APTITUDE MASTERY SERIES

MODULE 2 – RATIO AND PROPORTION

Ratio: A ratio is the comparison or simplified form of two numbers or quantities of the same kind by division.
This relation indicates how many times one quantity is equal to the other. It is a number, which expresses one
quantity as a fraction of the other. The symbol „:‟ is used to denote the ratio. E.g. Ratio of 3 to 4 is 3 : 4.
The numbers forming the ratio are called terms. The numerator, “3”, in this case, is known as the antecedent and
the denominator, “4”, is known as the consequent.
Proportion: The equality of any two ratios is called a proportion. For example, if we have any four numbers or
quantities that we represent as „a‟, „b‟, „c‟ and „d‟ respectively, then we may write the proportion of these four
quantities as: a : b = c : d (or) a : b :: c : d.
If the ratio a : b is equal to the ratio c : d, then a, b, c, d are said to be in proportion. Proportion is represented by
the symbol ‘=’ or ‘::’.
When 4 terms in proportion, then the product of the two extremes (i.e. the first and the fourth value) should be
equal to the product of two middle values (i.e. the second and the third value)

Fourth Proportional: If a:b :: c:d or in other words a:b = c: d, then the quantity „d‟ is what we call the fourth
proportional to a, b and c. For example, if we have 2, 3 and 4, 5 are in the proportion such that 2 and 5 are the
extremes, then 5 is the fourth proportional to 2, 3, and 4.

Third Proportional: Similar to the definition of the fourth proportional, we define the term known as the third
proportional. The third proportional of a proportion is the second term of the mean terms. For example, if we have a:b
= c:d, then the term „c‟ is the third proportional to „a‟ and „b‟.

Mean Proportional: The mean proportional between the two terms of a ratio in a proportional is the square root of
the product of these two. For example, in the proportion a:b :: c:d, we can define the mean proportional for the ratio
a:b as the square root of the product of the two terms of the ratio or √ab.

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 Continued Proportion: a, b, c are in Continued Proportion, if a : b = b : c. Here b is called the Mean
Proportional and is equal to the square root of the product of a and c.
b2 = a × c → b = √ac
a, b, c, d are in Geometric Progression if,

Let = k, then, c = dk; b = ck and a = bk

Since c = dk, b = dk × k = dk2 and a = bk = dk2 × k = dk3, implying they are in Geometric Progression.
If the three ratios, a : b, b : c, c : d are known, we can find a : d by the multiplying these three ratios

If = = , then each of these ratios is equal to (a+c+e)/(b+d+f)

If = , then = (Invertendo)
If = , then = (Alternendo)
If = , then = (Componendo)
If = , then = (Dividendo)
If = , then = (Componendo & dividendo)

Direct variation: Two quantities “x” and “y” are said to be in direct variation if an increase in one quantity
results in increase in the other quantity and decrease in one results in decrease in the other quantity. If two
quantities vary always in the same ratio, then they are in direct variation.

Examples for Direct Variation:

 Distance and Time are in Direct Variation, because more the distance travelled, the time taken will be more (if
speed remains the same).
 Principal and Interest are in Direct Variation, because if the Principal is more, the Interest earned will also be
more.
 Purchase of Articles and the amount spent are in Direct Variation, because purchase of more articles will cost
more money. If two quantities “x” and “y” vary directly in such a way that x/y remains constant and is positive,
and this constant is called the constant of variation. If x α y that means x = py where p is proportionality constant
x/y = p, then ratio of any two values of “x” is equal to the ratio of corresponding values of “y” Then x1/x2 =
x2/y2.

Inverse variation: If two quantities “x” and “y” are such that an increase or decrease in “x” leads to a
corresponding decrease or increase in “y” in the same ratio, then we can say they vary indirectly or the variation
is inverse.
Suppose 6 men can do a piece of work in 18 days, then 12 men can do the same job in 9 days. That means if we
double the number of men, then number of days get halved. That means there is inverse relation between number
of men and number of days.

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 In general, when two variables x and y are such that xy = k where k is a non-zero constant, we say that y varies
inversely with x. In notation, inverse variation is written as y α 1/x → y = p/x, where p is constant of
proportionality → xy = p. So x1 y1 = x2 y2.

Examples for Inverse Variation:

 Work and Time are in Inverse Variation, because more the number of the workers, lesser will be the time required
to complete a job.
 Speed and Time are in Inverse Variation, because higher the speed, the lower is the time taken to cover a distance.
 Population and Quantity of food are in Inverse Variation, because if the population increases, the food availability
decreases.

Note:
1. The ratio represents the quantitative relationship between two categories. As opposed to proportion, which shows
the quantitative relationship of a category with the total.
2. In a given problem, you can identify whether they are in ratio or proportion, with the help of keywords they use
i.e. „to every‟ in ratio and „out of‟ in the case of proportion.
3. Ratio is defined as the comparison of sizes of two quantities of the same unit. Proportion, on the other hand, refers
to the equality of two ratios.
4. The ratio is an expression while proportion is an equation which can be solved.
5. The ratio is represented by Colon (:) sign between the quantities compared. In contrast proportion, is denoted by
Double Colon (::) or Equal to (+) sign, between the ratios under comparison.
6. The ratio is the comparison of two numbers while proportion is nothing but an extension over ratio which states
that two ratios or fractions are equivalent.

PROBLEMS

1. King Bahubali had ordered the distribution of apples according to the following plan: For every 20 apples the
elephant gets, the zebra should get 13 apples and the deer should get 8 apples. Now his servant Kattappa is in a
fix. Can you help him by telling how much should he give to the elephant if there were 820 apples in total?
(a) 140 (b) 160 (c) 200 (d) 400

2. Dheeraj went to a cool corner. He gave the shopkeeper a Rs. 10 note and asked for a coke costing Rs.5. The
shopkeeper returned the change to him in the denominations of Re.1, 50 paise and 25 paise. What could be the
ratio of number of coins of Re.1, 50 paise and 25 paise respectively?
(a) 2 : 3 : 1 (b) 1 : 7 : 2 (c) 6 : 1 : 3 (d) 2 : 1 : 2

3. Four numbers are in proportion. The sum of the squares of the four numbers is 50 and the sum of the means is 5.
The ratio of the first two terms is 1: 3. What is the average of the four numbers?
(a) 2 (b) 5 (c) 3 (d) 6

4. The incomes of Ajay, Balu and Chandru are in the ratio of 12 : 9 : 7 and their expenditures are in the ratio 15 : 9 :
8. If Ajay saves 25% of his income, what is the ratio of the savings of Ajay, Balu and Chandru?
(a) 15 : 18 : 11 (b) 16 : 19 : 12 (c) 14 : 17 : 10 (d) 17 : 20 : 13

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5. A cat takes 7 steps for every 5 steps of a dog, but 5 steps of a dog are equal to 6 steps of cat. What is the ratio of
speed of the cat to that of dog?
(a) 6 : 5 (b) 5 : 6 (c) 6 : 7 (d) 7 : 6

6. The value of a diamond is directly proportional to the square of its weight. A diamond unfortunately breaks into
three pieces with weights in the ratio of 3 : 4 : 5 resulting in a loss of Rs. 9.4 lakhs. What is the actual value of
diamond?
(a) 28.8 lakh (b) 13.5 lakh (c) 14.4 lakh (d) 18.8 lakh

7. In a zoo, there are rabbits and pigeons. If heads are counted, there are 340 heads and if legs are counted there are
1060 legs. How many pigeons are there?
(a) 120 (b) 150 (c) 180 (d) 170

8. Weight of a sumo jointly varies as his height and his age. When height is 1.2 m and age is 20 years his weight is
48 kg. Find the weight of the sumo when his height is 1.5 m and age is 30 years:
(a) 60 kg (b) 72 kg (c) 90 kg (d) 58 kg

9. Rs. 171 is divided among four friends in the ratio of What is the amount of the person who got the
greatest share?
(a) 14 (b) 40 (c) 36 (d) 60

10. The ages of Abhinav, Stephen, Vamsi and Kunal are in arithmetic progression, but not in order. The ratio of ages
of Abhinav and Stephen is 6 : 5 and Vamsi to Kunal is 7 : 8. Two years later the age of Stephen and Kunal will be
2 : 3. Find the ratio of ages of Abinav and Vamsi?
(a) 7 : 6 (b) 5 : 8 (c) 6 : 7 (d) 8 : 9

11. Apeksha purchased one dozen bangles. One day she slipped on the floor and fell down. What cannot be the ratio
of broken to unbroken bangles:
(a) 1 : 2 (b) 1 : 3 (c) 2 : 3 (d) 1 : 5

12. The number of apples in three baskets are in the ratio of 3 : 4 : 5. In which ratio the number of apples in first two
baskets must be increased so that the new ratio becomes 5 : 4 : 3?
(a) 2: 1 (b) 1 : 3 (c) 3 : 4 (d) 2 : 3

13. Distance covered by a train is directly proportional to the time taken and it also varies directly as the square root
of fuel used and varies inversely as the number of wagons attached to it. A train covers 192 km journey in 20
hours when there are 10 wagons attached to it and total fuel consumption was 256 litres of diesel. Find the
consumption of fuel per km when a train goes 200 km in 25 hours with 15 wagons attached to it:
(a) 1.5 l/km (b) 2 l/km (c) 2.8 l/km (d) 20 l/km

14. Rs. 3650 is divided among 4 engineers, 3 MBAs and 5 CAs such that 3 CAs get as much as 2 MBAs and 3
Engineers as much as 2 CAs. Find the share of an MBA?
(a) 300 (b) 350 (c) 475 (d) 450

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15. A camel pursues an elephant and takes 5 leaps for every 7 leaps of the elephant, but 5 leaps of elephant are equal
to 3 leaps of camel. What is the ratio of speeds of camel and elephant?
(a) 24: 22 (b) 25 : 21 (c) 23 : 19 (d) 22 : 21

HOMEWORK

16. A varies directly as B and inversely as C. A is 12 when B is 6 and C is 2. What is the value of A when B is 12 and
C is 3?
(a) 16 (b) 17 (c) 18 (d) 19

17. The ratio of work efficiency of A and B is 5 : 3 and the ratio of efficiency of B and C is 5 : 8. Who is most
efficient?
(a) A (b) B (c) C (d) Can‟t be determined

18. Devika had only Rs. 16 in her wallet consisting of 10 paise, 20 paise and Re. 1 coins. The ratio of number of
coins of 10 paise and 20 paise is 6 : 1. The minimum number of Re. 1 coins is:
(a) 5 (b) 12 (c) 4 (d) 8

19. Seats for Mathematics, Physics and Biology in a school are in the ratio 5 : 7 : 8. There is a proposal to increase
these seats by 40%, 50% and 75% respectively. What will be the ratio of increased seats?
(a) 2 : 3 : 4 (b) 3 : 5 : 7 (c) 4 : 5 : 6 (d) 6 : 7 : 8

20. The sum of three numbers is 98. If the ratio of the first to second is 2 :3 and that of the second to the third is 5 : 8,
then the second number is:
(a) 20 (b) 30 (c) 48 (d) 58