934 views
4 votes
Use complete sentences to describe the difference between a ratio and a proportion.

User Thelema
by
8.1k points

2 Answers

4 votes
A ratio is a comparison of two quantities that may or may not be related to each other, expressed in the form of a fraction or a colon. On the other hand, a proportion is a statement of equality between two ratios. In other words, a proportion is an equation in which two ratios are set equal to each other. A ratio only expresses the relative sizes of two quantities, whereas a proportion indicates that the two ratios have the same value. For example, the ratio of apples to oranges in a basket might be 3:2, while the proportion of apples to oranges might be 6:4 or 3:2, both of which indicate that the ratio of apples to oranges is the same.
User Jonas Meller
by
8.5k points
3 votes

Explanation:

A ratio is a comparison of two quantities, expressed as a fraction or with a colon. For example, the ratio of boys to girls in a classroom might be 2:3 or 2/3. A ratio does not require any specific relationship between the two quantities being compared.

A proportion, on the other hand, is an equation that states that two ratios are equal. It is a statement that two ratios have the same value. For example, if the ratio of boys to girls in a classroom is 2:3 and the total number of students is 50, we can set up a proportion to find out how many boys there are:

2/5 = x/50

In this case, x represents the number of boys. Solving the proportion yields x = 20, so there are 20 boys in the classroom.

In summary, while a ratio is simply a comparison of two quantities, a proportion is an equation that states that two ratios are equal.

User Marten Sytema
by
8.0k points

No related questions found

Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.