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Dealing With More Than One Ratio

You can scale up ratios by multiplying or dividing each part by the same number.

Example

Example

  • On a farm, the ratio of cows to sheep is 6 : 5. The ratio of sheep to pigs is 2 : 1. The total number of cows, sheep and pigs on the farm is 189. How many sheep are there on the farm?
Example

Example

  • Scale up the first ratio by 2 and the second ratio by 5 to get:
    • cows : sheep = 12 : 10, sheep : pigs = 10 : 5
    • So cows : sheep : pigs = 12 : 10 : 5.
Example

Example

  • Add up the number of parts and divide the total quantity by this number to get the value for each part:
    • Number of parts = 12 + 10 + 5 = 27
    • Value per part = 189 ÷ 27 = 7
    • Sheep is 10 parts so total number of sheep is 7 × 10 = 70.

Ratios

A ratio a : b means that for each 'a' of one thing there are 'b' of another. For example, if the ratio of boys to girls in a class is 3 : 4 that means that for every 3 boys there are 4 girls.

Reducing a ratio

Reducing a ratio

  • To reduce a ratio to a simpler form divide all parts by the same number.
  • It is in its simplest form if all parts are whole numbers and there are no more common factors left to divide by.
Fractions and decimals

Fractions and decimals

  • If a ratio contains decimals or fractions, multiply to get rid of them before simplifying the ratio.
  • If a ratio has mixed units convert both to the smaller unit and simplify.
  • Then remove the units from the ratio.
Mixed unit ratios

Mixed unit ratios

  • If a ratio has mixed units convert both to the smaller unit and simplify.
  • Once both are using the same unit you can remove the units from the ratio.
    • 4.6kg : 2300g is the same as 4600g : 2300g
    • We can remove the unit and simplify to get 2:1
Ratios as Linear Functions

Ratios as Linear Functions

  • See above for how you can convert from a ratio it a linear function.
Jump to other topics
1

Number

1.1

Place Value & Ordering

1.2

Numerical Operations

1.3

Structure of Calculations

1.4

Fractions

1.5

Numerical Operations on Fractions

1.6

Roots & Powers

1.7

Numerical Skills

1.8

Factors & Multiples

1.9

Surds

1.10

Standard Form

1.11

Fractions, Decimals & Percentages

1.12

Percentage Change

1.13

Rounding & Estimation

1.14

Bounds & Accuracy

1.15

Using Numbers

1.16

Fractions, Decimals & Percentages

1.17

Powers & Roots

1.18

Accuracy

2

Algebra

2.1

Algebraic Notation

2.2

Substitution & Simplification

2.3

Brackets

2.4

Algebraic Fractions

2.5

Rearranging

2.6

Functions

2.7

Solving Linear Equations

2.8

Inequalities

2.9

Solving Quadratic Equations

2.10

Simultaneous Equations

2.11

Iteration

2.12

Sequences

2.13

Linear Graphs

2.14

Introduction to Algebra

2.15

Manipulating Algebra

2.16

Proofs & Functions

2.17

Straight Line Graphs

2.18

Common Graphs

2.19

Transformations & Tangents

2.20

Properties of Graphs

2.21

Solving Equations

2.22

Inequalities

2.23

Sequences

3

Ratio

3.1

Unit Conversions

3.2

Compound Units

3.3

Ratio Fundamentals

3.4

Advanced Ratio and Scale

3.5

Proportion

3.6

Algebraic Proportion

3.7

Ratios in Practice

3.8

Manipulating Ratios

3.9

Percentage & Interest

3.10

Proportion

3.11

Gradient

4

Geometry

4.1

Area & Perimeter

4.2

Angles

4.3

Trigonometry

4.4

Similarity & Congruence

4.5

Circle Geometry

4.6

Circle Theorems

4.7

Pythagoras

4.8

Surface Area

4.9

Volume

4.10

Vectors

4.11

Introduction to Geometry

4.12

Triangles & Quadrilaterals

4.13

Transformations

4.14

Circle Basics

4.15

Circle Theorems

4.16

Measurements & Units

4.17

Calculating Area

4.18

Triangle Formulae

4.19

3D Shapes

4.20

Vectors

5

Probability

6

Statistics

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