EASY READ Numbers
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What is a ratio?
A ratio shows how much of something there is compared to another thing. For example, if there are four oranges and three lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is four to three. The ratio is usually written like this: 4:3. We come across ratios in daily life when we follow a recipe or mix drinks.
The order of the values in a ratio is important, and they cannot be swapped around.
A ratio of 1 part juice to 4 parts water tells us that for every 1 measure of juice, we need to add 4 measures of water. If we accidentally switched the values, the drink would be much too strong!
Proportion
Proportion is a useful word when talking about ratios. Proportion means amount, or share. We might want to work out the proportion of lollipops in a bag which are red. This means working out how many lollipops are red compared to the others.
Or someone might ask us to share out all the sweets between five people in equal proportions. This would mean sharing out the sweets into five equal parts.
Multiplying ratios
Ratios always stay the same even when the quantities increase. This stops the proportions from changing.
Imagine you are making some sweets. The recipe asks you to measure out cocoa and sugar in the ratio 2:3.
If you are only making a few sweets you could measure out 2 spoonfuls of cocoa and 3 spoonfuls of sugar.
But if you want to make ten times as many sweets, you could multiply the ratio by 10, so it becomes 20:30. This tells you to use 20 spoons of cocoa and 30 spoons of sugar. The quantities have changed, but the ratio stays the same.
Simplifying ratios
Sometimes we come across ratios in which the values are large, and we need to make them smaller to be able to work with them. This is called simplifying ratios. The aim is to make the values on each side as small as possible.
To simplify a ratio, divide the values on each side by the same number.
The first step is to find a whole number that both sides can divide into.
For the ratio 8:6 the highest number that both numbers can be divided by is 2.
The next step is to divide the values on each side by 2, so 8:6 becomes 4:3.
The simplified ratio is 4:3.
Consultant: Adam Larking
Factfile
proportion amount or share
ratio a pair of numbers that shows us how much of something there is compared to another thing
values the numbers in a ratio are known as "values"
pics
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