Chapter One

Ratio and Proportion

Course: Business Mathematics

Course Code: BAMA 1101
Specialization: Common
Department of Business Studies
Outcome 1: Understand the concept of ratios and
proportions and effectively apply it in business scenarios
Contents:
- Ratio
 Introduction to Ratios
 Expressing Ratios
 Direct and Inverse Proportion
- Application of ratio and proportion on business scenarios
Assessment mode:
 Practice Test
 Mid term examination

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Essential Reading (the main textbook)
Slater, J (2003), Practical Business Math Procedures, 7th Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin
Publications

Recommended Reading
ProQuest Resource
Provider: Saddleback College
Course Name: Pre-Algebra
URL: http://www.oercommons.org/courses/algebra2go-ratios-proportions-and-percents/view

Open Educational Resource

Provider: The Open University
Course Name: Ratio, proportion and percentage
URL: www.oercommons.org/courses/ratio-proportion-and-percentages/view

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Fractions:
A fraction is a number that represent parts of a whole or
parts of a group. The denominator represents the total
number of equal parts the whole is divided into.

Fraction is written in the form ⅞, ⅝, ⅜―¼, ½, ¾

For example, 30 students registered in Business

Mathematics course. If the total number of boys in the class
20
is 20, it can be expressed as . The ratio between boys and
30
20
girls in the class is 20:10, 20 to 10, or 10

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Type of Fractions:
Proper Fractions
Has a value less than 1,
Numerator is smaller
than its denominator
Improper Fractions
Has a value equal to 1, or
greater than 1,
Numerator is equal to or
greater than its denominator

1 4 2 4
Ex: 2 Ex: 2
7 3

Mixed Fractions
Is the sum of a whole number
greater than zero and a proper
fraction.

3 1
Ex: 14 34
Equivalent Fractions:

Equivalent fractions are fractions that have the same

value.

1 1𝑥2 2 2 𝑥2 4
2 2𝑥2
= 4 4𝑥2
= 8

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Fraction: Practice
Identify the following types of fractions

A. 1/9

B. 12 5
7

C. 16/11

D. 32/40

E. 25/5

1
F. 2 10

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Reducing Fractions to Lowest / highest Terms
Reduce the following to lowest terms

a.16/ 38

b. 44/52

Convert the following to higher terms.

7/8 = ?/80

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Ratio

Quantitative relationship between two quantities. It is a way

of comparing two or more quantities.

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E.g. the ratio of 3 to 4 can be written as 4 or 3:4

Suppose, there are 10 boys and 30 girls in a class, the ratio of

boys to girls can be expressed as

10
10 to 30, 30
or 10:30

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 Ratio - examples
Example # 1: If we have five oranges and three apples, we said the ratio of oranges to apples is 5 to 3. This is
abbreviated 5:3. If we add two pineapples, we can express the ratio of oranges to apples to pineapples as 5:3:2.

Remember Two quantities can be compared only if they are in the same unit.

Example # 2: Determine the ratio of 1 hour to 25 minutes.

Answer: since 1 hour contains 60 minutes, we can write the ratio as 60:25 or, as a fraction, 60/25. It can be
reduced to 12/5, then expressed as 12 : 5.

Example # 3: Suppose that $80,000 was allocated for advertising, research, and investment in the ratio 8 : 5: 3.
How much money will be allocated for each?

Answer: since 8 + 5+ 3 = 16, then for advertising 8/16 * $80,000 = $40,000

For research 5/16 *$80,000 = $25,000, for investment 3/16 *$80000 =$15,000

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How to simplify ratios?

Suppose, there are 10 boys and 30 girls in a class, the ratio of

boys to girls can be expressed as

10
10 to 30, or 10:30
30

Steps to simplify:

Divide both the numerator and denominator by the greatest

common factor (GCF). In this case, the GCF is 10.

10/10 1
= =
30/10 3
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Ratio: Practice

1- Reduce (simplify) the ratios

(a) 250 : 75

(b) 69 : 15

2- Find the ratio of lengths 3ft to 6 in. (Two quantities can

be compared only if they are in the same unit)

3- Allocate OMR 12,500 in the ratio 3: 5: 7

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Proportion
• A proportion is an equation that equates two ratios. For e.g
𝑎 𝑐
𝑏
= 𝑑
• A proportion can also be written using colon notation like
this a : b :: c : d
• In a proportion the product of the means is equal to product
of the extremes.

10 : 20 = 5 : 10

20*5 = 100

10*10 = 100

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Proportion: Practice
1. 15 : 30 :: 50 : ?

2. 30 : ? :: 40 : 160

3. Find the value of x, if x : 5 = 18 : 30

4. On an investment of OMR 50,000 Jamil receives OMR 65,000 after one

year. If Jamil invested OMR 80,000 in the same venture, how much
should he receiving?

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Proportion: Direct and inverse
Remember that quantities expressed in a ratio can be directly proportionate or
inversely proportionate.

Direct proportion: Two quantities are said to be in direct proportion if an increase

in one leads to a proportionate increase in the other quantity and a decrease in one
leads to a proportionate decrease in the other quantity. For e.g. for making 1 kilo of
chocolate you need 1 kilo of sugar then for making 5 kilos of chocolate you need 5 kilos
of sugar

Indirect proportion: Two quantities are said to be in inverse proportion if an

increase in one leads to a decrease in the other quantity and a decrease in one leads to
an increase in the other quantity. For e.g if 16 workers take 3 days to finish a house
then 12 workers will take more days to finish the same house. In this case 12 workers
will take 4 days to finish the house. As it takes 48 man-days to finish the house (16 x 3)
with 12 workers it will be 48 / 12 = 4 days

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Proportion: Direct and inverse: Practice
1. If the cost of 1 kg of sugar is OMR 3.6, then what would be the cost of 3 kg
sugar?

2. The cost of 5 metres of a particular quality of cloth is OMR 2.100.

Tabulate the cost of 2, 4, 10 and 13 metres of cloth of the same type.

3. If the weight of 12 sheets of thick paper is 40 grams, how many sheets of

the same paper would weigh 2.4 kilograms?

4. 6 pipes are required to fill a tank in 1 hour 20 minutes. How long will it
take if only 5 pipes of the same type are used?

5. If 15 workers can build a wall in 48 hours, how many workers will be

required to do the same work in 30 hours?

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 Example (1)
At a certain high school there are 425 female Solution:
students and 375 male students. a) Ratio of female students to male students
= 425:375
a) What is the ratio of female students to = 17:15
male students?
b) Number of female students in a class of 32 students
17
b) Based on your reduced ratio in part a), = 32 x (32 )
theoretically in a classroom of 32 = 17
students, how many should be female?
c) The ratio of female students to the total student population
c) What is the ratio of female students to the Total number of students = 425+375 = 800
total student population. Number of female students = 425
Ratio of female students to total number of students = 425:800
= 17:32

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 Practice (1)
At a certain high school there are 500
female students and 600 male students.

a) What is the ratio of male students to

female students?

b) Calculate a reduced ratio for a

c) Theoretically in a classroom of 44
students, how many should be male?

d) What is the ratio of male students to

the total student population.

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 Exercise (1)
Candice drove her hybrid vehicle 480
miles on 10 gallons of gas.

a) What is the ratio of miles to gallons

for Candice’s hybrid?

b) How many gallons of gas be needed

to drive 720 miles?

c) If Candice have already covered 480

miles how much gas is needed to
cover a total journey of 1,200 miles?

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 Exercise (2)
A friend is painting the inside walls
of a garage. So far she has used a 2
litre tin of emulsion paint and
covered an area of 9 m2. She needs
some more paint.

How much more would you advise

her to purchase if she intends to
paint all the walls and ceiling, which
is a total area of 75 m2.
Refer: OER Source:
URL: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/mathematics-and-
statistics/mathematics-education/ratio-proportion-and-percentages/content-section-0

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 Exercise (3)
Adam's grandfather ran a
mile in 4 ½ minutes. Adam
took 260 seconds.

1. Which is greater, 260

seconds or 4 ½
minutes?

2. Did Adam run faster

than his grandfather?
Refer: OER Source:
URL: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/mathematics-and-
statistics/mathematics-education/ratio-proportion-and-percentages/content-section-0

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 Exercise (4)
A local shop sells ready-
made custard at £1.45 for a
special offer pack of three
425 g tins. It also sells the
same brand of custard in 1
kg cartons costing £1.29
each. Which is the better
bargain?

Refer: OER Source:

URL: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/mathematics-and-
statistics/mathematics-education/ratio-proportion-and-percentages/content-section-0

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 Exercise (5)
Ahmed earns RO 28,000 per month.
His brother Saeed earns RO 36,000 per
month. Find the ratio of

(a) Ahmed’s earnings to their total

earnings

(b) Saeed’s earnings to their total

earnings
Refer: OER Source:
URL: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/mathematics-and-
statistics/mathematics-education/ratio-proportion-and-percentages/content-section-0

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 Exercise (6)
A marketing team conducted a research in
Muscat, to identify the preference of customers
3
towards various car brands. of the people
10
2
surveyed preferred Nissan, of the people
10
surveyed preferred Hyundai and the rest of the
people preferred Toyota. If the survey is
conducted among 5,000 people, find out;

- The number of people who preferred Nissan

- The number of people who preferred Hyundai

- The number of people who preferred Toyota

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 Exercise (7)
Three sales staff (A, B & C) sold a
total of 12,000 units of a product
during March 2019. If the ratio of
sales among the three are in 2:3:5,
how many units did each sell?

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 Practice exercise:
At the time of writing the ratio of
prices in pounds sterling to prices
in euros is two to three (2 : 3).
What is the equivalent price in
pounds for a coat costing 150
euros?

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 Exercise (8)
Adil is preparing for a trip to UK.
Before his trip, he researched on
the exchange rate between Omani
Rial and Pound Sterling (₤). He
learned that 1 ₤ equals to RO
0.490.

1. How much will Adil receive if

he exchange RO5,000 ?

2. How much ₤7,500 worth in

RO?

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Exercise 9:
Lamya and Maryam started a
business with capital of RO
12,000 and RO 15,000
respectively. At the end of one
year they got a profit of RO
3,600. How much will each get
if the profit is divided in
proportion to capital?

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Exercise 10:
Faheem built a house in Sur in
60 days with the help of 15
men. Rahim, a friend of
Faheem wants to build the
same type of house in Ibra.
How many days will it take to
build the house if he has 16
men?.

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Video Tutorial

Introduction : Ratio, Fractions and Proportion

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt1jh3nXcRM

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Video Tutorial

Tutorial : Ratio and Proportions

URL:

http://www.oercommons.org/courses/algebra2go-ratios-
proportions-and-percents/view

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Additional Exercise
https://www.saddleback.edu/faculty/lperez/algebra2go/prea
lgebra/ratios/ratiosHW.pdf

https://www.saddleback.edu/faculty/lperez/algebra2go/prea
lgebra/ratios/proportionsHW.pdf

http://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/feep108.pdf

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Reference
Books

1. Slater, J (2003), Practical Business Math Procedures, 7th Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin
Publications

2. NCERT (2018), Ratio and Proportion, Chapter 12, Available Online

http://www.ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/femh112.pdf

OER Resources

1. Course Name: Pre-Algebra, Saylor Founation, URL:

http://www.oercommons.org/courses/algebra2go-ratios-proportions-and-percents/view

2. Course Name: Ratio, proportion and percentage, The Open University, URL:
Www.oercommons.org/courses/ratio-proportion-and-percentages/view

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 CONTACT INFORMATION:

Name of the Staff : Hassan Sanadi

Office:BS025
Email: hassan.sanadi@hct.edu.om

VERSION HISTORY

Version No Date Approved Changes incorporated

1.3 Sem. (I) 2019/2020 20/09/2021

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