 3 : 8. When I remove
be the total number of members in the
one apple the ratio changes to 1 : 3. How
swimming club?
many oranges are in the basket?
A 30 B 35 C 48
D 58 E 60
6. [JMO 2004 A8] A large pan contains a mixture
of oil and water. After 2 litres of water are
9. [Edexcel GCSE(9-1) Mock Set 3 Autumn 2017
added to the original contents of the pan, the
2H Q11]
ratio of oil to water is 1: 2. However, when 2
Anna and Bill share some money in the ratio
litres of oil are added to the new mixture, the
2:5
ratio becomes 2: 3. Find the original ratio of
Anna gets £𝐴 Bill gets £𝐵
oil to water in the pan.
Carl and Donna share twice as much money as
Anna and Bill share.
 [STMC Final 2007/08 Q1] Anne, Becky and
They share the money in the ratio
Charlotte had sums of money in the ratio
3:1
7:6:5. One of them gave £9 to one of the
Carl gets £𝐶 and Donna gets £𝐷.
others and this changed the ratio (in the same
Find 𝐴: 𝐵: 𝐶: 𝐷, giving your answer in its
order of names) to 6:5:4. The total sum of
simplest form.
money remained the same; what was it?
10. Shapes are black and white, and are circles or
squares.
The ratio of circles to squares is 2: 3. Of the
circles, the ratio of black to white is 4: 5. Of
the squares, the ratio of black to white is 5: 2 .
(a) What fraction of the shapes are black?
(b) Determine the ratio of black circles to
white squares.
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