Ratio & Rate

Introduction to Ratio and Rate

To understand this topic very well, you need to know what these words mean in Mathematics.

A rate is like a set price for things that are the same.

Rate is a fixed price of all versions of a given commodity.

It means the amount you pay or use for one thing every time.

A ratio is a way to compare what two or more people have by using the smallest numbers possible.

Ratio is the simplest representation in comparing the possession of two or more individuals regarding a particular commodity. It is denoted by the symbol for colon (:). Ratios can also be represented as fractions.

It shows how much one person has compared to another using a colon sign or a fraction.

Example of Ratio

Imagine a class with 25 students. If there are 10 boys and 15 girls, we can write this as 10:15. We say this as ten ratio fifteen.

We can also write this as a fraction like 10/15. We say this as ten divided by fifteen.

How to simplify Ratios

Remember that our definition said we must use the 'simplest form'. This means we must reduce the numbers until they cannot go down any further.

To simplify the fraction 10/15, we divide the top number and the bottom number by a number that can go into both without any remainder. That number is 5.

When we divide 10 by 5, we get 2. When we divide 15 by 5, we get 3. So the fraction becomes 2/3.

We can also write this final answer as 2:3.