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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from Kenneth: Should ratios contain only whole numbers and not any fractional numbers? For example, 8:1, 2:5 have whole numbers. The ratios 2.5:10 and 1:4.5 do not have just whole numbers entirely. If it is incorrect to express a ratio with fractional numbers, why are complex fractions correct? I thank you for your reply. |
Hi Kenneth,
Ratios should be expressed using whole numbers if possible. For your example 2.5:10 I would multiply each side by 10 to get 25:100 and then multiply each side by 1/25 to get 1:4.
Harley
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