Unitary Proportion

There are two types of proportion

• Direct. When one variable increase, the other increases.

For example, if
you buy more ice
creams, the cost
will increase.
Inverse Proportion
This is when one variable increases, but the other
decreases.

For example. The number of

builders needed to build a
house in 10 days will be more
than the number of builders
needed to build a house in 20
days
Direct Proportion
 Find out the weight of
1 book

÷12
12 books weigh 48kg
÷12
1 book weighs 4kg

So 1 book weighs 4kg.

27 must weigh 27 x 4kg = 108kg
 Find out how long it would take to run 1
mile

5 miles takes 45 minutes

÷5
1 mile takes 9 minutes

Now what?
1 mile takes 9 minutes
So 18 times will take 18 times as long
9 x 18 = 162 minutes
Your turn to have a go

5 packs of sweets cost £5.25.

How much would it cost to buy 7 packs of
sweets?

£7.35
10 pieces of wood when laid end to
end measure 55 m. How far would 18
pieces stretch?

99m
 Bronze
2 pizzas cost £8.00. What is the cost
of 4 pizzas?
4 sweets cost £1.60. What is the
cost of 8 sweets?
10 packets of seeds cost £20. What
is the cost of 5 packets of seeds?
5 tennis balls cost £2.50. What is
the cost of 10 tennis balls?
5 kg of apples cost £4.00. What is
the cost of 12 kg of apples?
30 protractors cost £3.30. What is
the cost of 17 protractors?
Silver
A machine fills 1000 bottles in 5 hours. Work
out how many hours it would take the machine
to fill 1200 bottles.
It costs £0.75 to buy 5 bananas. Work out how
much it would cost to buy 7 bananas
If 240g of pumpkin can make enough soup for
three people, what weight of pumpkin is
needed to make soup for five people?
If five tins of paint are enough for fifteen doors,
how many doors would six tins of paint cover?
A student can jog 9km in 54 minutes. At the
same speed how long would it take him to jog
8km?
A student can swim nine lengths in 45 minutes.
At the same speed how long would it take her
to swim two lengths?
Gold
If sixteen bricks weigh 160kg. What would
seventeen bricks weigh?
If twenty one girls can plant 63 trees in a
day. How many trees could twenty two girls
plant in a day?
If fifteen workers can dig 255 holes in an
hour. How many holes could twenty one
workers dig in an hour?
If thirty six coins weigh 612g. What would
fifty six coins weigh?
If nineteen buses can seat 779 people. How
many people could twenty six buses seat?
Thirty six identical pipes laid end to end
make a length of 576m. What length would
forty pipes make if they are laid end to end?
Bronze Silver Gold
£16 6hours 170kg
£3.20 £1.05 66 trees
£10 400g 357 holes
£5 18 doors 952g
£9.60 48minutes 1066 people
£1.87 10 minutes 640m
Inverse Proportion
15 masons can build the wall in 20 days. How
many masons will build the wall in 12 days?
• Think!
• Will you need more masons or less masons?
• So if there was only 1 mason working how long would he take?
• 15 x 20 =300 days!
• I have 12 days so 300 ÷ 12 = 25 masons needed.
 76 persons can complete the job in 42 days. In
how many days will 56 persons do the same job?
• Will the job take more time or less time with fewer people?
• So how long in days will the whole job take?
• 76 x 42 =3192 days
• I have 56 people to put on this job so
• 3192 ÷ 56 = 57 days to complete.
Your turn to have a go
• 10 builders can build a house in 20 days. How many builders
will you need build the house in 10 days?

20 builders
15 people can complete a job in 42 days. In
how many days will 9 people do the same job?

70 days
 Taster Challenge
20 workers build the wall in 15 days. How many A school has 8 lessons in a day such that each lesson
days will 12 workers take? is of 35 minutes. If the number of lessons is reduced
to 7, then how long would each lesson be?
Lara reads 21 pages of a book every day and finishes 500 soldiers in a fort had enough food for 30 days
the book in 30 days. If she reads 18 pages in a day, but 125 soldiers were transferred to another fort.
in how many days will he finish reading the book? For how many days did the food last then?
6 pipes are required to fill the tank in 64 minutes. 5 pumps working together can empty the tank in 36
How many pipes are required to fill the tank in 96 minutes. How long will it take to empty the tank if 9
minutes? such pumps are working together?
If 17 men can complete the work in 42 hours. How 20 workers working for 8 hours a day build the wall
many men will be required to do the same work in in 15 days. How many hours a day will 12 workers
34 hours? take to complete the work in 10 days?
 Taster Challenge
2.5 days 40 minutes
35 days 40 days
4 pipes 20 minutes
21 men 20 hours.
Can you identify direct or inverse
proportion?
If 9 m of cloth cost £22.50 what
would 15m cost?
If 6 men build a wall in
10 hours how long
would it have taken 1
man to build it?
If 12 books cost £15 what
would 15 books cost?
 If 5 sheep eat a number of turnips in 6 days,
how long would the same number of turnips
lasts 1 sheep?
250 tins of food lasts 7 men 5 days
how long would it have kept 1 man
for?
If 18 rose bushes cost £9.90 what
would 24 rose bushes cost?