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Ratio

Example 1: Abbie and Ben share £120 in the ratio 2:1
Work out how much each of them get.

The first step is to work out how many equal parts there are.
The ratio is 2:1 so there are 3 (2 + 1) equal parts

We now need to work out how much each of the parts is worth
We divide the £120 between the 3 parts
£120 ÷ 3 = £40
Each part is worth £40

Now we can work out how much Abbie and Ben get
Abbie has 2 parts so she gets £80 (2 × £40)
Ben has one part which is worth £40

You may find it useful to draw a diagram for ratio questions

Abbie has 2 parts and Ben has 1 part, we could represent this as 2 boxes for Abbie and 1 box for Ben:

sharing ratio 1

Each box must have the same amount in it and the total in all 3 boxes must be £120. We share £120 out evenly between the boxes (£120 ÷ 3 = £40)

sharing ratio 2

We can see that Abbie gets £80 (£40 + £40) and Ben gets £40

Example 2: A, B and C share £240 in the ratio 4:3:1
Work out how much each of them get.

sharing ratio 3

4 + 3 + 1 = 8
There are 8 equal parts

£240 ÷ 8 = £30
Each part is worth £30

sharing ratio 4

A gets 4 × £30 = £120
B gets 3 × £30 = £90
C gets 1 × £30 = £30

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Lesson

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7 minute activity

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Bar model showing girls:boys = 3:2 as five equal boxes, three labelled girls and two labelled boys

A ratio compares quantities using equal parts. The ratio 3:23:23:2 means 3 equal parts of the first amount for every 2 equal parts of the second amount.

Order matters. If girls : boys = 3:23:23:2, the girls get the 3 parts and the boys get the 2 parts, so there are 3+2=53+2=53+2=5 parts altogether.

You will use the same idea for lengths, money, sweets and mixtures. Find one part first, then multiply to get the amounts you need.

Questions

Put it into practice with exam-style questions

93 exam-style questions

Practice questions

Question 1

3 marks

Will and Olly share £80 in the ratio 3 : 2

Work out how much each of them get.

Flashcards

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25 flashcards

Practice flashcards

In girls : boys = 3:23:23:2, what does the 3 belong to?

Ratio Revision Guide

  1. GCSE
  2. /Maths
  3. /Ratio

Revision notes for Edexcel GCSE Maths Ratio. Open the guide for explanations and worked examples. Written against the Edexcel GCSE Maths (1MA1) specification, so the content matches what's examinable rather than general Maths background.

Revision guides

Practise questions

1 of 2

A school club has £81 to share between two teams in the ratio 5:45:45:4. How much does the first team receive?

Practise questions

1 of 2

Three friends share £150 in the ratio 2:5:32:5:32:5:3. How much does the second friend receive?

Practise questions

1 of 3

Simplify the ratio 18:4518:4518:45.