Ratios and Proportions in Everyday Life

Date: 05/13/2002 at 07:51:20
From: Tal
Subject: Ratios and Proportions

How are ratios and proportions used in everyday life?

Date: 05/13/2002 at 09:32:57
From: Doctor Ian
Subject: Re: Ratios and Proportions

Hi Tal,

Suppose you're having four people over for dinner; and you have a 
recipe that makes enough of a dish for 12 people; but you don't 
want to have leftovers. How would you change the recipe to make 
just enough for four people?

Suppose your business is opening a new office, but instead of 24 
employees (which is how many you have at your original office), 
this one will have only 18 employees.  If you know how much 
water, paper, staples, and other office supplies you need for a 
year in the original office, how can you figure out how much to 
order for the new office? 

These are the kinds of problems that require ratios and 
proportions to solve. 

Does this help? 

- Doctor Ian, The Math Forum
  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/