Ratios and

rates
9
This chapter at a glance
Stage 4
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:

convert fractions, decimals and percentages to ratios

use ratios to compare like quantities

Ratios and rates

form equivalent ratios

express a ratio in simplest form

divide a quantity in a given ratio

use the unitary method to solve ratio problems

increase and decrease a quantity in a given ratio

express a rate in simplest form

solve problems that involve rates

calculate the speed, distance or time for a moving object

find the actual distance between two locations by using a scale drawing

find the map distance between two locations by using a scale drawing

find the scale that has been used on a scale drawing.

Stage 5
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:

convert rates from one set of units to another.

327
328 Mathscape 8

9.1 The definition of a ratio

In Mathematics we often wish to compare two or more objects. To do this meaningfully, we
must compare the same properties of each object. For example, we may wish to compare:
• the weights of two students
• the number of males and females who were at a dance.
A ratio is a comparison of two or more like quantities. In writing a ratio, we use positive
integers separated by a colon. Ratios do not contain any units when they are written in simplest
form.
a a
A ratio can be written in the form a : b or as a fraction --- . The fraction --- is also called the value
b b
of the ratio. A ratio has to be stated in a particular order.
For example, if there are 35 males and 41 females at a dance, the ratio of males to females is
35 : 41 not 41 : 35.

A ratio is a comparison of two or more like quantities written in a specific order.

Example 1
EG Write each of these statements as a ratio.
+S
a There are three times as many girls as boys.
b Mary’s age is one-quarter of her mother’s age.
c Bill is two and a half times as tall as his brother.

Solutions
a For every boy there are 3 girls, therefore the ratio of girls to boys is 3 : 1.
b Mary’s mother is four times as old as Mary, so the ratio of Mary’s age to that of her mother
is 1 : 4.
c The heights are in the ratio 2 1--2- : 1, therefore, doubling both terms to make each term an
integer, the ratio is 5 : 2.

Example 2
EG Write each of the following as a ratio in the form a : b
+S
a 1 2--3- b 0.7 c 51%

Solutions
a 1 2--3- = 5--3- b 0.7 = 7
------
10
c 51% = 51
---------
100
= 5:3 = 7 : 10 = 51: 100
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 329

Exercise 9.1

1 The ratio of girls to boys in the swimming club is 5 : 4.

a What does this mean?
b Do we know how many swimmers are boys?

2 For every two green cars, there were three white cars. What is the ratio of:
a white cars to green cars? b green cars to white cars?

3 The ratio of pens to pencils is 1 : 5. What is the ratio of pencils to pens?

4 Tom is 12 years old, Jane is 17 years old and Mary is 13 years old. Find the ratio of:
a Tom’s age to Mary’s age
b Mary’s age to Jane’s age
c Jane’s age to the sum of Tom’s and Mary’s ages

■ Consolidation
5 A length of ribbon 24 cm long has a 5-cm piece cut off. In what ratio is the length of:
a the piece cut off to the length of the original piece?
b the original piece to the length of the remaining piece?

6 4 cm 5 cm 2 cm
P Q R S
Find the ratios:
a PQ : QR b QR : RS c RS : PR
d QS : PS e PQ : QR : RS f PR : QS : PS

7 Write each of the following as a ratio.

a 1--3- b 4--5- c 4 d 5
---
4
e 2 1--3- f 3 1--2-
g 0.1 h 0.07 i 1.9 j 3% k 49% l 113%

8 Write each of the following ratios as a fraction, integer or mixed numeral.

a 1:5 b 5:9 c 6:1 d 9:4

9 a The ratio of cats to dogs is 4 : 5. What fraction of the animals are:

i dogs? ii cats?
b The ratio of petrol to oil is 25 : 1. What fraction of the mixture is:
i oil? ii petrol?
c The ratio of blue pins to green pins is 5 : 6. What fraction of the coloured pins is:
i green? ii blue?

10 Using the letters of the word NUMBERS, find the ratio of:
a vowels to consonants b letters to vowels c consonants to letters
330 Mathscape 8

11 A pencil case contains 5 green pencils, 4 red pencils and 7 yellow pencils. Find the ratio of:
a green to red b red to yellow
c green to total pencils d red to green to yellow
e green to not green f total pencils to not yellow

12 A group of 100 school students were waiting for a train at the railway station. Of those
students, 20 were from Year 7, 23 were from Year 9, 17 from Year 10 and the rest were
seniors. Write down the ratio of:
a Year 7 students to Year 9 students
b Year 10 students to senior students
c Year 9 students to the total number of Year 10 and senior students

13 A rectangle is 8 cm long and 3 cm wide. Write the ratio of:

a the length to the width b the width to the perimeter
c length to the width to the perimeter

14 What is the ratio of:

a any two adjacent sides in a square?
b the side length of a square to its perimeter?

15 Four answers are given for a multiple choice question, only one of which is correct. Find
the ratio of:
a correct answers to wrong answers b wrong answers to answers given

16 Of every 200 tyres manufactured, it is found that 17 are faulty.

a What fraction of the tyres are faulty?
b Write down the ratio of the number of faulty tyres to the number of tyres manufactured.

17 If 4 out of every 35 eggs are bad, find the ratio of the number of good eggs to the total
number of eggs.
18 In a pen jar there are 7 red pens and 10 blue pens. Two red pens and 3 blue pens do not
write. Find the ratio of:
a red pens to blue pens b blue pens to total number of pens
c faulty red pens to working blue pens d working pens to faulty pens

■ Further applications
19 Arrange these ratios in ascending order.
3 : 7, 4 : 9, 2 : 5, 5 : 11
20 Express these percentages as ratios.
a 33 1--3- % b 66 2--3- % c 12 1--2- %
21 A sum of money was shared between Erin, Frances and Glenda in such a way that Erin
5
received -----
17
- of the money and Glenda received twice as much as Frances. In what ratio was
the money divided?
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 331

TRY THIS Cartoons

Enlarge this cartoon, using a scale factor of 2 : 1.
Because of the curved lines this may be difficult.
The grid should help you.

9.2 Equivalent ratios

Two ratios are equivalent if they have the same value when written as fractions. We say that
these ratios are in proportion. For example, the ratios 6 : 2 and 9 : 3 are equivalent ratios
because in each ratio, the first number has 3 times the value of the second number. This can be
clearly seen when the ratios are written as fractions.
6 9
6 : 2 = --- and 9 : 3 = ---
2 3
=3 =3

a c
The ratios a : b and c: d are equivalent if --- = --- .
b d

Equivalent ratios are formed when all of the terms in a ratio are multiplied or divided by the
same number. For example, multiplying each term in the ratio 2 : 3 by 5 produces the equivalent
ratio 10 : 15. Both ratios have a value of 2--3- when written as fractions.

If each term in the ratio a : b is multiplied by a constant k, then the ratios a : b and
ak : bk are equivalent.

Example 1
EG Find the value of the pronumeral in these equivalent ratios:
+S
a 8 : 9 = 24 : m b p : 20 = 3 : 5
332 Mathscape 8

Solutions
×3 ×4
a 8 : 9 = 24 : m b p : 20 = 3 : 5
×3 ×4
∴m=9×3 ∴p=3×4
= 27 = 12

Example 2 Example 3
EG Find as a decimal the value of t, EG The ratio of elephants to giraffes is 5 : 7.
+S t 3
+S If there are 28 giraffes, how many
if --- = --- . elephants are there?
7 5
Solution Solution
t 3 Let the number of elephants be e.
--- = --- ×4
7 5
×7 ×7 e : 28 = 5 : 7
21 ×4
∴ t = ------
5 ∴e=5×4
= 4.2
= 20
∴ there are 20 elephants

Exercise 9.2

1 Complete each of these equivalent ratios.

a 1:4 = 2: b 3:1 = :4 c 3 : 4 = : 20 d 2:7 = 4:
e :6 = 7:2 f 60 : = 10 : 3 g : 21 = 6 : 7 h 54 : = 9 : 11
i 12 : 5 = : 20 j : 48 = 5 : 6 k 40 : = 10 : 3 l 3 : 8 = 21:
2 Find the values of the pronumerals.
a 2 : 5 = x: 10 b a : 30 = 6 : 5 c 21 :e = 3 : 4 d 40 : 1 = 80 : p
e 36 : y = 3 : 4 f b : 26 = 3 : 2 g 3 : 11 = t : 44 h 35 : 12 = y : 24
i 9 : 11 = w : 44 j 5 : 8 = 40 : k k 49 : d = 7 : 8 l f:8 = 9:2
3 Find the value of each pronumeral as a decimal.
x 3 9 k 2 a p 5
a --- = --- b ------ = --- c --- = --- d --- = ---
3 2 10 3 5 8 3 4
■ Consolidation
4 The ratio of:
a prefects to senior students is 3 : 70. If there are 140 senior students, how many prefects
are there?
b pens to pencils is 3 : 11. If there are 55 pencils, how many pens are there?
c tyres to cars is 4 : 1. If there are 28 tyres, how many cars are there?
d windows to doors is 11 : 3. If there are 12 doors, how many windows are there?
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 333

5 The teacher places 6 puzzles around the room for his students to work on. He places a
puzzle on every fourth desk. How many desks are there in the room?
6 For every 7 rose bushes in a garden, there are 5 oleander shrubs. If there are 21 rose bushes,
how many oleander shrubs are there?

7 The ratio of the retail price to the wholesale price of a dishwasher is 8 : 5. If the wholesale
price is $450, find the retail price.
8 In a pet shop the ratio of birds to all other pets is 3 : 7. If there are 5 guinea pigs, 3 kittens,
2 pups, and 4 white mice, how many birds are there?
9 The ratio of length to width of a rectangle is 3 : 2. If the length of the rectangle is 18 cm,
find the perimeter.

10 The ratio of program time to commercial time on TV is 11 : 2. If there is 132 minutes of

program time, how many minutes are there of commercials?

11 Two numbers are in the ratio 5 : 9. If the larger number is 63, find the difference between
the numbers.

■ Further applications
12 a The ratio of chickens to geese on a farm is 3 : 4, while the ratio of geese to ducks is 2 : 5.
What is the ratio of chickens to ducks?
b The ratio of lead to zinc in a mine is 5 :11, while the ratio of zinc to silver is 3 : 7. What
is the ratio of lead to silver?
c The ratio of students studying French to those studying Italian is 7: 4. The ratio students
studying Italian to those studying German is 6 :1. What is the ratio of students studying
French to those studying German?
13 a For every 6 blondes in a crowd there are 5 brunettes, and for every 3 brunettes there is
1 redhead. If there are 30 redheads, how many blondes are there?
b For every 5 tigers on a plain there are 12 deer, and for every 10 deer there are 3 lions.
If there are 100 tigers, how many lions are there?

TRY THIS Scale factors and areas

1 Draw a triangle ABC . A
2 Using a scale factor of 2 in the horizontal direction
and a scale factor of 3 in the vertical direction,
draw another triangle A′B ′C′. B C
3 Compare the areas of the two shapes. What can you
conclude?
4 Try some other shapes, then make some conclusions.
334 Mathscape 8

9.3 Simplifying ratios

In the previous exercise we formed equivalent ratios by multiplying each term in a ratio by a
number. Equivalent ratios can also be formed by dividing each term by a number. For example,
dividing each term in the ratio 12 : 4 by 2 produces the equivalent ratio 6 : 2. However, dividing
each term in the ratio 12 : 4 by their highest common factor (i.e. 4), produces not only the
equivalent ratio 3 : 1, but the simplest form of the ratio.

To simplify a ratio:

express each term in the same units

divide all terms by their highest common factor (HCF).

To simplify a ratio that contains fractions or decimals:

express any decimals as fractions

multiply each term by the lowest common denominator

simplify where possible.

Example 1
EG Simplify:
+S
a 15 : 5 b 28 : 21 c 12 : 8 : 16

Solutions
a 15 : 5 b 28 : 21 c 12 : 8 : 16
÷5 ÷5 ÷7 ÷7 ÷4 ÷4 ÷4
=3 : 1 =4 : 3 =3 : 2 : 4

Example 2
EG Simplify the following ratios.
+S
a 2 cm : 6 mm b $4 : $3.50

Solutions
a 2 cm : 6 mm b $4 : $3.50
= 20 mm : 6 mm = 400c : 350c
= 20 : 6 = 400 : 350
÷2 ÷2 ÷ 50 ÷ 50
= 10 : 3 = 8:7
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 335

Example 3
EG Simplify:
+S 9 5 7 3
a ------
13
: -----
13
- b 1 : -----
10
- c ---
4
: 5--6- d 1 3--4- : 2

Solutions
9 5 7 3
a ------ : ------
13 13
b 1 : -----
10
- c ---
4
: 5--6- d 1 3--4- : 2
× 13 × 13 × 10 × 10 × 12 × 12 ×4 ×4
= 9:5 = 10 : 7 = 9 : 10 = 7:8

Example 4
EG Simplify 0.6 : 0.24
+S
Solution
0.6 : 0.24 = 6
------
10
24
: --------
100
-

× 100 × 100
= 60 : 24
÷ 12 ÷ 12
= 5:2

Exercise 9.3

1 Simplify these ratios.

a 3:9 b 10 : 2 c 20 : 5 d 21 : 7
e 6:9 f 12 : 8 g 15 : 9 h 10 : 18
i 20 : 50 j 40 : 25 k 21 : 14 l 18 : 24
m 49 : 21 n 33 : 15 o 35 : 5 p 26 : 39
q 36 : 27 r 44 : 36 s 30 : 42 t 70 : 63
u 55 : 99 v 24 : 80 w 72 : 56 x 132 : 144

2 Use the fraction key on your calculator to simplify each of these ratios.
a 208 : 234 b 88 : 128 c 224 : 140 d 174 : 126
e 140 : 360 f 190 : 150 g 39 : 143 h 680 : 480

3 Simplify:
a 8 : 6 : 12 b 20 : 35 : 55 c 42 : 21 : 56 d 36 : 60 : 48
336 Mathscape 8

■ Consolidation
4 Express each term of these ratios in the same units, then simplify.
a 1 cm : 6 mm b 20 min : 1 h c 1 L : 800 mL
d 50c : $2 e 1.5 km : 600 m f 150 cm : 4 m
g 80c : $1.80 h 3 1--2- min : 50 s i 2.2 kg : 1600 g
1
j --2- h : 1 h 20 min k 4 weeks : 8 days l 3 years : 20 months
m 35 h : 2 1--2- days n 3.2 km : 2400 m o 4200 mL : 5 L
3
p 1.5 days : 36 h q 1 --4- min : 25 s r 1.5 ha : 9000 m2

5 The cost price of an article is $1.75 and its selling price is $4.20. Calculate the ratio of:
a the cost price to the selling price b the profit to the cost price

6 A soccer team won 14 of its 20 games and lost the others. Find the ratio of wins to losses.

7 Bill is 20 years old and his father is 30 years older. Bill’s grandmother is 95. In what ratio
are their ages, from youngest to oldest?
8 A square has sides of 12 cm and a rectangle has a length of 6 cm and a width of 4 cm. Find
the ratio of their areas.

9 A game show on TV has 120 000 viewers while its competitor has 95 000 viewers. Express
this as a ratio in simplest form.
10 Brian earns $40 per hour for a 25-hour week. His employer, Lee, receives $68 000 per year.
Find the ratio of their annual incomes, in simplest form.
11 Two farms, Allfarm and Bestplace, in western NSW run 2240 and 3600 head of cattle,
respectively. Allfarm sells the cattle at $25 each and Bestplace receives $18 for each of its
cattle. Calculate the ratio of income received by Allfarm to income received by Bestplace.
12 In PQR, ∠P = 40° and ∠R = 60°. Find the ratio of ∠P to ∠Q to ∠R, in simplest form.

■ Further applications
13 Simplify these ratios.
a 3--5- : 4--5- b 9
------
17
: 15
------
17
c 1 : 1--3- d 3
---
8
:1

e 5 : 1--3- f 3
---
4
:5 g 3
---
5
:7 h 4 : 8--9-
1
i ---
5
: 1--4- j 3
---
5 15
4
: -----
- k 3
---
7
: 4--5- l 3
---
8
: 2--3-
10
m ------
12
: 4--5- n 4 1--2- : 5 o 3 2--5- : 1 4--5- p 1 3--8- : 2 3--4-

14 Simplify these ratios.

a 0.5 : 0.7 b 0.08 : 0.12 c 0.45 : 0.35 d 0.7 : 2.8
e 2.5 : 4 f 0.6 : 0.05 g 0.32 : 0.8 h 1.5 : 1.25
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 337

9.4 Dividing a quantity in a

given ratio
Suppose two friends Anita and Troy want to divide $27 between them in the ratio 5 : 4. That is,
the money is to be divided into 5 parts and 4 parts, respectively, making 9 parts altogether.
Anita receives 5 parts out of the 9, or 5--9- of the money. So her share is 5--9- × $27 = $15.
Troy receives 4 parts out of 9, or 4--9- of the money. So his share is 4--9- × $27 = $12.
The two shares, $15 and $12, must add up to the original $27.

To divide a quantity Q in the ratio a : b

find the fractions into which the quantity is to be divided

multiply each fraction by the quantity Q.

When a quantity Q is divided in the ratio a : b, the resulting amounts are:

a b
------------- × Q and ------------ × Q
a+b a+b

Example 1
EG Maryanne and Mitch divide their flower run earnings of $110 in the ratio 7 : 4. Find how much
+S each person receives.
Solution
The earnings are to be divided into 7 parts and 4 parts, making 11 parts in total. Maryanne
7
receives 7 parts out of the total or -----
11
- of the money and Mitch receives 4 parts out of the total
4
or -----
11
- of the money.

Therefore Maryanne’s share = 7

------
11
× $110 Mitch’s share = 4
------
11
× $110
= $70 = $40
Note: The total amount of money = $70 + $40
= $110
Example 2
EG A farmer on a grazing property decides to run both sheep and cattle. If the farmer decides to
+S run 2340 head of livestock altogether and the ratio of cattle to sheep is 5 : 13, find the numbers
of sheep and cattle on the property.
Solution
5 13
The cattle make up ------
18
of the total and the sheep make up the remaining ------ .
18
The number of cattle = 5
------
18
× 2340 The number of sheep = ------ ×
13
18
2340
= 650 = 1690
Note: The total number of livestock = 650 + 1690
= 2340
338 Mathscape 8

Exercise 9.4

1 Divide each quantity in the given ratio.

a $20; 3 : 1 b 24 cm; 1 : 7 c 50 L; 2 : 3 d 32 kg; 3 : 5
e 48 min; 5 : 1 f 35 t; 3 : 4 g 80 g; 3 : 7 h 88 min; 7 : 4
i 84 cm; 7 : 5 j 26 days; 5 : 8 k 125 mg; 7 : 18 l 280 s; 9 : 5

2 a Divide $27 in the ratio 7 : 8. b Divide $58 in the ratio 5 : 7.

3 a Divide $1300 in the ratio 2 : 3 : 8. b Divide 51 g in the ratio 5 : 9 : 3.

■ Consolidation
4 Convert each quantity into the next smallest unit, then divide it in the given ratio.
a 4.8 t; 3 : 5 b 4.5 g; 8 : 7 c $1.20; 5 : 1
d 4.5 min; 5 : 4 e 1 3--4- km; 9 : 16 f 1 1--4- ha; 11 : 14
g 5.2 kg; 3 : 7 h 3 h; 4 : 11 i 5 m; 7 : 13

5 Louise and Monique scored goals in their netball game in the ratio 2 : 3. If between them
they scored 15 goals, find the number of goals that each girl scored.
6 A certain metal alloy is made up of tin and zinc in the ratio 3 : 5. What mass of each metal
is needed to make 92 kg of this alloy?

7 At a dance where 72 people attended, the ratio of men to women was 4 : 5. Find the number
of men at the dance.
8 A house has an area of 310 square metres. If the ratio of living areas to bedrooms is 3 : 1,
find the amount of space devoted to the living areas.
9 Sam and Lily share a milk run. Sam delivers on three mornings and Lily on two mornings.
They earn $67 in total and share this in the ratio of mornings worked. How much does each
person receive?
10 A fertiliser mix contains 2 parts of potash, 2 parts of nitrogen and 3 parts of phosphate. How
many kilograms of phosphate are there in a 112 kg bag of fertiliser?
11 Bob and Ray wrote 96 invitations for their school reunion and divided the job in the ratio
5 : 7. How many invitations did each man write?
12 Two supplementary angles are in the ratio 23 : 13. Find the sizes of the angles.

13 The angles in a triangle are in the ratio 3 : 5 : 1. Find the sizes of the angles.

14 The perimeter of a triangle is 54 cm and the side lengths are in the ratio 4 : 3 : 2. Find the
length of the longest side.
15 A piece of timber 200 mm in length was cut in two so that the longer piece was 120 mm in
length. What is the ratio of the length of the longer piece to the length of the shorter piece?
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 339

16 Three friends Fran, Colin and Stefan decided to share the driving on a trip of 680 km.
If Fran drove for 160 km and Colin drove for 280 km, find:
a the distance that Stefan drove
b in simplest form, the ratio in which the driving was divided
■ Further applications
17 At a party, 60 bottles of Cool Cola and Lemon Fizz were supplied for refreshment. The ratio
of bottles of Cool Cola to Lemon Fizz was 7 : 8. If 8 bottles of Cool Cola and 2 bottles of
Lemon Fizz were broken, what is the ratio of the remaining number of bottles of Cool Cola
to Lemon Fizz?
18 The length and width of a rectangle are in the ratio 12 : 5 and the perimeter is 170 cm. Find:
a the lengths of the sides b the length of the diagonals

19 Yvette, Ken and Sam contribute $4000, $5500 and $6500, respectively, towards setting up
a small business. After 1 year, they decide to share the annual profit of $48 000 in the same
ratio as their investment. How much should each person receive?
20 $z is shared between Simon and his sister Alyssa in the ratio x : y, where x > y. Find how
much each person receives.

9.5 Miscellaneous problems

■ Increasing and decreasing in a ratio
The fraction equivalent of a ratio can be used to increase or decrease a quantity.

To increase or decrease a quantity Q in the ratio a : b, multiply the quantity by the

value of the ratio.

When a quantity Q is increased or decreased in the ratio a : b, the new value is:
a
--- × Q .
b
a
Note: The quantity will increase if it is multiplied by --- , where a > b, and decrease if it is
b
a
multiplied by --- , where a < b.
b

■ The unitary method

The unitary method can be used to solve a wide variety of ratio problems.

To solve a problem using the unitary method:

find the value of 1 part

use this answer to find the value of the required number of parts.
340 Mathscape 8

Example 1
EG a Increase 14 cm in the ratio 3 : 2. b Decrease 16 kg in the ratio 5 : 8.
+S
Solutions
a 3
---
2
× 14 cm = 21 cm b 5
---
8
× 16 kg = 10 kg

Example 2
EG The ratio of width to length in a rectangle is 3 : 5. If the length is 75 cm, find the width.
+S
Solution
Now, 3 : 5 = x : 75, where x represents the width of the rectangle.
Using the unitary method, 5 parts represents 75
÷5 ÷5
1 part represents 15
×3 ×3
3 parts represents 45
∴ the width of the rectangle is 45 cm

Example 3
EG Dee, Ahn and Christian share a bag of toffees in the ratio 5 : 2 : 4. If Dee receives 9 more
+S toffees than Ahn, find the number of toffees that each person receives.
Solution
Dee receives 5 parts of the toffees and Ahn receives 2 parts. So Dee receives 3 parts more than
Ahn. However, we also know that Dee receives 9 more toffees than Ahn. Therefore, 3 parts
must represent 9 toffees.
Using the unitary method, 3 parts represents 9
÷3 ÷3
1 part represents 3
Dee’s share = 5 parts Ahn’s share = 2 parts Christian’s share = 4 parts
=5×3 =2×3 =4×3
= 15 toffees = 6 toffees = 12 toffees

Exercise 9.5

1 Increase:
a 8 in the ratio 3 : 2 b 10 in the ratio 8 : 5 c 12 in the ratio 5 : 3
d 24 in the ratio 7 : 6 e 27 in the ratio 11 : 9 f 28 in the ratio 9 : 4

2 Decrease:
a 15 in the ratio 2 : 3 b 16 in the ratio 3 : 4 c 12 in the ratio 5 : 6
d 30 in the ratio 3 : 5 e 35 in the ratio 4 : 7 f 72 in the ratio 7 : 12

3 Increase $40 in the ratio 9 : 8, then decrease the result in the ratio 4 : 5.
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 341

■ Consolidation
4 a In a local school, the ratio of teachers who can use a computer scanner to those who
cannot is 4 : 5. If 28 teachers know how to use a scanner, find the number of teachers
who do not know how to use one.
b The areas of a square and a rectangle are in the ratio 6 : 7. If the area of the rectangle is
35 cm2, find the area of the square.
c The win to loss ratio for a sporting team over a 10 year period is 7 : 5. If the team won
105 games during that time, how many games did they lose?
d The ratio of words spelt correctly to those spelt incorrectly on a Year 8 spelling quiz
was 21 : 4. If altogether the students made 52 spelling mistakes, find the number of
words that they spelt correctly.
e At a certain motor registry, the ratio of people who pass their first driving test to those
who fail is 3 : 7. If 51 people passed their first driving test last month, how many people
failed?
f The ratio of water to cordial in a certain fruit drink is 10 : 3. How much cordial should
be added to 1.5 L of water?
5 The sides of a triangle are in the ratio 3 : 4 : 5.
a Find the length of the shortest side if the longest side is 25 cm.
b Find the perimeter of the triangle.

6 Last week, Bert the butcher sold lamb, chicken, beef and veal by weight in the ratio
3 : 4 : 8 : 2. If he sold 130 kg of beef, find how much meat was sold altogether for the week.
7 a Sophie, Rhiannon and Jessica shared a bag of lollies in the ratio 4 : 5 : 2. If Rhiannon
had 9 more lollies than Jessica, find the number of lollies that each girl had.
b The ratio of men, women and children in a circus audience is 2 : 3 : 7. If there were 60
more children than women, find the number of men, women and children in the
audience.
c The ratio of farmland devoted to wheat, corn and cotton on a property is 9 : 4 : 6. If 45
more hectares is devoted to wheat than to corn, find the area of land that is covered by
each crop.
d The number of students who chose History, Geography or Design and Technology as
their first elective preference in Year 9 is in the ratio 6 : 3 : 7. If 32 more students chose
Design and Technology than Geography, find the number of students who chose each
subject as their first preference.
e Three angles are in the ratio 8 : 1 : 5. If the largest angle measures 49° more than the
smallest angle, find the sizes of the angles.
f In a fruit juice mixture, the amount of orange juice, apple juice and pineapple juice is
in the ratio 9 : 4 : 7. If there is 150 mL more orange juice than pineapple juice, find the
volume of each juice in the mixture.
342 Mathscape 8

■ Further applications
8 a The ratio of apples to bananas is 2 : 3 and the ratio of bananas to plums is 9 : 5. If there
are 15 plums, find the number of apples.
b The ratio of cars to motor bikes in a car park is 8 : 3 and the ratio of motor bikes to vans
is 5 : 2. If there are 120 cars, find the total number of vehicles in the car park.
9 The width and diagonal length of a rectangle are in the ratio 5 : 13. If the diagonal has a
length of 78 mm, find the perimeter of the rectangle.

TRY THIS Biscuits

Recipes show the correct quantities needed to make certain foods. If more food is
required, the ingredients are increased in the same proportions.
Here is a recipe for Peanut Crispies (36 biscuits).
2 tablespoons golden syrup
60 g butter
1
---- cup brown sugar
3
125 g roasted peanuts
1
---- cup plain flour
2
2 teaspoons cinnamon
In what ratio must you increase the quantities in order to make 54 biscuits?
Calculate the necessary quantities in grams.
For your new quantities, convert all the measures to grams using the conversions
1 cup = 140 g, 1 tablespoon= 20 g, 1 teaspoon= 5 g.

9.6 Rates
A rate is a comparison of two unlike quantities. In particular, it is a measure of how one
quantity is changing with respect to another. Many rates, such as speed, indicate a change in a
quantity with respect to time. Unlike ratios, rates have units. To be in simplest form, a rate must
be expressed as a quantity per 1 unit of another quantity. For example, a rate of 80 km/h is in
simplest form because it represents a change in distance of 80 km for every 1 hour of time.
Example 1
EG Express each of these rates in simplest form.
+S a $120 in 4 h b 200 m in 25 s
Solutions
a $120 in 4 h b 200 m in 25 s
÷4 ÷4 ÷ 25 ÷ 25
= $30 in 1 h = 8 m in 1 s
= $30/h = 8 m/s
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 343

Example 2
EG Convert:
+S a 3.7 L/min to mL/min b 1.5 km/min to km/h c 0.12 km/h to m/min
Solutions
a 3.7 L in 1 min b 1.5 km in 1 min c 0.12 km in 1 h
= 3700 mL in 1 min × 60 × 60 = 120 m in 1 h
= 3700 mL/min = 90 km in 60 mins ÷ 60 ÷ 60
= 90 km in 1 h = 2 m in 1 min
= 90 km/h = 2 m/min

Exercise 9.6

1 Express each of these rates in simplest form.

a $15 in 3 h b 40 runs from 10 overs
c 24 m in 4 s d 12 degrees in 3 min
e 30 students for 5 computers f 60 g for 12 cm3
g $560 for 7 days h 16 people in 4 taxis
i 500 cattle on 4 ha j 45 km in 3 h
k 420 km on 60 L l 35 kg over 5 m2
m 200 garments in 8 days n $270 in 3 months
o 54 t in 6 h p 30 mL in 4 min
q 22 L in 5 s r 63 m on 60 mL
s 2.75 kL in 11 weeks t $8.80 for 5 1--2- min
u $35 for 0.5 ha
■ Consolidation
2 Convert:
a 3 m/s to m/min b 5 mL/min to mL/h c $2/s to $/h
d 4.5 kg/h to kg/day e $1.20/g to $/kg f 70 km/h to km/day
g 8 L/min to L/h h $7/kg to $/t i 0.06 kg/m2 to kg/ha

3 Convert:
a 2 cm/s to mm/s b $3/g to cents/g c 4.2 L/min to mL/min
d 9.25 t/day to kg/day e 2500 m/s to km/s f 750 mL/m2 to L/m2
g 14 cm/s to m/s h 45c/min to $/min i 1700 L/h to kL/h
■ Further applications
4 Complete each of the following equivalent rates.
a 250 m/min = . . . km/h b 8 mm/s = . . . cm/min
c 50 kg/h = . . . t/day d 60 mL/s = . . . L/min
e 4c/g = $ . . . /kg f 45 g/m2 = . . . kg/ha
g 10 m/s = . . . km/h h 200 g/s = . . . t/h
i 0.05 g/mL = . . . kg/kL j 25 mL/min = . . . L/day
k 19 L/m2 = . . . kL/ha l 35 mm/s = . . . km/h
344 Mathscape 8

5 Complete each of these equivalent rates.

a 3 L/h = . . . mL/min b 0.15 km/min = . . . m/s
c 9.6 t/day = . . . kg/h d 8.4 km/L = . . . m/mL
e 6.1 L/ha = . . . mL/m2 f 18 m/h = . . . mm/s
g 2.4 kL/min = . . . L/s h 0.98 m/week = . . . mm/day

TRY THIS Heart rates

1 Guess your heart rate in beats per minute.
2 Using your watch, find your actual heart rate.
3 Go for a 2-minute run, and again find your pulse in beats per minute. How long
does it take for your pulse to return to normal?

9.7 Solving problems that

involve rates
Example 1
EG a The entry price to an amusement park is $7.50 per child. Find the total entry cost for a
+S group of 90 children.
b A farmer used 145 kg of superphosphate to cover an area of 5 ha. How many kilograms
were used per hectare?

Solutions
a The entry cost for 1 child = $7.50 b 145 kg covers an area of 5 ha
∴ the entry cost for 90 children ÷5 ÷5
= 90 × $7.50 ∴ 29 kg covers an area of 1 ha
= $675

Example 2 Solution
EG A car can travel 138 km on 15 L of petrol. Using the unitary method,
+S How far can it travel on 35 L? 138 km on 15 L
÷ 15 ÷ 15
= 9.2 km on 1 L
× 35 × 35
= 322 km on 35 L
∴ The car can travel 322 km on 35 L of petrol.
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 345

Exercise 9.7

1 a A secretary can type 50 words per minute. How long will it take her to type 150 words?
b Each relay team at a school carnival has 4 swimmers. How many swimmers will there
be in 7 relay teams?
c The adult price of a cinema ticket is $12. How much will 150 tickets cost?
d If petrol costs $0.92 per litre, how much will it cost to fill the tank in a car if the tank
holds 40 L?
e An iron mine is able to produce 1500 t of iron ore per hour. How many tonnes of ore
will be produced in 5 days, if the mine operates for 8 hours per day?
f A 5-L tin of paint will cover an area of 14 m2. What area will be covered by 30 L of this
paint?
g Human hair grows at the rate of about 15 cm per year. By how much would a person’s
hair grow in 6 years at this rate if it was not cut?
h A machine labels soup cans at the rate of 200 cans per minute. How many cans will be
labelled in 1 1--2- hours.
i At the peak of adolescence, girls grow at an average rate of 8.4 cm per year. By how
much would a girl grow in 3 years, at this rate?
j When at rest, a person takes 15 breaths per minute. How many breaths would be taken
in 1--2- hour?

■ Consolidation
2 a A mechanic’s gross weekly pay is $640 for a 40-hour week. How much is he paid per
hour?
b A farmer used 175 kg of fertiliser to cover an area of 7 ha. How many kilograms were
used per hectare?
c A woman climbed the 86 floors of the Empire State Building in New York in
11 minutes 28 seconds. How many seconds did she take, on average, to climb each
floor?
d Hugh blinks his eyes 36 times in 4 1--2- minutes. How many times does he blink each
minute?
e A cricket side scored 225 runs in 50 overs in a limited overs cricket match. How many
runs were scored per over, on average?
f Betty listens to the radio for 49 hours each fortnight. For how long, on average, does
she listen to the radio each day?
g Oil is leaking out through a valve in a tank at the constant rate of 13.2 L/h. How many
mL of oil are leaking out each minute?
h Lumberjacks can cut down 390 trees in a 5-hour working day. How many trees are
being cut down each minute, on average?
i The temperature rose by 6°C in 4 hours. By how many degrees, on average, did the
temperature rise each hour?
j An athlete ran 400 m in 41.2 seconds. Find the average distance run per second. Give
your answer correct to 1 decimal place.
346 Mathscape 8

3 Use the unitary method to answer each of the following problems.

a A car can travel 100 km on 6 L of petrol. How far will it travel on 9 L of petrol?
b If 15 cans of soft drink cost $13.50, find the cost of 11 cans.
c A battery of hens laid 800 eggs in 5 days. At this rate, how many eggs would they lay
in 12 days?
d A retailer sold 42 CDs in 3 hours. How many CDs would be sold in 8 hours, at the same
rate?
e If 350 g of mince costs $5.60, find the cost of 1 1--2- kg of mince.
f A parking inspector booked 15 cars in 6 hours. At this rate, how many cars would he
book in a 10-hour day?
g A team of fruit pickers can pick 460 kg of oranges in 4 hours. What mass of oranges
could they pick in 7 hours?
h Wesley drove 475 km in 5 hours. At the same average speed, how far would he drive
in 9 hours?
4 The petrol consumption of Mike’s car is 8.4 L/100 km. How much petrol would be used on
a trip of:
a 200 km? b 50 km? c 325 km? d 185 km?

5 The petrol consumption of Mia’s car is 9.6 L/100 km. How far could she drive on:
a 38.4 L? b 7.2 L? c 12 L? d 23.52 L?

6 Agnetha drives for 290 km from Yass to Albury. The petrol consumption of her car is
11.3 L/100 km and the price of petrol is 82.3c per litre.
a How much petrol would Agnetha use on this trip?
b Calculate the cost of the petrol for this trip.

7 George can drive 36 km on 3.75 L of petrol. Find the petrol consumption of his car in
L/100 km, correct to 1 decimal place.
8 The currency conversion table below shows the value of $1 Australian in several other
currencies.
Country/Continent Value Currency
United States 0.5173 $US
United Kingdom 0.3681 £UK
Europe 0.5911 Euro
New Zealand 1.264 $NZ
Japan 0.6452 Yen

Use the table above to convert:

a $A5 to $US b $A30 to yen c $A75 to euro d $A220 to $NZ
e 30 yen to $A f 40 euro to $A g $NZ150 to $A h £500 to $A
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 347

9 A farmer spreads fertiliser at the rate of 18 kg/ha.

a How much fertiliser will he use to cover an area of 25 000 m2?
b What area of farmland will be covered by 630 kg of fertiliser?

10 Wheat is being poured into a silo at the constant rate of 3.2 t/min.
a How much wheat will have been poured after 1--4- hour?
b How long will it take to pour 200 t of wheat?

■ Further applications
11 Use the currency conversion table in Q8 to convert:
a 100 yen to $NZ b $US350 to euro c 420 euro to £UK

12 a It takes 3 men 8 hours to construct a wall. How long would it take 4 men to complete
the same wall?
b A team of 4 workers can plant a rice crop in 9 days. How long would it take 3 workers
to plant the same crop?
c If 6 people can clean graffiti off a wall in 8 hours, how long would it take if only
5 people were employed to do the job?
13 Martin and Graham are painters. Martin is an experienced painter and can paint the interior
of a house in 4 hours. Graham is only an apprentice, and it takes him 12 hours to paint the
same house. How long would it take both men working together to paint the house?

9.8 Speed, distance and time

Speed is defined as the rate of change of distance with respect to time. The following formulae
can be used to calculate the speed, distance or time of a moving object.

distance distance
Speed = ------------------- Distance = speed × time Time = -------------------
time speed
D D
S = ---- D=S×T T = ----
T S

There is an important distinction that needs to be made between average speed and
instantaneous speed. The formulae above are usually associated with average speed, since the
speed of the object may vary at different times throughout its journey. It may start moving
slowly, speed up at times and slow down or even stop at other times. If, however, a speed
camera had been used to measure the speed of the object at a single moment in time, then it
would have measured the instantaneous speed of the object. The instantaneous speed at any
particular moment may therefore differ from the average speed over the entire journey.
The degrees and minutes key on the calculator can be used to simplify the working in some
questions, particularly when the time is given in hours and minutes or minutes and seconds.
348 Mathscape 8

Example 1
EG a Jenny ran 600 metres in 80 seconds. What was her running speed?
+S b A man drove at an average speed of 60 km/h for 7 hours. How far did he drive?
c Shona’s average walking speed is 5 km/h. How long would it take her to walk 20 km?

Solutions
D D
a S = ---- b D=S×T c T = ----
T S
600 20
= --------- = 60 × 7 = ------
80 5
= 7.5 m/s = 420 km =4h

Example 2
EG A plane is flying at an average speed of 540 km/h. How far will it fly in:
+S
a 30 min? b 45 min? c 20 min?

Solutions
A speed of 540 km/h means the plane will fly 540 km in 1 hour.
a 30 min = 1
---
2
h b 45 min = 3
---
4
h
∴ Distance = 1
---
2
× 540 km ∴ Distance = 3
---
4
× 540 km
= 270 km = 405 km

c 20 min = 1
---
3
h
∴ Distance = 1
---
3
× 540 km
= 180 km

Example 3
EG A satellite travels 30 000 km in
+S 5 h 18 min. Calculate in km/h
the speed of the satellite, correct
to the nearest whole km/h.

Solution
Using the degrees and minutes key on the calculator,
D
S = ----
T Calculator steps:
30 000
= ------------------------- 30 000 ÷ 5 DMS 18 DMS =
5 h 18 min
= 5660 km/h (nearest 1 km/h)
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 349

Exercise 9.8

Complete the tables in Q1–4 by using the formulae for speed, distance and time.
1 S D T 2 S D T
a 20 km 4h a 10 km/h 3h
b 35 km 5s b 6 m/s 4s
c 12 km 4 min c 15 mm/min 10 min
d 32 m 8 min d 12 cm/s 5s
e 48 mm 6s e 9 mm/min 4 min

3 S D T 4 S D T
a 5 m/s 40 m a 18 km 3h
b 3 km/h 21 km b 20 m/s 100 m
c 10 m/min 50 m c 7 km/min 6 min
d 8 mm/s 72 mm d 80 cm 4s
e 7 cm/s 84 cm e 150 km/h 5h
f 5 mm/s 45 mm

5 a Tamsin ran 28 km in 4 hours. At what speed was she running?

b Nicholai ran at 12 km/h for 2 hours. How far did he run?
c Anh cycled at 10 km/h for 30 km. For how long was she cycling?
d A plane flew for 4 hours at 250 km/h. How far did the plane fly?
e How fast was Ken driving if he travelled 450 km in 5 hours?
f A racing-car driver completed one lap of a 600-m course at an average speed of
50 m/s. What was his lap time?

■ Consolidation
6 A car is travelling at 80 km/h. How far will it travel in:
a 1 h? b 30 min? c 15 min? d 45 min?

7 A train is travelling at 120 km/h. How far will it travel in:

a 1 h? b 30 min? c 20 min? d 40 min?
e 15 min? f 45 min? g 10 min? h 6 min?

8 a Chloe the cat can run at a speed of 12 m/s. How far would she run in 7 1--2- s?
b Alain drove 150 km to visit his mother. How long did the trip take, if his average speed
was 60 km/h?
c Sue walked 15 km in 4 hours. What was her average walking speed?
350 Mathscape 8

9 Katina decided to drive to the Central Coast for a holiday. The odometer readings in
Katina’s car when she left Sydney and when she arrived at the hotel on the coast are shown
below.
80 100 80 100
60 120 60 120
40 140 40 140
20 160 20 160
0 180 0 180
175606 175690
9.00 am 9.55 am

a Find the distance travelled. b What was her average speed?

10 Use the degrees and minutes key on your calculator to answer each of the following.
a Stacey drove 375 km from Goulburn to Albury in 3 h 34 min. Find her average speed,
correct to the nearest km/h.
b Heath flew from Sydney to Canberra by jet in 25 min at an average speed of 720 km/h.
Find the distance between these cities.
c Randall’s car broke down on a deserted road and he had to walk a distance of 14 km to
the nearest town. If his average walking speed was 5.2 km/h, find how long it took to
reach the town, in hours and minutes.
11 Sound travels at approximately 344 m/s and this speed is referred to as Mach 1. Twice the
speed of sound is referred to as Mach 2, and so on. How far, in km, would a jet plane flying
at Mach 2.5 travel in:
a 1 h? b 1 1--2- h? c 2 h 18 min?

12 In navigation, the nautical mile is used as a measure of distance and the knot is used as a
measure of speed, where 1 nautical mile = 1852 metres and 1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour.
a A cruise ship is sailing at a speed of 50 knots. Find, in kilometres, the distance sailed
by the ship after 4 hours.
b A battleship is sailing at a speed of 40 knots. Find, in kilometres, the distance sailed by
the ship after 6.5 hours.
13 Find, in knots, the speed of a ship that sails:
a 120 km in 1 hour b 300 km in 4 hours c 864 km in 9 hours

14 Light travels at the approximate speed of 300 000 km/s. At its closest point, Mars is
approximately 204.7 million km from the Sun. Find in minutes and seconds the time taken
for light from the Sun to reach Mars.

■ Further applications
15 At 11 am, two cars A and B begin driving towards each other along a straight stretch of the
Nullabor Plain. Car A is travelling at 60 km/h while car B is travelling at 80 km/h. Initially
the two cars were 735 km apart.
a At what time will the cars pass each other?
b How much further will car B then have to travel in order to reach the town where car A
began its journey?
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 351

16 Eliza leaves home in Newcastle at 9:00 am with a car full of family members and starts
driving to Brisbane to attend her daughter’s wedding. Samuel leaves from the same house
at 9:40 am with the remaining family members and drives towards Brisbane along the same
highway. Eliza drives at an average speed of 75 km/h while Samuel drives at 90 km/h.
At what time will Samuel pass Eliza along the highway?

TRY THIS How far away is lightning?

During a thunderstorm, you will see the lightning flash before you hear the clap of
thunder. Why is this?
The reason is that the lightning travels towards you at the speed of light while the
noise of the thunder travels to you at the speed of sound, which is much slower.
Do this arithmetic! Light travels at 2.997 × 108 metres per second. How many
kilometres per second is this?
The speed of light is so great that over short distances, say 10 kilometres, it is
instantaneous.
However, the speed of sound is a different matter.
It depends on the vibrating particles in the air and is approximately 1224 km per
hour. Convert this to km per second (. . .÷ 60 ÷ 60 = . . .).
Compare this figure with the one you calculated for the speed of light.

9.9 Scale drawing

In order to design a large object such as a building, a tunnel, a ship or a bridge, engineers and
architects need to draw an accurate plan. Clearly it is not possible to draw the plan the same
size as the actual object. In such cases, a scale drawing is used. The drawing is the same shape
as the object that is to be constructed, but much smaller. The actual lengths are all reduced in
the same ratio. The reduction factor between the real object and the drawing is called the scale.

map distance
Scale = --------------------------------------
actual distance

Map scales are usually given in the form 1 : n, where n is the scale factor. A scale of 1 : 100 000
means that a distance of 1 cm on a map represents an actual distance of 100 000 cm, or 1 km
in real life. This scale may also be given simply as 1 cm to 1 km.
352 Mathscape 8

To find the actual distance between two points:

multiply the map distance by the scale factor.
To find the map distance between two points:

divide the actual distance by the scale factor.
To find the scale on a map:

divide the map distance by the actual distance

give the scale in the form 1 : n.

■ House plans 10 680

House plans are a type of scale
drawing. Architects use scale drawings
to produce accurate plans for a house. BED 1 L/DRY KITCHEN DINING
Builders need to be able to read and Robe 3340 x 3780 2710 x 2740 2510 x 2810

interpret these plans when building

the house. All dimensions on house
plans are usually given in millimetres.
Br
LIVING
6140 x 3810
The internal dimensions of the rooms BATH Lin
are measured between the inside walls.
They do not include the walls. The first WC
measurement is the length of the room
and the second measurement is the
width of the room.
Robe

BED 2 BED 3
3340 x 3630 3210 x 3630
Robe

Example 1
EG Express each scale as a ratio in the form 1 : n.
+S
a 1 cm represents 5 m b 1 cm represents 3.6 km
Solutions
a 1 cm : 5 m b 1 cm : 3.6 km
= 1 cm : 500 cm = 1 cm : 3600 m
= 1 : 500 = 1 cm : 360 000 cm
= 1 : 360 000

Example 2
EG The scale on a map is 1 : 2500.
+S
a Find the actual distance between two points which are drawn 7 cm apart on the map.
b Find the map distance between two points which are 300 m apart in real life.
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 353

Solutions
a Actual distance = map distance × scale factor
= 7 cm × 2500
= 17 500 cm
= 175 m
b Map distance = actual distance ÷ scale factor
= 300 m ÷ 2500
= 0.12 m
= 12 cm

Example 3
EG Find the scale on a map if a map distance of 14 mm represents an actual distance of 70 m.
+S
Solution
map distance
70 m = 7000 cm scale = -----------------------------------
actual distance
14 mm
= 70 000 mm = ---------------------------
70 000 mm
1
= ------------
5000
= 1 : 5000

Example 4
EG Find, in metres, the dimensions of the laundry (L/dry) using the house plan on the previous
+S page.

Solution
Length internally = 10 680 mm
Bedroom 1 + Kitchen + Dining room = 3340 mm + 2710 mm + 2510 mm
= 8560 mm
Length of laundry = 10 680 mm − 8560 mm
= 2120 mm
Width of laundry = width of kitchen
= 2740 mm
∴ the dimensions of the laundry = 2120 mm × 2740 mm
= 2.12 m × 2.74 m
354 Mathscape 8

Exercise 9.9

1 Express each of these scales as a ratio in the form 1: n.

a 1 cm represents 100 cm b 1 cm represents 300 cm c 1 cm represents 1200 cm
2 Express each of these scales as a ratio in the form 1: n, if 1 cm represents an actual length
of:
a 1m b 2m c 5m d 10 m
e 0.5 m f 1.5 m g 2.4 m h 3.25 m
3 Express each of these scales as a ratio in the form 1: n, if 1 cm represents an actual length
of:
a 1 km b 4 km c 0.5 km d 2.5 km e 3.75 km
4 A map has been drawn to a scale of 1:1000. Find, in metres, the actual distance between
two points A and B if the distance AB on the map is:
a 2 cm b 7 cm c 0.4 cm d 9.5 cm e 13.6 cm
5 A map has been drawn to a scale of 1: 30 000. Find, in metres, the actual distance between
two points if the map distance between the points is:
a 8 mm b 15 mm c 0.5 mm d 4.2 mm e 21.9 mm
6 The scale on a map is 1: 25 000. How far apart on the map should two points be drawn if
the actual distance between the points is:
a 1 km b 6 km c 15 km d 0.75 km e 2.4 km
7 Find the map distances between two points if the scale is 1: 40 000 and the actual distances
are:
a 2 km b 14 km c 9.6 km d 7.3 km e 20.9 km
8 Find as a ratio the scale on a map if a map distance of:
a 2 cm represents an actual distance of 10 m
b 20 cm represents an actual distance of 7 km
c 15 mm represents an actual distance of 60 m
d 80 mm represents an actual distance of 2400 m
e 8.4 cm represents an actual distance of 14.7 km
f 65 mm represents an actual distance of 5.2 km

■ Consolidation
9 On a house plan that has been drawn to a scale of 1:100, the laundry is drawn to a length
of 45 mm. What is the actual length of the laundry?
10 A chimney stack is drawn 57 mm tall on a scale drawing where the scale used is 1:1000.
What is the actual height of the stack?
11 A road map has been drawn to a scale of 1 cm : 5 km. How far apart are two railway stations
if they are drawn 4 cm apart on the map?
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 355

12 A swimming pool measuring 10 m by 4 m is to be represented on a scale drawing with a

scale of 1: 50. Find the scale dimensions of the pool.

13 A student was asked to make a scale drawing of a room that measures 5.6 m by 3.8 m. If
the scale used was 1: 20, find, in centimetres, the dimensions of the room on the student’s
scale drawing.

14 A plan of the school building is to be made using a scale of 1 cm represents 1.2 metres.
What is this scale in simplest ratio form?

15 A model car that is an exact replica of a real sports car is 9 cm long. If the real car is 3.6 m
long, find the scale used in the model.

16 This elevation view of the front of a house

is drawn to a scale 1: 300.
a What is the actual width of the house? 25 mm
b What is the actual height of the house?

60 mm

17 On a map where 9 cm represents a distance of 58.5 km, find:

a the scale in the form 1: n
b the actual distance that would be represented on the map as 2.8 cm
c the map distance that would represent an actual distance of 32.5 km

18 The length of a jet is approximately 70 m and its wingspan is approximately 60 m. A model

of the jet is made to a scale of 1: 200. What is the length and wingspan of the model?

19 A scale drawing of a room has a length of 60 mm and a width of 40 mm. The actual length
of the room is measured and found to be 12 m. What is the width of the room?
356 Mathscape 8

20 Answer the following questions

using this map of greater Sydney.
a Write the scale for this map
in two different ways.
b Find, in km, the distance
between:
i Manly and Dee Why
ii Penrith and Liverpool
iii Heathcote and Windsor

21 Use the measurements

A
on the house plan to
answer the questions
below. Do not use a Bed 3 Bed 4
2800 x 3000 3600 x 3900
ruler.
a What are the
dimensions of the D
garage, in metres? ROBE
b Write down the Bed 2
dimensions A, B, 2800 x 3000
C, D and E in Family L/dry
5860 x 4000
millimetres. Kitchen
Ignore the 2420 x 4000

thickness of the E
walls. B

c Find the
dimensions of:
Living Garage
ROBE

i the laundry Bed 1 5860 x 4100 3000 x 5500

ii the bathroom 3720 x 3200
d Find, in square
metres, the area of:
i bedroom 1
ii the living room C
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 357

■ Further applications
22 Use a scale of 1 cm represents 5 m to draw a plan of a front elevation and side elevation for
a rectangular assembly hall 30 metres long, 15 metres wide and 25 metres high.
23 Two people set out on a short bushwalk. They walk 750 m due west, 1.5 km north east, and
then 600 m due east before returning to their starting point. Make a scale drawing using the
scale 1 cm represents 150 m.

24 Use a scale of 1:100 to draw an accurate floor plan of the house in Q21.

The comparative size of a nuclear submarine

Introduction
In chapter 7 of the Year 7 book we saw how directed numbers could be used to describe the
depth of submarines. The Russian nuclear submarine Kursk sank in 107 m of water in the
Barents Sea in 2000 with the loss of 118 crew. The Kursk is a huge vessel. It is 154 m long.
To give you an idea of how big it is, the length of the Sydney Cricket Ground from north to
south is 160 m. It is interesting to make such comparisons by using ratios.

2L EARNING ACTIVITIES

1 A bus is 14 m in length. A Boeing 747 jumbo jet is 70 m in length. A football field of play
is 100 m in length. The Kursk submarine is 154 m in length. Compare the length of the bus,
the jet, the football field and the submarine by using a ratio.
358 Mathscape 8

2 Show that the ratio is 1 : 5 : 7 : 11 to the nearest whole numbers.

3 How many buses could be placed end to end to match the length of the jet? the submarine?
How many buses could fit into a football field?
4 The ratio of the speed of the submarine on the surface to its speed when it is submerged
is 10 : 13. Calculate the speed on the surface if it travels at a speed of 26 knots when
submerged.
5 Speed at sea is measured in knots, the number of nautical miles travelled per hour. Given
that the ratio of knots : km/h is 6 : 11, calculate the equivalent of 20 knots in km/h.

8E XTENSION ACTIVITY

Using the ratio 1 : 5 : 7 : 11 for comparing the length of the bus : jumbo jet : football field :
submarine, make a scale drawing of them. Choose a suitable scale. You might like to include
another familiar object such as the Sydney Tower, which you can take as 308 m tall. (The actual
height is 320 m.)

E L ET’S COMMUNICATE

Discuss the way in which ratios enable us to develop an understanding of the sizes of unfamiliar
objects such as submarines.

%R EFLECTING

Think of ratios that come up in your real-life experience. For example, you make a scale
drawing of your house, you exchange Australian dollars for US dollars on an overseas trip, you
make a model aeroplane from a kit. Note that each one has a different context but that ratios
are comparisons of pure numbers (that is, they do not have units of measurement). Discuss this
with your teacher.

B P ROBLEM SOLVING

4
1 ---
3
of a number is 40. What is the number?
2 A glass contains lemonade and flavouring in the ratio 8 : 2. Another glass of the same
size has the same contents in the ratio 9 : 1. The contents of the two glasses are poured
into a large container. What is the ratio of this mixture?
3 Water is pouring into your classroom at the rate of 10 litres per minute. When should
you start swimming? (Note: 1 cubic metre (1 m3) = 1000 litres.)
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 359

4 A friend chooses a number between 1 and 100. You ask questions (e.g. is it bigger than
50?) to find the number. Your friend answers either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. What is the least
number of Yes/No questions that may be needed to find the number?
5 What is the maximum number of matchboxes that can be made to touch another
matchbox? (Do the experiment!)
1
---
3
6 Calculate 1 + ----------1-
1 + --3- 1
----------1-
1 + --3-
7 What is the next number in this sequence: 1, 2, 2, 4, 8, 32, 256?
8 Twenty-four cubes are put in 4 stacks. The first stack is twice the third, and the second
is one less than the first. The sum of the first and the third is equal to the sum of the
second and the fourth. What is the size of each stack?
9 A rectangle has dimensions 30 mm × 10 mm. 30 mm
If each dimension is increased by 10%, what is
the area of the new rectangle?
10 mm

10 In Q9, is the area of the new rectangle 10%, 20%, or 21% greater than the old
rectangle?

1 A r_______ is the comparison of two rate noun 1. speed: to work at a steady rate | The car
quantities of different kinds. was travelling at a rate of 100 kilometres an hour.
2 If ratios have the same value they are said 2. a charge or payment: The interest rate on the loan
to be equ_______. is 10 per cent per year. 3. rates, the tax paid to the
3 What is another word beginning with local council by people who own land
–verb 4. to set a value on, or consider as: The council
equ_______ that we use in Mathematics? rated the land at $20 000. | I rate him a very good
4 Explain the word scale as used for maps. friend.
5 Read the Macquarie Learners’ Dictionary –phrase 5. at any rate, in any case: We enjoyed
entry for rate: ourselves at any rate.
6. at this rate, if things go on like this: At this rate
we will soon run out of money.
How have you used this word other than in
Mathematics?
 360 Mathscape 8
CHAPTER RE

1 Write a ratio to represent the following 9 Simplify:

statements. a 10 : 2 b 14 : 21
a Joe ate three times as much as Joanne. c 55 : 30 d 16 : 24 : 12
b Bryan can only swim half as far as 10 Simplify:
Megan. a $4 : $2.50 b 3 h : 20 min
c Fiona earns two-thirds as much as c 4.2 cm : 36 mm d 240 g : 1.2 kg
Maryanne.
11 Simplify:
2 The ratio of green pens to blue pens is
a 12 8
------ : ------ b 1 : 3--4- c 4
--- :3
5 : 9. Find the ratio of: 19 19 5
3 9
a blue pens to green pens d ---
4
: ------
20
e 3 1--2- :4 f 1 4--5- : 2 1--5-
b green pens to the total number of pens
12 Simplify:
3 In a picnic lunch there are salad a 0.6 : 1.2 b 0.5 : 0.55
sandwiches and meat sandwiches in c 1 : 0.72 d 0.42 : 0.6
the ratio 5 : 3. What fraction of the
sandwiches are salad? 13 Divide:
a $45 in the ratio 7 : 2
4 Write each of the following as a ratio.
VIEW

b 72 kg in the ratio 4 : 5
a 2--3- b 4 c 1 2--5- c 154 cm in the ratio 8 : 3
d 0.9 e 1.3 f 27% 14 a Increase 72 kg in the ratio 10 : 9.
5 Complete each of these equivalent ratios. b Increase $63 in the ratio 9 : 7.
a 5 : 8 = 15 : b :8 = 7:4 c Decrease 80 mL in the ratio 4 : 5.
c 3 : 7 = : 28 d 45 : = 9 : 11 d Decrease 99 t in the ratio 9 : 11.
6 Find as a decimal the value of each 15 Increase $50 in the ratio 13 : 10, then
pronumeral. decrease the result in the ratio 4 : 5.
x 7 a 5
a --- = --- b --- = --- 16 At the Grand Final, the ratio of Roosters
3 5 6 4
supporters to Warriors supporters is
7 At a meeting, the ratio of men to women 11 : 7. If there were 49 500 Roosters
was 4 : 7. supporters, find the number of Warriors
a Find the number of men, if there were supporters.
28 women at the meeting.
b Find the number of women, if there 17 The ratio of the width of a rectangle to its
were 32 men at the meeting. length is 5 : 8. If the perimeter of the
rectangle is 52 m, find the width.
8 a The ratio of bananas to apples is 3 : 4
and the ratio of apples to tomatoes is 18 Harry sells pies and earns $32 per hour
2 : 5. Find the ratio of bananas to for a 30-hour week. Tom sells vacuum
tomatoes. cleaners and earns $28 per hour for a
b Find the ratio of monkeys to 36-hour week. Find the ratio of Harry’s
elephants, if the ratio of monkeys to wage to Tom’s wage, in simplest form.
gorillas is 5 : 2 and the ratio of gorillas
to elephants is 3 : 4.

CHAPTER REVIEW
 Chapter 9: Ratios and rates 361

19 Luke and Kate contribute $14 000 and b The market value of 75 shares of a

VIEW
$12 000, respectively, to set up an particular stock is $1425. What is the
advertising business. After three years market value of 250 shares of the
they dissolve the partnership and share same stock at the same rate?
the profits of $130 000 in the ratio of their c A person earns $75 commission on
initial investment. Find how much they sales of $3000. At this rate, how
each received. much commission will they earn on

CHAPTER RE
20 a A canteen sells pies, pasties and sales totalling $5400?
sausage rolls in the ratio 16 : 10 : 25. d A factory can build 7 motor cruisers
If the manager of the canteen sells 18 in 12 working days. Find how many
more sausage rolls than pies, find the working days will be required to
sales of each food item. build 175 motor cruisers.
b Micha, Bertha and Charlotte share 25 A fruit picker can pick 480 oranges in
a lottery win in the ratio 8 : 7 : 5. 3 hours. At this rate, how long will the
If Bertha receives $160 more than fruit picker take to pick 100 oranges.
Charlotte, find the amount won by Give your answer in hours and minutes.
the three people. 26 a Jeremy walked 35 km in 5 hours.
21 Express each of these rates in simplest At what speed was he walking?
form. b Ursula drove at 60 km/h for 4 hours.
a 350 km on 50 L How far did she drive?
b 80 m in 5 s c A plane flew 3120 km at a speed of
c $60 for 1 1--2- h 520 km/h. How long was the flight?
22 Convert: 27 A cross-country train is travelling at a
a 7 m/s to m/min speed of 120 km/h. How far will it
b 2.5 t/h to t/day travel in:
c 3200 m/s to km/s a 30 minutes? b 45 minutes?
d 310 mL/m2 to L/m2 c 20 minutes? d 35 minutes?
23 a A machine fills and seals lemonade e 42 minutes? f 90 minutes?
cans at the rate of 150 cans per 28 Use the degrees and minutes key on your
minute. How many cans will be filled calculator to find:
and sealed in 1 h 20 min? a the speed of a car that travels 140 km
b A greenkeeper cuts 3 ha of lawn in 2 h 25 min
every hour. How many square metres b the time taken, in hours and minutes,
of lawn will be cut in 30 minutes? for a flight of 1750 km at 375 km/h
24 Use the unitary method to solve each of 29 a A map is drawn with a scale of
these problems. 1:1000. Find, in metres, the actual
a A car can travel 45 km on 5 L of distance between two buildings that
petrol. How far will it travel on 9 L? are 9.2 cm apart on the map.

CHAPTER REVIEW
 362 Mathscape 8

Wingspan = 16 m
CHAPTER RE

b The scale on a road map is a

1: 250 000. Find, in kilometres, the
actual distance between two towns
that are 7 cm apart on the map.
c Find the map distance between two
lakes if the scale on the map is 1 cm
b Door width = 1300 mm
represents 2.5 km and the actual
distance between the lakes is 85 km.
d The scale on a map is 1: 300 000.
How far apart on the map should two
train stations be drawn if the actual
distance between the stations is
24 km.
30 Find the scale on a map, in the form 1: n, Extension
if a map distance of:
32 Convert:
a 24 mm represents an actual distance
a 90 km/h to m/s
VIEW

of 84 m
b 75 mL/min to L/day
b 6 cm represents an actual distance of
c 24 m/s to km/h
15 km
d 48 kg/ha to g/m2
31 In each of these scale drawings, measure
the relevant dimension and find the scale
used, as a ratio.

CHAPTER REVIEW