Height/Weight Ratio

Date: 05/15/97 at 13:58:36
From: Joey J. J. Jr. Shabadoo
Subject: Mass ratios

You have a friend who weighs 155 pounds but is only 5 feet 4 inches 
tall.  What is the height-to-weight ratio of your pal?

I don't understand this question at all.  Please explain it to me. You 
could use yourself as an example.

Thanks a lot,
Joey

Date: 05/15/97 at 17:07:02
From: Doctor Sonya
Subject: Re: mass ratios

Dear Joey,

Any ratio is a way of comparing two things. The height to weight ratio 
is a way to compare someone's height and weight. Another ratio people 
use a lot is the "student-teacher ratio".  This shows how many 
students there are for each teacher.  If your school has, say, 598 
students and 26 teachers, you say that there are 598 students for 26 
teachers.  What is useful about ratios is that you can set them up as 
fractions.

Our ratio above is 598 students to 26 teachers, so we say that the 
student-teacher ratio is 598/26.  When we reduce this fraction, we 
get 23/1.  So the student-teacher ratio is 23/1, or 23 students for 
1 teacher. 

In your problem you need to find the height-to-weight ratio of your 
friend. I'll use myself as an example as you suggested. 

I weigh 160 lbs. and am 5'10" = 70" tall, so my height-to-weight ratio 
is 70"/160 lbs.  When I reduce this fraction, I get 7"/16 lbs.  This 
means that I weigh 16 lbs for every 7 inches of height.

Good luck with your problem. You should be able to do it the same way.

-Doctor Sonya,  The Math Forum
 Check out our web site!  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/