Please provide a rating, it takes seconds and helps us to keep this resource free for all to use
In addition to the revision notes for Ratios on this page, you can also access the following Ratio and Proportion learning resources for Ratios
Tutorial ID | Title | Tutorial | Video Tutorial | Revision Notes | Revision Questions | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.1 | Ratios |
In these revision notes for Ratios, we cover the following key points:
We use two methods for comparison of two quantities:
By definition, a ratio is a comparison of two or more numbers by means of division.
Since rational numbers are all those numbers that can be expressed as fractions, the term "rational number" therefore derives from the word "ratio".
We represent ratios through the colon (:) symbol. Ratios are nothing more than divisions of the same type of quantity. Hence, a ratio has no unit.
We calculate the value of quantities expressed as a ratio by using their GCF. We denote this GCF as k and everything is expressed in terms of k. First, we calculate k and eventually, each of the quantities involved in the ratio.
We can use the help of number line to express ratios. We need at least two number lines to represent each quantity involved in a ratio. The units are not the same but they correspond to the quantities they represent when viewed vertically.
Sometimes, it is more appropriate to express two quantities as ratios of type 1:R. In other words, we may want to calculate how much from the quantity b is needed for every a.
In other situations, we need to calculate what part of the total is one component involved in the ratio. In such cases, we first calculate in how many parts the total is made and then, we find the fraction that shows what part of the total is the quantity required.
Scaling up ratios means expressing the two quantities in two perpendicular axis. The advantage of this method is that we can obtain a larger number of possible combinations between the quantities involved, which follow the rule given in the ratio. However, it also has a disadvantage: we cannot include more than three quantities in the calculations, as the maximum number of axes we can use is three (the space is 3D). The relationship is linear, so the graph obtained is a straight line.
We can also add or subtract a quantity from a given ratio to obtain a new ratio. This procedure is carried out by applying the known rules.
Ratios can be used to divide a given quantity into unequal amounts according the numbers of the ratio.
Enjoy the "Ratios" revision notes? People who liked the "Ratios" revision notes found the following resources useful:
Please provide a rating, it takes seconds and helps us to keep this resource free for all to use
We hope you found this Math tutorial "Ratios" useful. If you did it would be great if you could spare the time to rate this math tutorial (simply click on the number of stars that match your assessment of this math learning aide) and/or share on social media, this helps us identify popular tutorials and calculators and expand our free learning resources to support our users around the world have free access to expand their knowledge of math and other disciplines.