How to do Ratios

This video covers ratios and percentages. We use ratios for the comparison of quantities or amounts.

A ratio also describes the relationship between $$2$$ (two) quantities or amounts.

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1. A basketball player is taking $$50$$ jump shots at a practice session. He scores in $$28$$ shots. What now is the ratio of scored shots to all of his shots taken? Simplify to its lowest terms.
A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 1 of 2

2.

Anne has invited a group of friends to her birthday party. In total, including Anne, there are $$22$$ people at the party, and $$10$$ of these people are girls. So what is now the ratio of girls to boys at Anne's party?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 2 of 2

This lesson is provided by Onsego GED Prep.

Next lesson: Rates
This lesson is a part of our GED Math Study Guide.

Video Transcription

A ratio, for example, can be used for describing the cost of monthly rents when compared to one’s monthly income.

We can also use ratios to compare, for example, the number of tigers in a zoo with the whole number of animals there, or for comparing the number of calories in different ice cream brands per serving.

A ratio is comparing quantities or amounts by the use of division. That is meaning that we can set ratios between quantities as division expressions between those quantities.

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For example, if we have a platter that contains twenty $$(20)$$ sugar cookies and forty $$(40)$$ chocolate cookies, we can compare these cookies if we use a ratio.

We may say: the ratio of the sugar cookies on our platter to our chocolate cookies on our platter:

$$\frac{sugar\,cookies}{chocolates\,chip \,cookies}=\frac{20}{40}$$

$$\frac{chocolates\,chip \,cookies}{sugar\,cookies}=\frac{40}{20}$$

We can be writing ratios using fractions, words, or also by using colons, which is shown here: The ratio of our sugar cookies to our chocolate chip cookies is: $$20\, to\, 40$$, or we write: $$20:40$$

So once again, we use ratios if we want to compare quantities or amounts.

Ratios also describe the relationships between two quantities or amounts.

Ratios, for example, can be used to describe the cost of annual rent in comparison to, for example, annual income.

We can also, for example, use ratios to compare the number of elephants or monkeys in a zoo with the entire number of animals in the zoo.

We can also use ratios to compare, for example, the number of calories per serving in different ice cream brands.

So ratios compare quantities or amounts while using division. S0 we can set ratios between amounts or quantities as division expressions between those amounts or quantities.

Last Updated on June 13, 2022.