UNIT

8
PROPORTIONALITY
DIRECT PROPORTION

Two quantities are in direct proportion when they increase or decrease in the
same ratio. This is, as the first is doubled, trebled, etc the second quantity also
doubles, trebles, etc, and as the first one is halved, the second one also half.

We can identify two magnitudes directly proportional because the quotient of the
values of each one are always the same, so we can use this property to get one
of the unknown values of any magnitude.

Magnitude A a 1 a2 a3
Magnitude B b1 b2 b3
a1 a 2 a 3
= = =k
b1 b 2 b 3

F.e: A car uses 10 liters of fuel per 125 km. This grid shows the use of fuel related
to the length
length 125 250 500 700 1000
use in l. 10 20 40 x 80

When we obtain the ratios with the different values of each magnitude we get
always the same. So, we can ensure the ratios are in direct proportion.
125 250 500 1000
= = = = 12.5
10 20 40 80
As we know the ratios are in direct proportion, we can use this property to get
one of the unknown values of any magnitude.
700 700
12.5 = ®x= = 56
x 12.5

In general:
Quantity 1 Quantity 2
Magnitude 1 a c
Magnitude 2 b d

We can solve these problems too, using one of these two methods:
A) “Unitary Method”:
1. We convert the proportion in 1:n or n:1 (the most convenient), this is, we
obtain the value of one unit.
2. We multiply by the third quantity.
 F.e: If I have 8 litres of paint for 2 bedrooms, how many litres of
paint would I need for 5 bedrooms?

!
We obtain the liters of paint we need to paint one room " = 4 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠
So, to paint 5 rooms, 5 x 4 = 20 liters.

B) “Rule of Three”: it is a Mathematical Rule that allows you to solve problems

based on proportions.
The working of the Rule of Three can be expressed as follows:

Quantity 1 Quantity 2
Magnitude 1 a c
Magnitude 2 b ?

𝑎→𝑏 𝑐∙𝑏
/ ?=
𝑐 →? 𝑎

F.e: If I have 8 litres of paint for 2 bedrooms, how many litres of paint would I
need for 5 bedrooms?
In this case, the two values of “a” and “b” are known, “a” is 2 bedrooms and “b” is
8 litres. The value of “c” is also known ( 5 bedrooms) and the missing value is
that of ? ( the number of litres) So:

Rooms 2 5
Litres of paint 8 ?

2→8 5∙8
/ ?= = 20 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠
5→? 2

WORKSHEET

1. Complete the table with the cost in euros of a piece of chord

Metres of rope 1 5 8
Cost in euros 6.20 40
 2. Joaquín earns €17.5 for working 6 hours. How
much will he earn for working 10 hours.

3. Luisa has exchanged $450 and has received 355€ without any
commission. How much in € will she receive for $15? How much in $
will she receive for 50€?

4. My plain uses 1600 liters of petrol to travel 2500 km.

a) How far can I travel with 5555 liters?
b) How much petrol would I need to travel 18000 km?

INVERSE PROPORTION
Look at the relationship that exists between the number of the members of a
family and the days that one box of apples lasts to them (suppose that all the
people eat the same number of apples at the same rate).

Members 5 10 15
days 2 1 0. 67

Observe that the more people there are in the family the less the box of fruit lasts,
and the less people there are, the more it lasts. We will say that this relationship
is of inverse proportionality.

We say that there is an inverse proportionality between two magnitudes if when

increasing one magnitude, (double, triple…) the other decreases (half, third…),
when decreasing one (half, third…), the other increases (double, triple…).
When two magnitudes are inversely proportional, the product of the values of
each one are always the same, so we can use this property to get one of the
unknown values of any magnitude.

Magnitude A a1 a2 a3
Magnitude B b1 b2 b3

𝑎# ∙ 𝑏# = 𝑎" ∙ 𝑏" = 𝑎% ∙ 𝑏%
 Members 5 10 15 20
days 2 1 0. 67 ?

5 ∙ 2 = 10 ∙ 1 = 15 ∙ 0. 67 = 𝟏𝟎
10
10 = 20 ∙? →? = = 0.5 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠
20

F.e: Suppose that you are driving a car and you are going to travel 60 kms,
suppose that you spend 1 hour driving. Your average speed would be 60 kmh.
Suppose that you spend 2 hours driving. Your average speed will be 30 kmh. So,
changing the number of hours that you are driving, the average speed that you
are travelling will change too.

We can see that in the following chart.

Time 1 2 3
Average 60kmh 30kmh x
&'
1 • 60 = 2 • 30 = 3 • x® 60 = 3 • x ® 𝑥 = %
= 20𝑘𝑚ℎ

F.e: If 18 men can do a job in 10 days, in how long will it 45 men take to do the
same job?

This is an inverse proportion because with twice as many the men as before, half
of the days are required to do the job. We will work in two steps.

Men 18 45
Days 10 x

18 • 10 = 45 • x

18 ∙ 10
=𝑥
45

4 days = x

We can solve these problems too, using one method called the inverse rule of
three:
The working of the Inverse Rule of Three can be expressed as follows:

Quantity 1 Quantity 2
Magnitude 1 a c
Magnitude 2 b ?
 𝑎→𝑏 𝑎∙𝑏
/ ?=
𝑐 →? 𝑐

F.e: If 18 men can do a job in 10 days, in how long will it 45 men take to do the
same job?

Men 18 45
Days 10 x

18 → 10 #!∙#'
/ ?= = 4 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠
45 →? )*

WORKSHEET

5. Two pumps take 5 days to empty a pool. How long will

it 5 pumps take to empty the same pool?

6. At 65 km/h a journey takes 5 h 25 min. how long will the journey take at a speed
of 75 km/h?

7. It takes 12 hours for 3 bricklayers( albañiles) to build a wall.

How long will it take 5 bricklayers?

8. At 130 km/h a train takes 1h and 23 min for its journey from Albacete to
Valencia. How long will the same journey take with the AVE (high-speed rail) at
a speed of 190km/h? How long at a speed of 250 km/h?

9. A company needs 33 workers to pack its

production in 25 days, if the total production needs to
be packed in 15 days. How many extra workers will
they need?

10. James can write 8 pages with a number of 25 lines per page in one hour. How
many pages can he write if there are 20 lines on each page?

11. If 2 eggs take 6 minutes to boil, how long will it 5 eggs take?
12. There have been 13 winners in a lottery game and each one will receive
23000€, but there are 3 more winners, how much will each one receives now?

13. Riding my bicycle at an average speed of 15 km/h I travel

a distance of 22 km in a certain period of time, if the speed
is 17 km/h, how far will I travel?

14. A crash barrier is to be put on a stretch of motorway. We

need 56 pieces of material which are each 2.5 m long. How
many pieces of 3.5 m will we need for the same stretch?

PROPORTIONAL DISTRIBUTION
In this kind of problems something has to be shared in proportion to certain
data.

There are two types of Proportional Distribution:

- Direct .
It is very common in business. For example, that two or more people form a
partnership (sociedad) and both of them or all of them invest a different amount
of money, then the profit is divided in proportion to the capital invested by them.
𝑎 𝑐 𝑒 𝑎+𝑐+𝑒
= = =
𝑏 𝑑 𝑓 𝑏+𝑑+𝑓

Three partners invest 30 000, 40 000 and 50 000€ respectively in a business.

After a year the profit is 7500€, how much will each one of them receive?
The total invest is 30000 + 40000 + 50000 = 120000

- Inverse proportion
To distribute an amount in inverse proportion to several numbers such as ages,
inverse quantities, days off, etc, we distribute the given amount directly
proportional to the corresponding reciprocal of these numbers.
𝑎 𝑐 𝑒 𝑎+𝑐+𝑒
= = =
1 1 1 1 1 1
𝑏 𝑑 𝑓 𝑏+𝑑+𝑓
 Worksheet

15. Three farmers have sold 350, 200 and 170 kg of pears to a
salesman and he has paid 1080€ in total. How much will each
farmer receive?

16. A man gives 180€ to his three children aged 3, 5 and

8 years old, they must share the money proportionally to
their ages. How much does each one get? Directly and
inversely.

17. Divide 195 into three parts directly and inversely proportional to:
a) 2, 3 and 4 b) ½; 1/3; 1/4

COMPOUND PROPORTION
The proportion involving two or more quantities is called “Compound
Proportion”. For example:

195 men working 10 hour a day can finish a job in 20 days. How many men will
have to be employed to finish the job in 15 days if they work 13 hours a day?
First quantity: number of men
Second quantity: number of hours
Third quantity: number of days

To solve compound proportion problems, follow these rules:

1. Write the compound rule of three and express all the magnitudes in the same
unit.
2. Compare each magnitude with the x magnitude, in order to find out if they are
in direct or inverse proportion. Write below them D for “ direct” or I for “inverse”.
3. If there is any inverse proportion write another time the composite rule of
three reversing the quantities of the inverse magnitudes.
4. Write the proportion in this way: the first ratio will be the one which includes
the x magnitude, and the second ratio will include the product of the rest of
magnitudes.
Look at this example.

Consider the following example:

195 men working 10 hours a day can finish a job in 20 days. How many men
will have to be employed to finish the job in 15 days if they work 13 hours a
day?

195 15.13 195.10.20

= ®x= = 200men
x 10.20 15.13

A soap factory makes 100 units in 9 days using 20 machines.

How many units can be made in 12 days using 18 machines?

100 9.20 100.12.18

= ®x= = 120u.
x 12.18 9.20

The origin of these rules is the Unitary Method. For example in the previous
problem we calculated the number of units made in 1 hour using 1 machine.
 Worksheet

18. 10 men can lay a road 75 Km. long in 5 days. In how

many days can 15 men lay a road 45 Km. long.

19. Wheat costing €480 is needed for 8 members for 20 days. What is the cost
of wheat required for 12 members for 15 days? Choose the correct answer.
€530 €510 €540 €520

20. The dorm charges $6300, for 35 students for 24

days, in how many days will the dorm charges be $3375
for 25 students. Choose the correct answer.

15 days 16 days 18 days 17 days

21. 175 men can dig a canal 3150m. long in 36 days. How
many men are required to dig a canal 3900m. long in 24
days? Choose the correct answer.

315 men 330 men 325 men 320 men

 22. 40 men can build a wall 4m high in 15 days. How many men
will build a similar wall 5 m high in 6 days?

INTEREST
When money is invested in a bank or any other financial society, this society pays
a fee to the lender (persona que presta el dinero). This fee is called 'interest'.
Interest is directly proportional to the amount of the deposit or the loan.

If we consider that the annual interest is not added to the principal (original
amount), this is simple interest in this case the formula for the interest or benefit
after t years is:

Where:
I is the total amount of interest paid
C is the principal, the amount lent (prestado) or borrowed (pedido, prestado)
r is the percentage of the principal charged as interest each year. The rate is
expressed as a decimal fraction, so percentages must be divided by 100. For
example, if the rate is 15%, then use 15/100 or 0.15 in the formula.
t is the number of periods, usually years.

This formula is obtained since we are solving a compound proportion problem:

An amount of 1200€ at 4% per year produces after 5 years

 Worksheet

23. Calculate the interest for a deposit of 2450€ in the

following cases:

a) At 4% in 5 years b) at 6% in 4 years c) at 12% in 12 years

24. Complete the chart.

25. A student purchases a computer by obtaining a simple

interest loan. The computer costs €1500, and the interest rate
on the loan is 12%. Calculate the amount of interest paid over
the 2 years and the total amount to be paid back.

26. If a loan of 1000€ is to be paid back over 2 years. Calculate the

Interest amount at 4% weekly/per week.

27. What is the interest of 240€ for 5 years at 5 per cent per year?