How can one Apply Ratios in Real Life Situations (2024)

Ratios and proportions are a fundamental part of arithmetic and are very useful in our day to day tasks. Suppose we know how ratio and proportion are used in everyday life. In that case, we can use them in various instances like division of items among people, providing a comparison between two or more values and expressing relative values in cases where the exact amount is not necessarily required. Using ratios and proportions in everyday life includes calculating money in foreign currency while travelling abroad, determining how much of an ingredient is required to be used while following a recipe, budgeting out your monthly expenses, etc.

Let us talk about how ratios are calculated first and then move on to how ratios and proportions can be used in everyday life. After learning about this, you will know the importance of ratio and proportion.

Calculation of Ratios

The calculation of ratios is a simple thing. We need to understand that the ratio is always calculated between two or more values, and it expresses the relative amount of the two values. To calculate the ratio of two values, we need to divide them and express them in the form of a fraction. The fraction obtained is the ratio. We need to remember that two fractions having the same value can be used to show the same ratio. For example, the ratios 4:5 and 8:10 have the same value.

Common uses of ratio and proportion in everyday life:

• Making comparisons

Ratios are used in everyday life to make comparisons in-between values. The ratio of two values directly provides us with the information on how many times one value is bigger or smaller than the other. Let us take the example of cricket. Cricketer 1 scored 242 runs in 5 matches in a particular one-day match series. On the other hand, Cricketer 2 scores 126 runs in the exact matches. If we take the ratio of the two values, we get 242:126 which can be simplified to become 121:63. This ratio means that for every 121 runs Cricketer 1 scored, Cricketer 2 scored 63 runs. Thus the ratio provides information on who scored more runs and how much.

Another use of ratios is in expressing probability and odds. Let us say that we are betting on a horse race and the odds of a particular horse winning are 2:3; this means that the horse wins two races for every three races he loses. Assuming there are no draws, we can conclude that the horse wins two races for every (2 + 3) 5 races he participates in. Hence, we can deduce that this horse loses more races than wins and is not a good pick. Let us take another horse who has odds of winning 4:1. This implies that for every four races the horse wins in, he loses one race. This means that for every five races the horse participates in, it wins four races and is thus clearly a good pick.

• Calculating absolute values from relative values:

Another example of this is while calculating the values of foreign currencies into domestic currencies. You must have heard that the dollar has fallen or the dollar has risen. This means that the dollar’s relative value to the rupee has decreased or increased respectively. Let us take the example of a person from India who is going on a trip to The USA. Let us assume that he has an amount of 50000 INR, and the dollar is valued at 50 INR. Using basic knowledge of ratios and proportions, he can find out that he has money valued at 1000 US dollars. Similarly, he sees a product worth 25 dollars in the US. Using the same calculations above, he can calculate that the cost of the item is 1250 Indian Rupees.

• Division of Items:

Ratio and proportion are used in the division of items among people. It is one of the most important uses of ratios in our everyday life. Let us assume that we have 30 candies which are to be divided between 4 boys in the ratio of 1:2:3:4. This ratio of multiple numbers means that if the first boy gets one candy, the second boy gets 2, the third gets 3, and the fourth boy gets four candies. Since we have the total number of candies as 30, we cannot calculate the number of candies each kid receives directly. So let us assume that the first child gets x candies, the second child gets 2x candies, the third child gets 3x candies, and the 4th child gets 4x candies. The sum of x+2x+3x+4x should equal 30, so we get the value of x to be 3. So we get the answer: boy 1 gets three candies, boy 2 gets six candies, boy 3 gets nine candies, and boy 4 gets 12 candies.

Conclusion

Ratios and proportions are a fundamental part of arithmetic and are very useful in our day to day tasks. The ratio is always calculated between two or more values, and it expresses the relative amount of the two values. We need to remember that two fractions having the same value can be used to show the same ratio. For example, the ratios 4:5 and 8:10 have the same value. Ratios are used in everyday life to make comparisons in-between values.