Ratios, rates and proportional thinking

What they’re learning

Your child is using ratios and rates to describe proportional relationships and solve everyday problems such as recipes, prices, speed, and scale.

Explain it to my child

A ratio keeps the same relationship when both quantities are multiplied or divided by the same factor.

Try it together

Mix coloured counters in a 2:3 ratio. Double and triple the mixture while preserving the relationship. Then connect the physical model to an equivalent-ratio table.

Practice

1. 2:3 scaled by 4 = ?
2. 5 notebooks cost $15. Unit price?
3. Recipe ratio 3 cups flour to 2 cups water. Water for 9 cups flour?
4. Is 6:9 equivalent to 2:3?
5. 150 km in 3 h gives what average rate?

Check understanding

• Can your child scale both quantities consistently?
• Can they identify and calculate a unit rate?