8 Ratio and proportion

Learn 1 Finding and simplifying ratios

Learn 2 Using ratios to find quantities
Learn 3 Ratio and proportion
Learn 4 Calculating proportional changes
Learn 5 Direct and inverse proportion

SPECIFICATION REFERENCE
OBJECTIVES

Learn 1
D Solve simple ratio and proportion problems, Use ratio notation, including reduction to
such as finding the ratio of teachers to its simplest form and its various links to
students in a school fraction notation H2.2f

Learn 2
C Solve more complex ratio and proportion Divide a quantity in a given ratio H2.3f
problems, such as sharing out money
between two groups in the ratio of their
numbers

Learn 3
C Solve ratio and proportion problems using the Solve word problems about ratio and
unitary method proportion, including using informal
strategies and the unitary method of
solution (F2.3n)
Learn 4
B Calculate proportional changes using a Represent repeated proportional change
multiplier using a multiplier raised to a power H2.3k

Learn 5
A Solve direct and inverse proportion problems Calculate an unknown quantity from
quantities that vary in direct or inverse
Interpret the graphs of direct and inverse proportion H2.3l
proportion relationships
Set up and use equations to solve word
and other problems involving direct
and inverse proportion and relate
algebraic solutions of problems involving
direct and inverse proportion to graphical
representations of the equations H2.5h
VOCABULARY

Definitions for these words can be found in the Students’ Book

Constant Proportion Inverse proportion

Ratio Unitary method
Unitary ratio Direct proportion

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AQA Mathematics for GCSE

STARTER
1 a On a flashcard or on a whiteboard, interactive board or OHP, show the Learn 1
students a fraction such as one from the list below. Ask the students to show
you the simplest version of the fraction as quickly as they can. Check for
omissions, errors, incomplete answers, etc. and deal with difficulties before
giving the next fraction to simplify. Make the next fraction harder, easier
or the same level of difficulty according to responses to the first one.
6 50 50 25 108 25 2.5
,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 
12 100 1000 650 324 35 3.5
b On a flashcard or on a whiteboard, interactive board or OHP, show the
students a proportion such as one from the list below. Ask the students to show
you three fractions equivalent to the proportion given. Check for omissions,
errors, incomplete answers, etc. and deal with difficulties before giving the
next proportion. Choose the next proportion according to responses to the first.
1 2 1 3 5
,  ,  ,  ,  , 50%, 30%
2 3 10 10 9

2 On a flashcard or on a whiteboard, interactive board or OHP, show the Learn 1

students a number such as one from the list below. Ask the students to list all
the factors of the number shown. Check for omissions, errors, incomplete
answers, etc. and deal with difficulties before giving the next number.
Choose the next number according to responses to the first. Discuss divisibility:
how can you tell when a number is divisible by 2, 10, 5, 3, ...?
Examples of possible numbers: 36, 70, 80, 108, 144, 1000

3 On a flashcard or on a whiteboard, interactive board or OHP, show the Learn 2

students a calculation such as one from the list below. Ask the students to
work out the required amount. Check for problems, deal with difficulties
and discuss different ways of working out the answers before giving the
next calculation.
Examples of possible calculations:
5
half of 150, 32 of 150, 12 of 24, 53 of 120, 32 of 4500, 100
17
of 250

4 Give students an example of quantities in proportion, such as the number of Learn 3

hours worked and the amount earned, and ask them to suggest other examples.
A good range of correct and incorrect examples should emerge and can be
discussed to provide a rich background to the work of Learn 3.

5 Give each pair or small group of students in the class a word or phrase from Learn 3
the list below and ask them to develop an explanation of the word or phrase,
using examples, pictures, etc. to illustrate their explanation. (This could be
set as homework.) Ask a group to give their word and its explanation. Ask
other students to comment. Discuss the issues raised. Continue for as many
words as you have time for.
Examples of possible words: fraction, ratio, unitary ratio, simplifying ratios,
factor, multiple, unitary method, teacher : student ratio, map scales,
male : female ratio, two pairs of numbers in the same ratio, simplifying fractions,
profit : cost price ratio, dividing a number in given ratio, proportion, best buy.

58
 Ratio and proportion

6 Give students incomplete statements, such as those below, and ask them to Learn 4
write the missing percentages or multipliers. Discuss differences and errors
before going on to the next example.
a Increasing by 10% is the same as finding ... %.
b Decreasing by 5% is the same as finding ... %.
c Increasing by 1% is the same as finding ... %.
d Decreasing by 20% is the same as multiplying by ...
e Increasing by 10% is the same as multiplying by ...
f Decreasing by 5% is the same as multiplying by ...
g Increasing by 1% is the same as multiplying by ...
h Decreasing by 20% is the same as multiplying by ...

7 Put numbers with indices, such as those below, on the board for students to Learn 4
gain some quick practice of using the index functions on a calculator.
3
5, 2
10, 4
5, 5
4, 3
0.5, 1.05
3, 1.5
6

8 Ask students to discuss and make a list of all the mathematical relationships Learn 5
and formulae they can think of. Choose some from the list and discuss them
with the group, for example, for A # πr
2, A increases as r increases, but it is not
a linear relationship; the graph is a parabola; A is directly proportional to r
2, etc.

Learn 1 Finding and simplifying ratios

Examples: a A school has 1400 students and 70 teachers. Write down the student
to teacher ratio and express it in its simplest form.

The student to teacher ratio is 1400 to 70 or 1400 : 70.

Make sure students appreciate that the order is important.
1400 : 70 is not the same as 70 : 1400.
In its simplest form:
1400 : 70
# 20 : 1
Students may be able to suggest ways in which this could be simplified
in a similar way to simplifying fractions. They should be able to spot that
10 is a common factor and may be able to see that 70 is a factor.
No matter how many steps are used to simplify the ratio, the final result,
1 : 20, is the same.
Emphasise that the numbers obtained at each stage are in the same
proportion as they were at the beginning.

b A dealer in second-hand books buys a paperback for £1.20 and sells it for £1.50
What is the ratio of profit : cost price in its simplest form?

The ratio of profit to cost price

# 30p to £1.20
# 30p to 120p
or 30 : 120
In its simplest form:
30 : 120
# 1:4
Students need to understand that the two amounts of money must be
expressed either both in pence or both in pounds (they should try them
both and see that the result is the same).
59
AQA Mathematics for GCSE

The ratio of 30p to 120p is the same as the ratio 30 to 120, which
simplifies to 1 : 4.
Discuss with the students the different ways in which this could be expressed,
such as:

–
The profit is one quarter of the cost price.

–
The profit is one fifth of the selling price and the cost price is four fifths
of the selling price.

–
The profit is 0.25 of the cost price and 0.2 of the selling price.

–
The profit is 25% of the cost price and 20% of the selling price.
You may also wish to discuss the fact that some ratios can have units,
such as 1 litre : 7.5 km to express a rate of fuel consumption.
It is important that students are helped to make sense of the ideas of ratio
and how it is linked with fractions, decimals and percentages.
Most ratio questions can be solved in a number of ways; encourage students
to explore these methods, explain them to others, and discuss their advantages
and disadvantages.

Common errors:
● In simplifying ratios, students may make the same errors that they make with
simplifying fractions, such as ‘crossing out numbers that are the same’ and
not spotting common factors to use. Students could usefully be taught how
to use the fraction button on the calculator to simplify fractions and ratios.
● Students may fail to deal appropriately with units and should be allowed to
explore the inconsistencies that this leads to.
● Students often do not understand that ratios represent multiplicative
relationships, tending to add the same amount to both parts of a ratio
instead of multiplying appropriately. Questions 2d and 8b in Apply 1 draw
their attention to this potential problem.

Apply 1 answers
1 a 1:2 e 1:6 i 2:3 m3:8 6 a School Ratio
b 1:3 f 1:7 j 1:4 n 1:3 School 1 1 : 20
c 1:4 g 1:3 k 3:2 o 1:4 School 2 1 : 16
d 1:5 h 3:4 l 3:5 p 1:8 School 3 1 : 17
School 4 1 : 15
2 a For example, 2 : 4, 3 : 6, 4 : 8, 5 : 10 etc.
School 5 1 : 21
b For example, 2 : 8, 3 : 12, 4 : 16, 5 : 20 etc.
b i 1000 ii 100
c The first number can be anything you like.
The second number must be four times the first c School 4
number.
7 a Item Profit:cost price ratio
d Pippa has added 3 to each number in the ratio
Litre of petrol 1 : 17
each time instead of multiplying both numbers by
the same thing. The pairs should be 6 and 9, 9 and Car 1:9
13.5, 12 and 18. Calculator 2:3
Book 1:4
3 a 1 : 2; 2 : 1 b 100 g c 60 g d A half
Magazine 3 : 19
4 1 : 10 Sandwich 2:3
1
b The profit is 10 of the selling price.
5 a 300 m
milk, 50 g grated cheese, 20 g flour, 9
20 g butter, seasoning The cost price is 10 of the selling price.

b Multiply the amounts for 2 people by 5 or c You could change them to decimals or
multiply the amounts for 4 people by 212 percentages or express them as unitary ratios.

60
 Ratio and proportion

8 a i 8 11 a
ii No; if both quantities are doubled, you can
just divide both numbers by two and you have Number of green Number of yellow Ratio
the original ratio. 1 1 8 1: 8
2 9 16 9 : 16
b i 4 men and 6 women
ii The ratio becomes 6 : 8 or 3 : 4. The number of 3 25 24 25 : 24
men is 0.75 of the number of women; before 4 49 32 49 : 32
that, the number of men was 0.67 of the The ratio is clearly increasing, since the number
number of women, so the ratio has increased. of green squares has overtaken the number of
yellow squares.
9 a 8 b 9 c 1.5 d 15 and 20
b Many possible examples.
10 Students’ own questions and answers.
Explore
● 2 cm to 1 km is 1 : 50 000 in ratio form.
● 3 cm represents 3 km.

Homework 1 answers
1 a 1:2 e 1:6 i 5:7 m3:2 7 a
b 1:3 f 1:7 j 3:4 n 1: 3 Amount of red Amount of yellow Hot orange
c 1:4 g 1:2 k 9 : 10 o 1:3 paint (litres) paint (litres)
d 1:5 h 1:4 l 5:7 p 3:8 2 5 Yes
3 6 No
2 a For example, 6 : 2, 9 : 3, 12 : 4
3 4 No
b For example, 10 : 2, 15 : 3, 20 : 4
5 2 No
c Any pair of numbers where the second is one
fifth of the first. 4 10 Yes

d No, Harry is wrong. He has subtracted 2 from 6 15 Yes

each of the numbers so they are no longer in the 1 2 12 Yes
same ratio. The number pairs should be 16 and
b Anything where the second amount is two and a
20, 14 and 17.5, 12 and 15.
half times the first
3 2:1 c No; the ratio is unchanged if all the quantities
are measured in different units.
4 3:1
8 a 4.7 m b 1.70
5 a Self-raising flour 480 grams
Salt 1 teaspoon 9 a 27 b 8 c 3 d 10, 45
Sultanas 150 grams
Butter 80 grams 10 Students’ own questions and answers.
Caster sugar 50 grams
Eggs Two large 11 a
School Ratio
Milk 40 m

School 1 1 : 15
b 600 grams School 2 2 : 35
6 a 1:6 School 3 1 : 21
School 4 5 : 91
b 5 nurses
School 5 1 : 16
b i 600 ii 100

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AQA Mathematics for GCSE

Learn 2 Using ratios to find quantities

Example: In a school, there are 150 students in Year 10, with boys and girls in the ratio 7 : 8.
How many boys and how many girls are there in Year 10?
You need to divide 150 students in the ratio 7 : 8.
The total number of ‘parts’ is 7 ! 8 # 15
Each ‘part’ is worth 150
15
= 10
So in 150 students there are 7 " 10 boys and 8 " 10 girls.
Students will have ideas about how this can be done – explore and build on
these so that students can gain understanding and confidence.
The ratio 7 : 8 can be interpreted as ‘for every 15 students there are 7 boys and
8 girls’ and thus lead to ‘for 150 students there are 7 " 10 boys and 8 " 10 girls’.
The ‘standard’ method is to say that there are 15 parts altogether, you find
one part by dividing 150 by 15, and then you multiply that by 7 and by 8 to
find the numbers of boys and girls.
Another method is to interpret the ratio as fractions: the number of boys
7 8
is 15 of the total of 150 and the number of girls is 15 of 150.
Then all you have to do is work out the fractions.
Some students may find it useful to complete a table such
as this, building up until the total reaches 150. Common errors:
Number of Number of Total number ● If students are doing these questions by
boys girls of students fractional methods, they need to be
7 8 15 able to work out fractions of numbers
and quantities, so common errors such
14 16 30
as not being sure what to multiply and
21 24 45 divide by may occur.
28 32 60
● More generally, students may not easily
understand what dividing quantities
according to a given ratio is all about, so
There are number patterns to observe and discuss in they will need the opportunity to
the table; doing so will support students in developing explore this idea in familiar situations.
skills in proportional reasoning.

Apply 2 answers
1 a 50, 100 d 2 litres, 4 litres 6 a School Number of Number of Ratio in form
boys girls 1:n
b 100, 200 e 50p, £1
School A 375 375 1:1
c £1.50, £3 f 0.5 litre, 1 litre School B 400 500 1 : 1.25
School C 800 1000 1 : 1.25
2 a 60, 90 d 2.4 litres, 3.6 litres School D 612 714 1 : 1.17
School E 602 582 1 : 0.967
b 120, 180 e 60p, 90p
b See last column of table.
c £1.80, £2.70 f 0.6 litre, 0.9 litre
c School E; it is the only school where there are
3 a 45, 105 d 1.8 litres, 4.2 litres more boys than girls.
b 90, 210 e 45p, £1.05
7 a
c £1.35, £3.15 f 0.45 litre, 1.05 litres
Food Carbohydrate : fat : protein Amount of
fat in 150 g
4 a 15, 45, 90 d 0.6 litre, 1.8 litres, 3.6 litres
Chicken sandwich [Link] 50 g
b 30, 90, 180 e 15p, 45p, 90p Grilled salmon [Link] 75 g
Yoghurt (whole milk) [Link] 75 g
c 45p, £1.35, £2.70 f 0.15 litre, 0.45 litre, 0.9 litre
Taco chips 10 : 4 : 1 40 g
Bread [Link] 30 g
5 a 100 g b 2 ounces c 180 g Milk [Link] 65 g

b Salmon, yoghurt, milk

c 400 g
d Taco chips, bread
62
 Ratio and proportion

8 Jamil gets £2833.24 9 a 950 g copper, 40 g tin, 10 g zinc

Jane gets £4516.76 b 9.5 kg copper, 400 g tin, 100 g zinc
c 475 g copper, 20 g tin, 5 g zinc
d 0.06 g

Homework 2 answers
1 a 40, 160 d 1.6 litres, 6.4 litres 6 a School Number of Number of 1: n
b 70, 280 e 50p, £2 boys girls
c £1.30, £5.20 f 0.7 litre, 2.8 litres School A 1000 1000 1:1
School B 400 1400 1 : 3.5
2 a 80, 120 d 3.2 litres, 4.8 litres School C 744 1116 1 : 1.5
b 140, 210 e £1, £1.50 School D 280 245 1 : 0.875
School E 500 555 1 : 1.11
c £2.60, £3.90 f 1.4 litres, 2.1 litres
b See last column of table.
3 a 140, 60 d 5.6 litres, 2.4 litres
c School B – the ratio in the form 1 : n makes this
b 245, 105 e £1.75, 75p clear.
c £4.55, £1.95 f 2.45 litres, 1.05 litres
7 a Food Amount of protein in 100g
4 a 20, 80, 100 Fudge biscuits 8.3g
b 35, 140, 175 Strawberries 7.7g
c 65p, £2.60, £3.25 Scrambled eggs 40g
Chilli con carne 35g
d 0.8 litres, 3.2 litres, 4 litres
Italian sausage 40g
e 25p, £1, £1.25
b 286 g
f 0.35 litres, 1.4 litres, 1.75 litres
c 1.200 kg
5 a 75 m
b 0.1 litre c 80 m

8 £5240, £4760 (nearest £)

9 a 500 g copper, 250 g gold, 250 g silver

b 580 g
c 0.5 g

Learn 3 Ratio and proportion

Example: Jean earns £52 for working 8 hours.

How much does she earn for working 11 hours at the same rate of pay?

For working 8 hours Jean earns £52

£52
So for working 1 hour she earns
8
£52
For working 11 hours Jean earns 11 × = £71.50
8
Students may suggest a variety of methods for solving this, including building up
to 11 hours by adding up the pay for 8 hours and 2 hours (obtained by halving
and halving again) and 1 hour (obtained by halving again). This build-up method
is easily understood and quite versatile, but the majority of GCSE students
should be able to understand the unitary method and should be encouraged
to use it, as it can be applied to so many situations.
The calculations can be done in stages or at the end.

63
AQA Mathematics for GCSE

Common errors:
● Using adding
subtracting instead of multiplying
dividing (for example,
thinking that 3 : 5 # 4 : 6).
● Keeping the total of the quantities constant, instead of keeping the ratio
constant.
● Not being sure what to multiply or divide by because of a lack of
understanding of how the quantities will vary – what will get bigger and
what will get smaller?

Apply 3 answers
1 The ratio is £4.60 : £27.60 : £69 # 460 : 2760 : 6900 6 a 112 miles
# 46 : 276 : 690 # 23 : 138 : 345 # 1 : 6 : 15. b 21 miles
c 2.143 hours – that is, 2 hours 9 minutes to the
2 a £37.50
nearest minute
b
Number of hours worked 0 2 4 6 8 10 7 a 20 b £20
Money earned (£) 0 7.50 15 22.50 30 37.50
8 a 9 b 16 c 44, 40
Sajid’s pay
40 9 a 200 pounds
35 b 60 kg
Money earned (£)

30 c Earth/
25
Jupiter
20
Weight on
15 other planet
10 Earth/
5 Moon
O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Weight on Earth
Number of hours worked
d 6 : 1 : 15
c i Working for 0 hours earns £0 so the line goes
through (0, 0); the amount earned goes up by
the same amount for each extra hour worked, Explore
so the line is straight.
There are many possible explorations of Fibonacci
ii The gradient represents the hourly rate of pay. sequences; this one focuses on the ratio of successive
iii Vertical line drawn from 5 hours up to graph, terms, which tends to the golden ratio, approximately
then horizontally to y-axis to read off amount 1 : 1.618
earned as £18.75 Students should be able to get an informal sense of
what is happening whilst gaining some useful ratio
3 a 75g b 4 days c 437.5 g calculation practice. The first few ratios are 1 : 1, 1 : 2,
1 : 1.5, 1 : 1.666 ..., 1 : 1.6, 1 : 1.625
4 Travel size: 0.533 g per penny; large size: 0.556 g per
penny. So large size is better value.
(Or travel size costs 1.875p per gram; large size costs
1.8p per gram. So large size is better value.)

5 55 g size: 0.917 g per penny; 100 g size: 0.952 g per

penny. So 100 g size is better value.
(Or 55 g size costs 1.09p per gram; 100 g size costs
1.05p per gram. So 100g size is better value.)

64
 Ratio and proportion

Homework 3 answers
1 £6 7 a 8 b £8

2 a £140.80 8 a 9 b 20 c 54 and 45
b
9 a 40 pounds
Number of hours worked 0 2 4 6 8 10
Money earned (£) 0 35.20 70.40 105.60 140.80 176 b 18.75 kg
c i Working no hours earns no money. c Weight on Mercury
ii The hourly rate of pay. compared with Earth
30

Weight on Mercury
iii Horizontal line from 100 on y-axis to graph,
then down to x-axis at 5.7 hours.
20
3 a 400 g b 3 c 2 people
10
4 Small size: 1.91p per gram; large size: 1.93p per
gram. So small size is better value.
O 10 20 30 40 50
5 a 192 miles
b 36 miles Weight on Earth
c 8 hours 20 minutes d 15 : 6 : 16

6 a Box of 22 chocolates: 81.6p per chocolate

Box of 44 chocolates: 63.5p per chocolate
Box of 66 chocolates: 54.5p per chocolate. So
the box of 66 chocolates is the best value for
money.
b The delivery charge and the packaging are
probably relatively more expensive on the
smaller boxes.

Learn 4 Calculating proportional changes

Examples: The number of cells in a developing organism is increasing by 5% every hour.

At the start, the number of cells is 500.
a What is the number of cells after 1 hour?
b What is the number of cells after 2 hours?
c What is the number of cells after 3 hours?
d What is the number of cells after 24 hours?

a Number of cells after 1 hour is 500 " 1.05 # 525

Students should be able to find the number of cells after 1 hour, at the
lowest level by working out 5% and adding it on. Discussion should reveal
the more sophisticated and useful one-step method, multiplying by 1.05,
but students may need to get to this point by first working out 105% by
finding 1% then finding 105% – that is, multiplying by 105
100
, which is 1.05
b After 2 hours, the number of cells is 500 " 1.05 " 1.05 # 500 " 1.05
2 # 551.25
It is easy to find the number of cells after 2 hours and 3 hours by repeatedly
calculating 5% and adding it on, but for calculating the number after
24 hours the more sophisticated method is needed, so students should be
helped to see that the number after 2 hours is 500 " 1.05
2 and the number
after 3 hours is 500 " 1.05
3.

65
AQA Mathematics for GCSE

c After 3 hours, the number of cells is 500 " 1.05 " 1.05 " 1.05 # 500 " 1.05
3 # 578.8125
d After 24 hours, the number of cells is 500 " 1.05
24 Q 1610
After working slowly through the early parts of this question and discussing
different ways of finding the answers, students should then feel reasonably
confident about finding the number of cells after 24 hours.

Calculating repeated proportional changes using a multiplier is a powerful

method with many applications in real life. There are glimpses of advanced
work for those students who may continue mathematics beyond GCSE.
Some students will need to gain familiarity with the ideas by working out the
total after one time period, then using that to work out the next total and so
on before being able to see that they are just multiplying by the same thing
each time.
Working on this section should strengthen students’ understanding of
percentages and help them when doing reverse percentage problems;
it should also develop their understanding of, and familiarity with, indices.
The section requires competent use of various calculator functions.

Common errors:
● Not understanding the difference between increases
decreases that are
directly proportional to the time and those that are a fixed proportion
of the current amount.
● Not ‘seeing’ that multiplying by, for example, 1.1 increases something
by one tenth (or 10%). Starter 6 should help to provide fluency with
these ideas.
● Lack of understanding of indices.

Apply 4 answers
1 a 1460 c 1070 8 £2296 or £2300
b 1270 d 9850
9 a 3722 b 367
2 a £520 c £608.33 c The number each year is 99% of the number in
b £540.80 d £108.33 the year before, not 99% of the initial number.

3 a i 8 million 10 a 41 400 b 1.6 million square kilometres

ii 32 million 11 a 21% approximately
iii 1.414 million b £3600
b Between 3 hours 19 minutes and 3 hours 20
minutes 12 a 7.4% approximately
b The percentage rate obtained by that method is
4 a £1537.50 b Yes, £20 365.35 the percentage of the original price not the
percentage of the price that year. The rate
5 a 3% c 4 years
calculated by that method is 8.6% which would
b £530.45 give a price of nearly £74 000.
6 a £80 525.50 c £x " 1.1
5
b £47 619.78 Explore
This activity gives students an opportunity to
7 a £832.32
investigate a situation being pushed to its limit.
b 32p Students may wish to put this on a spreadsheet and
c £65.95; £65.28 Difference is 67p draw graphs to show what happens as the frequency
of adding interest increases. You may or may not
d With simple interest, the interest paid just want to talk about the number e at this stage.
depends on the initial amount. So it makes no
overall difference how often it is paid.

66
 Ratio and proportion

Homework 4 answers
1 a £765.90 c £169.65 6 a £85 995 b £95 238
b £909.65 c Not very – there will be many variations over
time so it is unlikely to stay at the same rate for
2 a £21 762.80 long. Also, different houses will rise by different
b Her salary would be £3.46 per year more – it percentages.
makes very little difference as the annual rate of
increase is so small. 7 a £105.06 c 21p to nearest penny
b £105
3 a 3.4% c 12 years
b £4018.66 8 a £5200 b £3328

4 a 550 c 520 9 a 2.44 g b 2.28%

b 540 d 1610 10
Mass
5 a i 100 g ii 3200 g iii 35.4 g
b 1.41 (√2)
c 12.5 g
d 25 " 2
t
5700 years Time

Learn 5 Direct and inverse proportion

Examples: The area of a rectangle is constant. (This means that the length is inversely
proportional to the width.) When the width is 9 cm, the length is 16 cm.
a Find an equation expressing the width of the rectangle in terms of its length.
b Use your equation to find the length of the rectangle when the width is 24 cm.
c Sketch a graph of length against width.

a The fact that the length of the rectangle is inversely proportional to its
width can be expressed as:
1 1
l

∝


or

l = k ×
w w
where l cm is the length, w cm is the width and k is a constant.

Students should be helped to gain a clear understanding of the fact that,

if two quantities are inversely proportional, their product is constant.
1 k
Not all students will be confident that l = k × is the same as l = and lw # k.
w w
There are useful parallels in trigonometrical ratios, the distance
speed
time
formula, etc.
1
Since l is 16 when h is 9, 16 = k × , so k # 16 " 9 # 144
9
1
So an equation connecting l and w is l = 144 ×
w
The various other possible forms of this, and the links with the students’
common sense methods of solving this problem should be discussed.
It should now be a relatively simple task to find l when w is 24.

67
AQA Mathematics for GCSE

1
b When w # 16, l = 144 × =6
24
So, when the width is 24 cm, the length is 6 cm.

c The graph of length against width is of the form:

Length (cm)

Width (cm)
The sketching of this graph will need exploration; students may want to start
by plotting some pairs of length and width values – and this should help
them to realise the symmetry of the graph and its asymptotic properties.
This topic provides an opportunity for students to consider the mathematical
relationships they have encountered in their studies so far and classify them
into proportional and non-proportional relationships and, if proportional,
into types of proportionality.
Real-life quantities are often related in various ways – for example, the
perimeter of a square is always four times the length of one side.
Consideration of the graphs of the various relationships should deepen
understanding.

Common errors:
● It is common for students to say that, if one quantity increases as another
increases, the quantities are proportional.
● Students may make algebraic errors when working with equations expressing
k
proportional relationships, for example, a frequent error in solving 144 =
6
would be to say that k = 24.

Apply 5 answers
1 a P # 5.5h 7 a P # 3.75n
i £44 ii 20 hours b £37.50
b Straight line with positive gradient passing c Straight-line graph with positive gradient passing
through the origin. through the origin.
c The number of pounds Emma is paid per hour. d It’s the same, but presented in a different way.
It’s easier in Apply 3!
2 P = 0.6√Q
P2 8 17.5 days
a 4.8 b 36 c Q=
0.36 9 a 6 c 5 e 1.91 (to 2 d.p.)
3 a C # 3.14d b 37.68 cm c 31.8 cm b 6 d 5

4 175 seconds 10 It is halved. For example, in a rectangle with fixed

area, if the length is doubled, the width is halved.
E
5 P=
1.62

6 62.5 g

68
 Ratio and proportion

11 a Neither 13
b Inversely proportional k
y is inversely proportional to x y
x
c Directly proportional y is proportional to x3 y
kx3
d Inversely proportional k
y is inversely proportional to the square root of x
√
x
e Directly proportional
1
f Neither (area is proportional to square of length) y is proportional to the cube root of x y
x3

12 y is inversely proportional to x cubed y
kx3

x 5 20 40
y 45 180 360 14 i y is proportional to x: Graph D
ii y is proportional to x
2: Graph B
iii y is proportional to x
3: Graph E
iv y is inversely proportional to x: Graph A
v y is proportional to the square root of x: Graph C

Homework 5 answers
1 a 4 b 16 P
7 a L=
1.75
2 a y # kx
2 b k#1
b 5.71 litres
c i 8 ii 7.75 (to 3 s.f.)
L8
3 a C # 0.16d 7
b i £16.80 ii 625 miles 6
5
4 a 3 hours 23 minutes 4
b 54 m.p.h. 3
30 2
5 a d= 1
n
b 6 days c 15 O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 P
d c The number of litres is directly proportional to
the number of pints.

8 a Circumference of circle and diameter – direct

proportion
b Time taken to complete a task and number of
d 10 people available to do it – inverse proportion
c Area of square and square of its perimeter –
direct proportion
d Fahrenheit temperatures and corresponding
Celsius temperatures – neither (graph does not
5 go through origin)
n e Number of weeks and the corresponding
6 a False c False number of days – direct proportion
b True d True f Number of glasses of water that can be poured
from a bottle and the amount of water poured
into each glass – inverse proportion

69
AQA Mathematics for GCSE

9 a y # kx y 10 Yes, if they are experimental results – the numbers

are approximately proportional (the ratios
between each pair of coordinates are
approximately the same) but not exactly.

11 a i 314.25 cm
2 ii 5028 cm
2

x b
b xy # k y

x

2
c y # kx y

12 12.6 cm (to 3 s.f.)

13 a For example, time taken and distance travelled.

x
b ˚F
k y
d y=
x

˚C
x Graph does not go through origin.
PLENARY

1 Discuss the following question, exploring the many possible ways in which it Learn 1
could be solved:
One school has 800 students and 47 teachers.
Another school has 1600 students and 95 teachers.
Which school has the higher ratio of students to teachers?

2 Take two pieces of A4 paper (or a larger A size if available). Two different Learn 2
colours provide opportunities for an attractive display. Cut one piece in half
parallel to the shorter sides and turn one of the halves round to show that its
sides are in the same ratio as the original piece. Check by measurement also.
Repeat the halving, showing that the ratio is always the same. Encourage
students to discuss what they see, explain the relationships between the lengths
and the areas of the different sizes, etc. (There are possibilities for some more
advanced work here if any students are working at a higher level – students can
show algebraically that the ratio of the lengths of the sides of A sizes of paper
is 1

:
√2. The additional information that A
0 is one square metre enables the
measurements of each size to be calculated.)

3 Ask the students to spend a couple of minutes thinking of some hard examples Learn 2
of splitting quantities according to a given ratio. Choose students to come out to
work through their examples on the board and discuss the issues that arise.

4 Best buy questions such as those in Apply 3 can be done in many different ways. Learn 2
A useful plenary activity would be to discuss the various approaches and for
students to identify which methods they like best, and whether some are better
in certain circumstances.

70
 Ratio and proportion

5 Put the word ‘ratio’ in the centre of the board and, with the class, create a Learn 3
‘mind map’ of everything they have learnt about ratio.

6 Give each pair or small group of students in the class a word or phrase from Learn 3
the list below and ask them to develop an explanation of the word or phrase,
using examples, pictures, etc. to illustrate their explanation. (This could be
set as homework.) Ask a group to give their word and its explanation.
Ask other students to comment. Discuss the issues raised. Continue for
as many words as you have time for.
Examples of possible words: fraction, ratio, unitary ratio, simplifying ratios,
factor, multiple, unitary method, teacher : student ratio, map scales,
male : female ratio, two pairs of numbers in the same ratio, simplifying fractions,
profit: cost price ratio, dividing a number in given ratio, proportion, best buy.

7 (This could also make a good starter discussion before doing proportional growth.) Learn 4
Discuss this simple mathematical model of population growth with the class:
At the end of the eighteenth century, Thomas Malthus predicted that the
population would double every 25 years. At that time, there were about 7 million
people in the UK; now there are about 60 million. How accurate was Malthus’
prediction for the UK?

8 Return to the mathematical relationships list identified in the starter, discuss Learn 5
some of them in detail and add further examples to the list. Encourage the
students to make links between the work they have done on ratio and
proportion and other aspects of their maths (and maybe other subject) studies.

71
AQA Mathematics for GCSE

Ratio and proportion

1 a 2:3 b 7 : 10
ASSESS
answers

2 a 600, 720, 1080 b 625 m
, 125 m
, 250 m

3 a 15 eggs
b ‘Lessprice’ ratio # 125 : 5 # 25 : 1; ‘Lowerpay’ ratio # 144 : 6 # 24 : 1.
‘Lowerpay’ gives the greater value.
c i 5:6 ii 25 : 36
d i 7 seconds ii 16 seconds

4 a 13 " 1.1
3 # 17.3 stones (3 s.f.) b 50 " 1.2
3 # 86.4 cm
2 c 10 000 " 0.7
4 # £2401

5 a i A is proportional to r
2 iii y is inversely proportional to x
2

ii v is proportional to r
3 iv T is proportional to √l
b i 44.1 km (3 s.f.) ii 123 m (3 s.f.) iii 39.6 0 32.4 # 7.2 km
c 1.125 " 10
5 Nm
02

6 i C ii B iii D

72