Ratio Proportion GMAT

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RATIO, PROPORTION AND VARIATION

Ratio:
The ratio is the comparison between two same kind of quantities considering what multiple, part, or
parts, one quantity is of the other. The ratio of A to B is usually written A : B. The first term A is called the
antecedent and the second term B is called the consequent.

To find what multiple or part A is of B, we divide A by B; hence the ratio A : B may be measured by the
fraction
B
A
and we will frequently use this notation.

Note that ratio does not actually portray the measure of the two quantities. For example, if the ratio A : B
is
2 : 3, the quantities A and B can be 2 and 3, or 4 and 6, or 6 and 9, etc.

Properties of Ratios:

- The value of a ratio remains unaltered if the antecedent and the consequent are multiplied or
divided by the same quantity. Therefore,
n
B
n
A
mB
mA
B
A
= =
- Let
B
A
be a ratio and let
x B
x A
+
+
be the new ratio formed by adding x to both its terms. Therefore,
If A > B,
x B
x A
B
A
+
+
>
And if If A < B,
x B
x A
B
A
+
+
<
Hence,
7
8
5
6
3
4
> > and
12
9
10
7
8
5
< <

What term must be added to each term of the ratio 5 : 37 to make it equal to 1 : 3?
Answer: Let the term be x.
11
3
1
37
5
= =
+
+
x
x
x

- Ratios are compounded by multiplying together the fractions which denote them; or by multiplying
together the antecedents for a new antecedent, and the consequents for a new consequent.

Find the ratio compounded of the three ratios 2a : 3b, 6ab : 5c
2
, c : a.
Answer: The required ratio =
c
a
a
c
c
ab
b
a
5
4
5
6
3
2
2
=

If A : B = 3 : 4, B : C = 8 : 9, C : D = 15 : 16, find A : B : C : D.
Answer:
) 16 3 (
48
30
2 3 8
2 3 5
8
5
16
15
9
8
4
3
of multiple D and of multiple A keeping for
D
A
D
C
C
B
B
A
=

= = =
. If D = 48, C = 45. If A = 30, B = 40. We can also see that B : C = 40 : 45 = 8 : 9. Therefore,
A : B : C : D = 30 : 40 : 45 : 48

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When the ratio a : b is compounded with itself the resulting ratio is a
2
: b
2
, and is called the
duplicate ratio of a : b. Similarly a
3
: b
3
is called the triplicate ratio of a : b. Also b a: is called
the subduplicate ratio of a : b.

If x + 7 : 2(x + 14) is the duplicate ratio of 5 : 8, find x.
Answer:
64
25
) 14 ( 2
7
=
+
+
x
x
x = 18.

- If k
F
E
D
C
B
A
= = = = .. , then k
rF qD pB
rE qC pA
n
n n n
n n n
=
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ + +
+ + +
1
...
...

Let 3 = =
S
R
Q
P
, then find the value of
3 3
3 3
4 3
4 3
S Q
R P
+
+
.
Answer: If 3 = =
S
R
Q
P
then 27
4 3
4 3
3
4 3
4 3
3 3
3 3
3
1
3 3
3 3
=
+
+
=
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
+
S Q
R P
S Q
R P

Corollary: Keeping p = q = r = = n = 1,
...
...
..
+ + +
+ + +
= = = =
F D B
E C A
F
E
D
C
B
A
. Here, remember that
none of denominators is equal to zero.

If r
b a
c
c a
b
c b
a
=
+
=
+
=
+
, then r cannot take any value except (CAT 2004)
1.
2
1
2. 1 3.
2
1
or 1 4.
2
1
or 1

Answer: case 1: Let a + b + c 0
2
1
=
+ + + + +
+ +
=
+
=
+
=
+ b a c a c b
c b a
b a
c
c a
b
c b
a
.
Case 2: Let a + b + c = 0 c = (a + b) 1 =
+ b a
c
.
Therefore, option 3 is the correct choice.

- If a total quantity N is made of some parts in the ratio a : b : c : , then the quantities of each
part are respectively equal to N
c b a
a
+ + + ..
, N
c b a
b
+ + + ..
, N
c b a
c
+ + + ..
and so on. For
example, if a 10 kg alloy is made of two metals in the ratio a : b, the weight in kg of each metal in
the alloy is respectively 10
+ b a
a
and 10
+ b a
b
.

If a carton containing three dozen mirrors is dropped, which of the following cannot be the ratio of
broken mirrors to unbroken mirrors?
1. 2 : 7 2. 7 : 11 3. 7 : 8 4. 1 : 5
Answer: There are 36 mirrors in the carton. Therefore, the sum of terms in the ratio must divide 36
exactly. We see that all the sums except for 7 + 8 = 15 divide 36. Therefore, option 3.

The prize money of Rs1 800 is to be divided between three children, Agam, Bimal and Charu in the
ratio 5 : 3 :1. How much did Bimal get?

3
Answer: Bimals amount =
3
1800 600
5 3 1
=
+ +

Proportion:
A proportion is an equality with ratios on both sides. Therefore, if
d
c
b
a
= then a, b, c and d are
proportionals and the proportion is written as a : b :: c : d.

Rules of proportion:

Given a proportion
d
c
b
a
= , the following are also true

-
c
d
a
b
= [invertendo]
-
d
b
c
a
= [alternando]
-
d
d c
b
b a +
=
+
[componendo]
-
d
d c
b
b a
=
[dividendo]
-
d c
d c
b a
b a
+
=
+
[componendo and dividendo]

If the work done by x 1 men in x + 1 days is to the work done by x + 2 men in x 1 days in the ratio of
9 : 10, find x.
Answer: Let the amount of work done by a single man be w.

10
9
) 1 )( 2 (
) 1 )( 1 (
=
+
+
w x x
w x x
8
10
9
2
1
= =
+
+
x
x
x

If
7
9
1 3
3
2
3
=
+
+
x
x x
, find x.
Answer: Applying componendo and dividendo, 3 2
1
1
8
) 1 (
) 1 (
7 9
7 9
1 3 3
1 3 3
3
3
2 3
2 3
= =
+
=
+
=
+
+ + +
x
x
x
x
x
x x x
x x x

Variation:

Direct Variation: A quantity A is said to vary directly as another quantity B if a change in B results in a
change in A in the same ratio. The symbol o is used to denote variation, i.e. A o B is read as A varies as
B.

If A varies directly as B, then A is equal to B multiplied by some constant quantity, i.e. A = kB. Lets
assume that the values of A are A
1
, A
2
, A
3
, A
4
, for corresponding values of B as B
1
, B
2
, B
3
, B
4
,
...
4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
= = = =
B
A
B
A
B
A
B
A

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Inverse Variation: A quantity A is said to vary inversely as another quantity B if A varies directly as the
reciprocal of B, i.e. A o
B
1
. Thus, if a varies inversely as B, A =
B
m
, where m is a constant. Lets assume
that the values of A are A
1
, A
2
, A
3
, A
4
, for corresponding values of B as B
1
, B
2
, B
3
, B
4
,
A
1
B
1
= A
2
B
2
= A
3
B
3
= A
4
B
4
=

Properties:

- If A o B and B o C then A o C
- If A o B and B o
C
1
then A o
C
1

Assignment

1. If ( 3x
2
4y
2
) : ( x
2
4y
2
) = 3 : 4 , then find the ratio x : y
(a) 2 : 3 (b) 3 : 4 (c) 3 : 7 (d) 7 : 4 (e) None of these

2. If
a b 3a 2b
7 5 x
= = , find out the value of x

(a) 7 (b) 8 (c) 9 (d) 10 (e) None of these
3. If
2 2 2 2
a b c d 3a 4b 5c d
5 3 4 6 x
+
= = = = , find out the value of x
4. Raj, Sanj and Abhi started a business by investing r, s and a rupees, respectively. If
r s a
6 11 7
= =
and the difference between rajs and sanjs amount is Rs. 10,000 , then what was there total investment?

5. What proportion of the 80% milk and water solution must be replaced with water to make it 50% milk
solution?
(a) 5/8 (b) 3/7 (c) 3/8 (d) 4/7 (e) None of these

6. If a: b = c : d ; b = 3c
3
and 4ad = 972, find the value of abcd and b+c ?

7. Two numbers X and Y are such that (X 3) : (Y 6) = 1 : 1 find out the value of (X 7) : (Y 10)
(a) 1 : 1 (b) 1: 2 (c) 2 : 3 (d) 2 : 1 (e) None of these

8. In the above problem if ( X 6) : ( Y 3 ) = 3 : 4 find the value of X+Y

9. The ages of Ram and Shyam are in the ratio 4 : 7. After 5 years the ratio will be 5 : 8. The difference of their
present ages is
(a) 5 years (b) 10 years (c) 12 years (d) 15 years (e) None of these

10. Ashu has Rs 420 in 5 rupees, 2 rupees, 1 rupee, 50 paisa and 25 paisa coins in the ratio of 3 : 2 : 6 : 4 : 4.
How much money does he have in the form of 50 paisa and 25 paisa coins?
(a) Rs 30 (b) Rs 40 (c) Rs 45 (d) Rs 50 (e) None of these

11. A rope is cut into three pieces whose lengths are in the ratio 1 : 1 : 2. If its been burnt from both the end the
time taken to get it burnt completely is directly proportional to the square-root of its length. What is the extra
time needed to burn (from both end) these three pieces one by one, if the original rope can be burn in 16
mins?

12. The reduction in the speed of an engine from its original speed is directly proportional to the square of the
number of bogies attached to it. The speed of the train is 120 km/hr when there are 4 bogies and 60 km/hr

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when there are 6 bogies. What is the maximum number of bogies that can be attached to the train so that it
can move?
(a) 4 bogies (b) 5 bogies (c) 6 bogies (d) 7 bogies (e) None of these

Directions for questions 13 & 14
On Thursday night, PBR Saket was featuring two movies; Ab Bas and Fir Kahan and, with the release of
Gumshuda, it was showing three movies on Friday. The number of ticket of Ab Bas and Fir kahan sold on Thursday
were in the ratio of 3 : 5. Also, the ratio of the number of ticket sold on Thursday to that sold on Friday is 5 : 3 for
movie Ab Bas and 2 : 5 for movie Fir Kahan. Assume that only one show is played for each of the movies in a day.

13. If the total of 280 ticket were sold on Thursday then how many tickets of Ab Bas were sold on Friday?

14. If the number of tickets of Gumshuda sold forms 75 % of the total number of tickets sold on Friday, find out
the number of tickets sold of Gumshuda on Friday? Given that the total of 50 tickets of Fir Kahan were sold on
Thursday.

15. The ratio of the ages of Ram and Mohan 12 years ago was 2 : 3 and the ratio of the ages of Mohan and Sohan
12 years from now will also be 2 : 3. If the average age of Ram and Sohan at present is 57 years, the ratio of
the ages of Mohan Sohan was/will be 1 : 2
(a) 6 years ago
(b) 12 years ago
(c) 18 yeaars ago
(d) 6 years from now
(e) None of these
16. If a, b, c are real numbers and 9a
2
+ 13b
2
+ 25c
2
- 12ab 30 bc = 0, then find out the value of
a b
b c
+
(a) 2/3 (b) 4/3 (c) 5/3 (d) 7/3 (e) None of these
17. Given that p, q, r are in continued proportion and q, r, s are also in continued proportion, if q : r = 2 : 3 and
all the four numbers are positive integer, what is the minimum possible value of (p + s)?
18. A garrison of 600 men has just enough bread to allow 24 ounces a day to each man for 35 days; but, with the
news that the enemy was planning an attack, the garrison was forced to reinforce to 4 800 men. The enemy
arrives and decides to enforce a siege - to reduce their own loss of life. How many ounces of bread a day must
each man in the garrison be allowed to hold out 45 days against the siege of the enemy?

19. Three card players Amar, Bharat and Chirag started playing cards. At the beginning of the games the amount
of money each had was in the ratios 7 : 6 : 5. At the end of the games the ratio was 6 : 5 : 4. One of the
players won Rs1200. Which player won the highest amount?

20. A decorator can buy pink paint from two manufacturers. Paint A is made up from red and white paint in the
ratio 1 : 4. Paint B is made up from red and white paint in the ratio 1 : 5. She can mix the paints to produce a
different shade of pink. What is the least number she would need of each type in order to produce pink paint
containing red and white in the following ratios:
a. 2 : 9
b. 3 : 14
c. 10 : 43

Ratio Proportion GMAT

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= = , find out the value of x

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