Subject: ratio
Name: Debbie
Who are you: Parent

hi my son has come home with a question on ratio and i really do not understand them could someone please explain so that i can help him out the question he got was:
Business mileage:7,200 Private Mileage 10,800 What is the ratio of his business mileage to his private mileage

Hi Debbie,

Ratios carry the same information as fractions and can be treated somewhat the same way. Lets look at a different example.

A new salesman was given a $3,500 allowance by his employer for a computer and software to use on the road. He spent $2,000 for a computer and $1,500 for software.

1. What fraction of his allowance did he spend for the computer?

   The answer is 2,000/3,500 = 4/7.

1. What fraction did he spend on software?

   He spent 1,500/3,500 = 3/7 of his allowance on software.

2. What is the ratio of the amount he spent on the computer to the amount he spent on software?

   The ratio is 2,000:1,500 which simplifies to 4:3

One way to interpret this is to say that for every $4 he spent on his computer he spent $3 on software.

I hope this helps,
Penny