Ratios

Ratio: A ratio is a comparison of two

numbers by division. The ratio of a to b is
written as a: b =

a
b

= a/b. We can handle

ratios as fractions, since a ration is a

fraction. In the ratio a:b, a an b are called
the terms of the ratio. Since a:b is a fraction,

a
b

b can never be zero. The fraction

usually different from the fraction
example,

3
2

is not the same as

b
a

is
(for

2
3 ), so

the order of the terms in a ratio is important.

If there are 4 boys and 1 girls on the debate
team, we say that the ratio of the number of
boys to the number of girls on the team is 4
to 16, or

4
16

often written as 4:16. Since a

ratio is just a fraction, it can be reduced or

converted to a decimal or a percent. The
following are different ways to express the
same ratio:
4 to 16 = 4: 16 =

4
16

2 to 8 = 2: 8 =

2
8

Re
d
Blu
e

12

33

51

10

20

55

85

Saying that the ratio of boys to girls on the

team is 1:4 does not mean that of the
team members are boys. It means that for
each boy on the team there are 4 girls. So,
every 5 members of the team, 4 are girls
and 1 is boy. Therefore boys make-up 1/5 of
the team, and girls 4/5.
If a set of objects is divided into two groups
in the ratio of a:b, then the first group

a
a+b

of the objects and the

second group contains

b
a+b

objects.

In problems involving percent, the best

number to use is 100. However, if we know a
ratio; we cannot determine from that fact
alone how many objects there are. For

15
0
25
0

300
0
500
0

3X
5x

If two numbers are in the ratio of a:b, then

for same numbers x, the first number is ax
and the second number is bx. If the ratio is
in lowest terms, and if the quantities must
be integers, than x is also an integer.
In any ratio problem, write the letter x after
each number and use some given
information to solve for x.
Ratio can be extended to three or four or
more terms. For example, we can say that
the ratio of freshmen to sophomores to
juniors to seniors in the school band is
6:8:5:8, which means that for every 6
freshmen in the band there are 8
sophomores, 5 juniors, and 8 seniors. If a set
of objects is divided into three groups in the
ratio a:b:c, then the first group contains

a
a+b+ c

1 to 4 = 1: 4 =

contains

example, if a jar contains only red and blue

marbles, and if the ratio of red marbles to
blue marbles is 3:5, there may be 3 red
marbles to blue marbles, but not necessarily.
There may be 300 red marbles and 500 blue
ones, since the ratio 300:500 reduces to 3:5
in the same way, all of the following are
possibilities for the distribution of the
marbles:

of

the

objects,

b
a+b+ c , and the third

the

second

c
a+b+ c . A jar

contains a number of Red (R), white (W), and

Blue (B) marbles. Suppose that R: W = 2:3,
and W:B = 3:5. Then, for every 2 reds
marbles, there are 3 white ones, and for
those 3 white ones, there are 5 blue ones.
Then R:B = 2:5, and we can form the
extended ratio R:W:B = 2:3:5.
If the ratios were R:W = 2:3 and W:B = 4:5,
however we couldnt combine them as
easily.
We

write

the

ratios

as

2
W
R 3
4
=
=
W
B
5
Then we multiply the fractions:

fractions,

R W 2 4
R 8
x = x =, so =
W B 3 5
B 15
Not only does this give us R: B = 8:15 but
also, if we multiply both W numbers 3 x
4=12, we can write the extended ratio, R: W:
B = 8:12:15.
Ratios, like fractions, decimals and percent,
are just another way of expressing division.
Every fraction is a ratio and every ratio is a
fraction. A fraction is just the ratio of the
numerator to the denominator. The ratio 1:2
(read 1 to 2) is equivalent to the fraction
or the decimal 0.5 to 50% or just 1 divided
by 2. On the Admission Test, ratios may be
expressed in any of the following ways:
1. x/y
2. the ratio of x to y
3. x is to y
4. x : y
Anytime you see a ratio, treat it just like a
fraction. Anything you can do to a fraction,
also you can do to a ratio, including crossmultiplying, reducing, finding common
denominators etc.
Here are some examples of how to work
ratio problems on the Admission Test.
Example: If you have 3 coins and the ratio
of pennies to nickels is 2:1, how many
pennies and how many nickels are there?

A ratio of 5:3 means 8 total parts. To find out

how many children are in each part, divide
the total enrollment by the total number of
parts. (160 divided by 8 is 20); that means
each part is 20 children. Three parts are
boys and 3 multiplied by 20 is 60 which is
the answer (d). Note that there is no need to
find out how many girls there are. Also, be
careful and use the correct part of the ratio
that answers the question.

Proportion: A proportion is a statement

that two ratios are equal. For example, 3/12
= is a proportion; it could also be
expressed as 3:12 = 1:4 or 3:12::1:4. In the
proportion, a:b = c:d, the term on the
outside (a and b) are called the extremes,
and the terms on the inside (b and c) are
called the means. Since a:b and c:d are
ratios, b and d are both different from zero,

a c
=
b d by

so bd 0. Multiply each side of

bd; you get (bd)

( ab )

( cd )

= ad and (bd)

= bc. Since 0, the proportion

a c
=
b d

is

equivalent to the equations ad = bc. This is

usually expressed in the following way. In a
proportion, the product of the extremes is
equal to the product of the means. Solve

a c
=
b d

Clearly, there are 2 pennies and 1 nickel

since you only have 3 coins altogether and
there are 3 parts in the ratio (2 and 1 = 3).

proportions by cross-multiplying: if

Example: If you have 24 coins and the ratio

of pennies to nickels is 2:1, how many of
each type of coin do you have?

Several problems on the BBA admission test

can be solved by setting up proportions.
These problems are usually quite easy.

Since the ratio again contains 3 parts (2 and

1), divide 24 by 3 to get the number of coins
in each part; then multiply each part of the
ratio by the result. Dividing 24 by 3 yields 8
which means each of the 3 parts in the ratio
consists of 8 coins. Two of the parts are
pennies at 8 coins. Two of the parts are
pennies at 8 coins per part, so there are 16
pennies. One part is nickels which makes 8
nickels.

Mixture

Example: At a camp for boys and girls, the

ratio of girls to boys is 5:3. If the camps
enrollment is 160, how many of the children
are boys?
a) 20 b) 36 c) 45 d) 60 e) 100

then ad = bc.

Mixture x the amount of the mixture = the

amount of substance.
Example: A chemist has two quarts of 25%
acid solution, and one quart of 40% acid
solution. If he mixes these, what will be the
concentration of the mixture?
Solution: Let x = concentration of the
mixture. So we can arrange the table,
Rate x amount of sol = amount of acid

qt

qts

qts

0.25

(sol)
2

(acid)
0.50

0.40

0.40

3x

(acid)/qt(sol)

25%
Solution
40%
Solution
Mixture

We now have one additional bit of

information: the amount of acid in the
mixture must be equal to the total amount of
acid in each of the two parts so 3x = 0.50 +
0.40. Therefore x is equal to 0.30, which is
the same as a 30% concentration of the acid
in the mixture.
In mixture problem in most of the cases,
there are two types of solution (liquid or
solid), the concentration and the quantity of
those solutions are given and using the
information the concentration of the mixture
can be determined. We can use the following
formula to determine the concentration of
the mixture:
Here,
C = Concentration of the mixture.
C1 = Concentration of the first solution
C1 = Concentration of the second solution
Q1 = Quantity of the first solution
Q1 = Quantity of the second solution
This formula is related with the weighted
average calculation formula. Using this
formula, the quantity of the solution can also
be determined. Besides this, some other
shortcut techniques can also be used to
mixture problem solving.

Multiple Choice Questions

(MCQ)
Finding Ratios
1.

The average age of three boys is 16

years. If their ages are in the ratio of 4: 5:
7, the age of the youngest boy is:
A. 8 years
B. 11 years
C. 12 years
D. 10 years
2. The ratio of the number of freshmen to
sophomores to juniors to seniors on
department of Finance & Banking in
Jahanigrnagar University Cricket team is
4: 7: 6: 8. What percent of the team are
sophomores?
A. 30%
B. 28%
C. 24%
D. 16%
3. What must be added to each term of the
ratio 49: 68, so that it becomes 3: 4?

A. 3
B. 5 C. 8 D. 9
4. A brother and a sister shares out their
collection of 5000 stamps in the ratio 5:
3. The brother then shares his stamps
with two friends in the ratio 3: 1: 1. How
many stamps do each of his friends
receive?
A. 550
B. 650C. 700
D. 625
5. A man and his wife share a sum of money
in the ratio 3: 2. If the sum of money is
doubled, in what ratio should they divide
it so the man still receives the same
amount?
A. 3: 5
B. 3: 8
C. 2: 7
D. 3: 7
6. Ages of Bibek & Soomit are in the ratio of
2: 3. After 12 years their ages will be in
the ratio 11: 15. The age of Soomit is:
A. 32
B. 42
C. 48
D. 56
7. As capital is equal to twice Bs capital
and Bs capital is three times Cs capital.
The ratio of the capital is:
A. 2: 1: 3
B. 1: 2: 6
C. 6: 3: 1
D. 1: 3: 6
8. What is the ratio of 3/7 to the product 3
(7/3)?
A. 3: 7
B. 3: 49
C. 3: 21
D. 1: 3
9. If 25% of A equals 30% of B and 24% of B
equals 20% of C, what is the ratio of A to
C?
A. 1: 1
B. 1: 2
C. 2: 1
D. 4: 3
10.If 3/7 of the students in a school are girls,
what is the ratio of boys to girls in this
school?
A. 4/7
B. 4/3
C.
D. 7/4
11.a, b, c, d, and e are integers. M is their
average and S is their sum. What is the
ratio of S to M?
A. 1: 5
B. 5: 1C. 1: 1
D. 2: 1
12.The prices of a TV and a refrigerator are
in the ratio 9:5. If the TV costs $4,200
more than the refrigerator does, what is
the price of the refrigerator?
A. $5250
B. $4200
C. $5150
D. None of them
13.If m + 4n = 2n + 8m, what is the ratio of
n to m?
A. 1: 4
B. 1: -4
C. -4: 1
D. 2: 7
E. 7:
2
14.If c + 4d = 3c 2d. What is the ratio of c
to d?
A. 1: 3
B. 1: -3
C. 3: 1
D. 2: 3
E. 2:
-3

15.If A: B = 3: 4, B: C = 5: 6, and C: D = 11:

9, then A: D is:
A. 50: 60
B. 55: 72
C. 60: 70
D. 66: 75

1.
7.
13.
19.

2.
8.
14.
20.

3.
9.
15.
21.

4.
10.
16.
22.

5.
11.
17.
23.

6.
12.
18.
24.

Different Rate Problems:

16.Eight men can dig a trench in 4 hours.
How long will take by 5 men to dig the
same one?
A. 360 minutes B. 300 minutes
C. 384 minutes D. 364 minutes
17.If it takes 6 men 4 days to dig a hole 3
feet deep. How long it will take 10 men to
dig a hole 7 feet deep?
A. 5.6 days
B. 5.4 days
C. 5.8 days
D. 5.25 days
18.If 4 cows produce 4 cans of milk in 4
days, how many days does it take 8 cows
to produce 8 cans of milk?
A. 2 days
B. 4 days
C. 8 days
D. 16 days
19.A ferry can carry 20 buses or 32 cars. If
there are 15 buses on the ferry, how
many cars can be loaded into it?
A. 6
B. 8 C. 12
D. 15
20.If 7 Miles is equivalent of 11.27
kilometers, then 9.66 kilometers is
equivalent to?
A. 6 miles
B. 7 miles
C. 9 miles
D. 8 miles

Mixture Problems:
21.6 pints of a 20 percent solution of alcohol
in water are mixed with 4 pints of a 10
percent alcohol in ater solution. The
percentage alcohol in the new solution isA. 13
B. 14
C. 15
D. 16
22.How many liters of a 40% iodine solution
need to be mixed with 35 liters of a 20%
iodine solution to create a 35% iodine
solution?
A. 105
B. 49
C. 100
D. 140
23.How much salt must we add to 10 grams
of a 20% salt solution to strengthen it into
a 50% solution?
A. 4 gm
B. 5 gm
C. 6 gm
D. 7 gm
24.Coffee A normally costs 75 paisa per
pound. It is mixed with coffee B, which
normally costs 80 paisa per pound, to
form a mixture, which costs 78 paisa per
pound. If there are 10 pounds of the mix,
how many pounds of coffee A were used
in the mix?
A. 3
B. 4 C. 4.5 D. 5 E. 6
Answer:

Try some more

1. A state law requires that on any field trip
the ratio of the number of chaperones to
the number of students must be at least
1: 10. If 100 students are going on a field
trip, what is the minimum member of
chaperones required?
A. 10
B. 90
C. 50
D. 100
2. If 2/3 of the worker in an office are nonsmokers, what is the ratio of smokers to
non-smokers?
A. 2: 5
B. 1: 2
C. 2: 3
D. 3:2
3. For every novel in the school library there
are two science books, for each science
book there are seven economics books.
Express the ratio of economics books to
science books to novels in the school
library as a triple ratio:
A. 7: 2: 1
B. 7: 1: 2
C. 14: 7: 2
D. 14: 2: 1
4. If 3a = 2b and 3b = 5c, what is the ratio
of a to c?
A. 9: 10
B. 10: 9
C. 5: 4
D. 4: 5
5. Three associates agreed to divide the
profit of an investment in the ratio of 2: 5:
8. If the profit was $3000, what is the
difference between the largest share and
the smallest?
A. $1000
B. $1100
C. $1200
D. $1300
6. If p: q = q: r = r: s = 2: 3 and p = 8, what
is the value of S?
A. 3
B. 8
C. 18
D. 27
7. If Edward makes a box every 5 minutes
and Sakib takes 7 minutes to make a box.
What will be the ratio of the number of
boxes produced by Edward to the number
of boxes produced by Sakib if they work
for 5 hours and 50 minutes?
A. 5: 6
B. 5: 7
C. 6: 5
D. 7: 5
8. If Fahim has twice as much money as
Saddam has, who has three times as
much money as Saikat has, what is the

ratio of the amount of money Saikat has

to the amount of money Fahim has?
A. 1: 8
B. 1: 6
C. 1: 4
D. 1: 2
9. Jar A contains 70 marbles, all of which are
red, white, or blue. Here, R: W = 2: 3 and
W: B = 3: 5. What is the number of white
marbles in Jar A?
A. 14
B. 21
C. 3
D. 7
10.Three boys have marbles in the ratio of
19: 5: 3. If the boy with the least number
of marbles has 9 marbles, how many
marbles does the boy with the greatest
number have?
A. 57
B. 15
C. 76
D. 38
11.Bronze is 16 parts tin and 9 parts cooper.
If a bronze ingot weight 100 pounds,
what is the weight of the tin?
A. 9 pounds
B. 16 pounds
C. 18 pounds
D. 64 pounds
12.If 55 percent of the people who purchase
a certain product are female, what is the
ratio of the number of females who
purchase the product to the number of
males who purchase the product?
A. 11/9
B. 10/9
C. 9/10
D. 9/11
13.On a blueprint of a park, 1 foot represents
mile. If an error of inches is made in
reading the blueprint, what will be the
corresponding error on the actual park?
A. 110 feet
B. 220 feet
C. 330 feet
D. 440 feet
14.On a blueprint, inch represents 1 foot.
If a window is supposed to be 56 inches
wide, how wide would its representation
on the blueprint be?
A. 1.16 inches B. 4.2/3 inches
C. 9 1/3 inches D. 14 inches E.
18.5
inches
15.If coconuts are twice as expensive as
bananas and bananas are one-third as
expensive as grapefruits, what is the ratio
of the price of a coconut to a grapefruit?
A. 2: 3
B. 3: 2
C. 6: 1
D. 1: 6
E.
None
16.If A: B, B: C and C: D are all as 3: 2, A: D
is as
A. 2: 9
B. 8: 27
C. 4: 27
D. 9:2
E. 27: 8
17.A jar contains black and white marbles. If
there are ten marbles in the jar, all of the
following could be the ratio of black to
white marbles EXCEPT
A. 9: 1
B. 7: 3

C. 1: 1
D. 1: 4
E. 1:
10
18.The ratio of the number of boys and girls
in ADMISSION TOUCH is 5: 4. Total
number of students in Admission Touch is
72. How many girls should joint to make
the ratio?
A. 100
B. 96
C. 48
D. 210
E.
None
19.If an orange costs 20 and apple costs 12,
what is the ratio of the cost of an orange
to the cost of an apple?
A. 3: 5
B. 5: 3
C. 4: 5
D. 5: 4
20.What is the ratio of 8 inches to 6 feet?
A. 9: 1
B. 1: 9
C. 2: 9
D. 9:2
21.Two numbers are in the ratio 5: 4 and
their difference is 10. What is the larger
number?
A. 40
B. 50
C. 10
D. 20
22.Whats the ratio of Toms salary to Erinas
salary to Annes salary if Tom makes
$15,000, Erina makes $12000, and Anne
makes $10,000?
A. 5: 4: 3
B. 15: 12: 10
C. 5: 3: 2
D. 10: 15: 12
23.The ratio of chickens to pig to horse on a
farm can be expressed as the triple ratio
20: 4: 6. If there are 120 chickens on the
farm, then the number of horses on the
farm is:
A. 1: 4
B. 10: 12
C. 8: 15
D. 20: 6
24.If 32 students in a class are female and in
the class the ratio of female students to
male students is 16: 9, what percentage
of the class is female?
A. 32%
B. 36%
C. 64%
D. 72%
25.What is the ratio of 2/3 of 5/4?
A. 1: 4
B. 10: 12
C. 8: 15
D. 20: 6
26.Frannies Frozen Yogurt sells three flavors:
vanilla, chocolate, and coffee. One day,
Frannie sold 240 cones, and the ratio of
vanilla to chocolate to coffee was 8: 17:
15. How many chocolate cones were sold
that day?
A. 48
B. 102
C. 90
D. 6
27.If the ratio of vanilla to chocolate to
strawberry cones sold at Frannies was 8:
17: 15 on a particular day, what percent
of the cones sold were chocolate?
A. 40%
B. 42.5%

C. 45%
D. 47.5%
28.In jar B contains 70 marbles. All of which
are red, white, or blue. In jar B, R: W = 2:
3, and W: B = 4: 5. The number of white
marbles in Jar B is:
A. 20
B. 24
C. 28
D. 32
29.If the ratio of Republicans to Democrats
on a committee is 3: 5, what percent of
the committee members are Democrats?
A. 37.5%
B. 40%
C. 60%
D. 62.5%
30.If 80% of the applicants to a program
were rejected, what is the ratio of the
applicants accepted to the applicants
rejected?
A. 1: 5
B. 1: 4
C. 2: 5
D. 4: 5
31.At Bayview High School the ratio of the
number of students taking Spanish to the
number taking French is 7: 2. If 140
students are taking French, how many are
taking Spanish?
A. 40
B. 140
C. 360
D. 490
32.If 5/9 of the members of the school
chorus are boys, what is the ratio of girls
to boys in the chorus?
A. 4: 9
B. 4: 5
C. 5: 4
D. 9: 4
33.If Anthony had 3 times as many marbles
as he actually has, he would have 1/3 as
many marbles as Billy has. What is the
ratio of the number of marbles Anthony
has to the number of marbles Billy has?
A. 1: 9
B. 1: 3
C. 1: 1
D. 3: 1
34.If 45% of the students at Finance &
Banking Department in Jahanigrnagar
University are male, what is the ratio of
male students to female students?
A. 11: 9
B. 9: 11
C. 4: 5
D. 3: 1
35.What must be added to each item of the
ratio 7: 13 so that the ratio becomes 2:
3?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
36.If a school has 24 teachers and 480
students, what is the ratio of teachers to
students?
A. 1: 21
B. 1: 20
C. 1: 23
D. 1: 24
37.In a certain set of numbers, the ratio of
integers to non-integers is 1: 4. What
percent of the numbers in the set are
integers?
A. 20%
B. 25%

C. 30%
D. 35%
38.If A: B = 3: 5 and B: C = 2: 5, then what is
equivalent to A: B: C?
A. 3: 5: 5
B. 6: 10: 5
C. 6: 10: 25
D. 10: 15: 25
39.The ratio of girls to boys in a class is 8: 7.
The number of students in the class could
be any of the following exceptA. 30
B. 45
C. 50
D. 60
40.If x: y = 2: 3 and 2: x = 1: 2, then the
value of y is?
A. 4
B. 6
C. 1/3
D. 3/2
41.If an apple cost d dollars, how many
apples can be bought for x dollars?
A. x/d
B. d/x
C. a/d
D. None of these
42.If 1 alpha = 2 betas and 1 beta = 3
gammas, how many alphas are equal to
36 gammas?
A. 6
B. 12
C. 36
D. 72
43.A hospital has enough pills on hand to
treat 10 patients for 14 days. How long
will the pills last if there are 35 patients?
A. 3 days
B. 4 days
C. 5 days
D. 6 days
44.If 15 workers can paint a certain number
of houses in 24 days, how many days will
40 workers take, working at the same
rate, to do the same job?
A. 8 days
B. 9 days
C. 10 days
D. 11 days
45.If 15 workers can paint 18 houses in 24
days, how many days will 40 workers take
to paint 22 houses?
A. 10 days
B. 11 days
C. 12 days
D. 13 days
46.Steve types at an average rate 8 pages
per hour. At that rate, how many hours
will it take Jan to type 100 pages?
A. 8.33
B. 9
C. 12.5
D. 14.4
47.Sharon reads 24 pages of his book in 15
minutes. At this rate, how many pages
can he read in 40 minutes?
A. 60
B. 64
C. 68
D. 72
48.If Jack types at the rate of 35 words per
minute, how many words can he type in
85 minutes?
A. 2900
B. 2975
C. 3000
D. 3975
49.If three apples cost 50 cents, how many
apples can you buy for $20?
A. 100
B. 120
C. 140
D. 160

50.If an apples cost c cents, how many

apples can be bought for d dollars?
A. 100 acd
B. 100 ad/ c
C. ad/ 100 c
D. c/ 100 ad
51.Ten pints of 15% slat solution are mixed
with 15 pints of 10% salt solution. What is
the concentration of the resulting
solution?
A. 10%
B. 12%
C. 12.5%
D. 13%
E.
15%
52.Farhad has two quarts of a 30% acid
solution and three pints of a 20%
solution. If he mixes them, what will be
the concentration (to the nearest
percent) of the resulting solution?
A. 22%
B. 23%
C. 24%
D. 26%
53.A 30% solution of barium chloride is
mixed with 10 grams of water to form a
20% solution. How many grams of the
original solution did we start with?
A. 10
B. 15
C. 20
D. 25
54.How many pounds of a $1.20 per pound
nut mixture must be mixed with two
pounds of a $0.90 per pound mixture to
produce a mixture that sells for $1.00 per
pound?
A. 0.5
B. 1.0
C. 1.5
D. 2.0
55.How many litters of water should be
added to a 30 litter mixture of milk and

water containing milk and water in the

ratio of 7:3 so that the resultant mixture
has 40% water in it?
A. 7
B. 10
C. 5
D. 12
56.How many cubic centimeters of water
must be added to 100 cc of 80% solution
of boric acid to reduce it to a 50%
solution?
A. 40
B. 45
C. 50
D. 60
57.A man adds two quarts of pure alcohol to
a 30% solution of alcohol in water. If the
new concentration is 40%, how many
quarts of the original solution were there?
A. 12
B. 15
C. 18
D. 20

Answer:
1.
7.
13.
19.
25.
31.
37.
43.
49.
55.

2.
8.
14.
20.
26.
32.
38.
44.
50.
56.

3.
9.
15.
21.
27.
33.
39.
45.
51.
57.

4.
10.
16.
22.
28.
34.
40.
46.
52.

5.
11.
17.
23.
29.
35.
41.
47.
53.

6.
12.
18.
24.
30.
36.
42.
48.
54.