Fractions As Ratios Worksheet

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nuMber AnD AlgebrA
• real numbers
fractions as ratios
4g
introduction to ratios
Ratios are used in many aspects of everyday life. They are used to compare quantities of the
same kind.
Where might you hear the following comparisons? What are the quantities being
compared?
1. Michael Schumacher’s F1 car is twice as fast as Mick’s delivery van.
1
2. You will need 2 buckets of water for every
bucket of sand.
2
3. The fertiliser contains 3 parts of phosphorus to 2 parts of potassium.
4. The Tigers team fi nished the season with a win : loss ratio of 5 to 2.
5. Mix 1 teaspoon of salt with 4 teaspoons of fl our.
In the last example we are considering the ratio of salt (1 teaspoon) to fl our (4 teaspoons). We
write 1 : 4 and say, ‘one is to four’; we are actually mixing a total of 5 teaspoons. Ratios can
also be written in fraction form:
1
1 : 4 «
4
Note: Since the ratios compare quantities of the same kind, they do not have a
name or unit of measurement. That is, we write the ratio of salt to fl our as 1 : 4, not
1 teaspoon : 4 teaspoons. The order of the numbers in a ratio is important. In the example
of the ratio of salt and fl our, 1 : 4 means 1 unit (for example a teaspoon) of salt to 4 units of
fl our. The amount of fl our is 4 times as large as the amount of salt. On the contrary, the ratio
4 : 1 means 4 units of salt to 1 unit of fl our, which means the amount of salt is 4 times as
large as the amount of fl our.
115
Chapter 4
rational numbers

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