MODULE 5 BUSINESS MATH

RATIO AND PROPORTION

Ratios are generally used in business in cases like partnership sharing of profits and losses. Assume
that Xander, Yoly, and Zeny are partners sharing profits and losses in the ratio 1:2:3, respectively. If the
partnership incurred a net loss of 10 000.00 for the month, the share of the partners in the loss would be.

Xander = 1/6 x 10 000.00 = 1 667.00

Yoly = 2/6 x 10 000.00 = 3 333.00

Zeny =3 x 10 000.00 = 5 000.00

= 10 000.00

Take note that if we add the ratios, we get 6/6 or one, which means one whole. The total of all shares if added
will give us 10 000.00

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson the student should be able to:

1. Define ratio and explain how it is used in business

2. Define proportion and discuss how it used in business;
3. Apply the knowledge of ratio and proportion in business problems, including solving problems
involving production, business capitalization, profit and loss sharing, buying and selling, inheritance,
etc.

RATIO

Ratio is the quantitative relation between twO numbers or two magnitudes of the same kind. The
expressions 1 :2 (read as one is to two), ,1+2, indicate ratios. We are actually comparing or showing the
relationship between 1 and 2. When we say, for example, that there are twice as many married employees
as single employees, we mean that the ratio of married to single employees is 2: 1, where 2 represents
married employees and 1 represents single employees. There are two ways of finding the ratio:

1. Division
If there are 20 boys and 30 girls, we find the ratio by dividing 20 boys by 30 girls and reduce it
to lowest term, that is,

We then say that the ratio of boys to girls is 2:3. On the other hand, the ratio of girls to boys is
3:2. We usually express ratios in terms of whole numbers.

Example

1. Albert and William are candidates. Albert received 2 500 votes while William received 3 000 votes.
What is the ratio of Albert’s vote against William’s?
Albert : William = 2 500 : 3 000 = 25:30 =5:6
Check: Albert’s votes + William’s Votes = 5 500
( ) ( ) ( )

5 500 = 5 500
PROPORTION
Proportion refers to the equality between ratios. The ff. are examples of proportion

a. 1:2=8:16
MODULE 5 BUSINESS MATH

b.

Our rule concerning proportions is that “the product of the means equals the product of the
extremes.”

In (a) above, 2x8=1x16

16=16

Proportions are of three types:

1. Direct proportion- A number is directly proportional to another when as one value increase does
the other.
2. Indirect/Inverse proportion – a number is indirectly proportional to another when as one vslue
increases, the other decreases.
3. Partitive proportion- Involves identifying parts of a whole based on a given ratio of these parts.

Direct proportion

Two values x and y are directly proportional to each other when x and y will either increase or
decrease together when one increases, the other decreases.

For example, if three notebooks cost 15.00, how many books can you buy with 60.00. the number of
notebooks is directly proportional to the cost.

( )

Inverse/Indirect Proportion
Two values x and y are inversely proportional to each other such that if x increases, y decreases or
if x decreases, y increases.
For example, the relation between the time it takes to dig a well and install a water pump to
supply the house with water and the number of people needed to build it is an inverse proportion. The
more people you have, the less time it takes. If it takes 3 people to do the job in 1 month, it will take only
month if you have 6 people working. If you double the number of workers, the time is halved. If you triple
the number of workers, the time becomes to a third.
Other examples of inversely proportional quantities are the lengths and widths of rectangles with
the same area. As the length of one side doubles, the width has to be halved for the area to stay the same.
A 5 cm x4 cm rectangle has an area of 20 square cm. If the 5 cm side becomes 10 cm (doubled) and the 4
cm side becomes 2 cm (halved), 10 cm x 2 cm is still equal to 20 cm²
In inverse proportions, the product of two related is a constant as in our example of the rectangle.
When one side was doubled, the other side was halved, but the product of the two remained the same. The
equation is of the form:

( )
Using our rectangle example,

The constant k is the area of the rectangle, which is 20. Y is in inversely proportional to x.
doubling x causes y to halve. The product of x and y is always 20.
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Partitive proportion
Whole divided into parts, we are talking about partitive proportion. For example, when a
partnership agreement stipulates an agreed capitalization of 100 000.00 and the partners are to divide the
said capitalization in the ratio of 1:2:2, we are talking about partitive proportion and we get the
corresponding parts as follows assuming the partners are X,Y, and Z respectively contributing the capital:
X= 1/5 x 100 000.00 = 20 000.00
Y = 2/5 x 100 000.00 = 40 000.00
Z= 2/5 x 100 000.00 = 40 000.00
= 100 000.00

Activity
Answer the following problem.

1. Agnes sells washing machines and electric fans in the ratio of 3 :8 respectively. If she sold a
total of 22 items for the past month, how many washing machines and how many electric fans
did she sell?

2. Juanita spends her working hours (8 hours) filing, typing, receiving calls. If she
approximately performs these functions in the ratio of 1:3:4, how many hours does she spend
for each function?

3. A recipe uses 10 cups of flour for every 4 cups of sugar. If I want to make a recipe using 8
cups of flour, how much sugar does one use?

4. A syrup is made by dissolving 2 cups of sugar in should be used for 2 cups of boiling water?
How many cups of sugar should be used for 2 cups of boiling water?

5. A school buys 4 gallons of juice for 50 kids. How many gallons do they need for 75 kids?