LESSON 4: PROPORTIONALITY

AND PERCENTAGES
Ratic
rule of three
Percentage

Keywords

Proportion
Mean
Constant of proportionality
out of
Increase

Extreme
Per cent
Decrease

1. RATIOS AND PROPORTIONS

The ratio of two numbers and is the fraction

. We use ratios to compare
b
numbers.

A proportion is the equality between two ratios, = . and are called the
b d
extremes and and the means.
Example:

2 6
= is a proportion.
3 9
When one of the four numbers in a proportion is unknown you can use crossmultiplication to find it.
Example: Find :

5 x
=
5 18 =3 x 90 =3 x x =30
3 18

2. DIRECT PROPORTION
A magnitude is in direct proportion to another one:
when you multiply one quantity by a number (double, triple, etc), you
multiply the other quantity by the same number (double, triple, etc).
when you divide one quantity by a number (half, third, etc.), you divide
the other quantity by the same number (half, third, etc).
Examples:
a) The number of chocolate bars you buy is in direct proportion to the price.
(1 chocolate bar costs 1.50 ; 2 chocolate bars cost 3 ; ... ).
b) The number of hours you work is in direct proportion to your salary.
Exercise: Complete this proportionality table:
The price of a cake is 1.50 .
Cakes
Price

1
1.50

7
7.50

25

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Notice that if you divide the price by the number of cakes you always get the
same result, it is called the constant of proportionality.
To solve problems about direct proportion we use the direct rule of three.

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Example:
4 books cost 60. How much are 15 books?

4 books 60
4 60
60 15
4 x = 60 15 x =
=
( D.P.) =
15 books x
15 x
4

225

3. INVERSE PROPORTION
Two numbers are in inverse proportion if a quantity increases at the same
rate as the other quantity decreases (if you multiply a quantity by two, then
the other quantity is divided by two).
Examples:
a) The number of workers is in inverse proportion to the number of days they
need to do a job. (The more workers there are, the fewer days they need).
b) The speed of a car is in inverse proportion to the time to reach a certain
distance.
Exercise: Complete this proportionality table:
Workers

Hours

12

4
4

Notice that if you multiply the number of workers by the number of hours you
always get the same result.
To solve problems about direct proportion we use the inverse rule of three.
Example:
4 men do a job in 12 days. How many days do 6 men need to do the same job?

4 men 12 days
4 x
4 12
= 8 days
( I .P.) = 4 12 = x 6 x =
6 men x
6 12
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4. MORE THAN ONE PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIP

Sometimes, there is more than one proportional relationship, then you have
to check if the relationships are direct or inverse, then you solve the problem
as shown:
Example:
A farmer needed 294 kg of grain to feed 15 cows for a week. How many
kilograms of grain does he need to feed 10 cows for 30 days?

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Three magnitudes: kilograms of grain, cows and days.

Direct
COWS
15
10

DAYS
7

30

Direct

KG
294

You have to multiply both proportions, so

294 15 7
294 105
294 300
=

=
x=
= 840 kg
x
10 30
x
300
105
Notice: If there is an inverse proportion, you have to use the reciprocal fraction
for that magnitude.
5. PERCENTAGES
Per cent means "out of 100". We use the per cent symbol (%) to represent
percentages. You can say "8 out of 100 or "8 per cent" (8%).
There are three ways to write the same thing: percentages, fractions with
denominator 100 and decimal numbers:
Example:

15%
=

15
= 0.15
100

You can write a decimal number as a percentage (by moving the decimal point
two places to the right) and vice-versa.
Example: 0.85 = 85%
5.1. Calculating percentages of numbers
You can find any percentage of a number by converting the percentage into a
decimal number and multiplying.
Example: Let's calculate 30 percent of 400:
Option 1: Using percentages and fractions
30% of 400 =

30
30 400
400=
=120
100
100

Option 2: Using decimal numbers

First change 30% to a decimal number by moving the decimal point 2 places
to the left
30% = 0.30
Then multiply: 0.30 400 = 120
So, we have: 30% of 400 is equal to 120.

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5.2. Easy percentages

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1
(dividing by 2)
2
1
25%=
(dividing by 4)
4
1
20%=
(dividing by 5)
5
50% =

5.3. Percentage increase and percentage decrease

To calculate percentage increase and percentage decrease you must remember
this:
add for an increase

and

subtract for a decrease

Example: (PERCENTAGE INCREASE)

An antique jug costs 25% more in 2009 than in 2007. The original price was
40. How much does it cost now?
First, you find the increase: 25% of 40 = 0.25 40= 10
Then, you add this to the original price: 40 + 10 = 50
The jug costs now 50
Example: (PERCENTAGE DECREASE)
This mobile phone costs 60, but it is reduced by 25%. How
much is it now?
First, you find the decrease: 25% of 60 =0.25 60 = 15
Then, you subtract this to the original price: 60 - 15 = 45
So the sale price is 45

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WORKSHEET
Exercise 1. Calculate the unknown number in these proportions
a)

3 6
2
x
= b)
=
2 x
1.5 2

c)

x 21
3 2
=
d) =
9 15
x 3

Exercise 2. Which number has the same ratio to 15 as 5 to 10?

Exercise 3. An athlete runs 42 kilometres in two and a half hours. How much will he
run in 10 hours at the same speed?

Exercise 4. There is a fountain ten metres away from an empty olympic-size swimming-pool. We have a one-litre jug to fill the swimming-pool. The pool is 50 m long,
25 m wide and 2 m deep. It takes 2 minutes to fill the jug from the fountain, pour
the water from the jug in the pool and go back. How long does it take to fill up the
swimming-pool?

Exercise 5. We have paid 15.80 for 315 photocopies in a copy centre. How much
will we pay for 10 photocopies?

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Exercise 6. For cooking meatballs for 6 people the recipe says that we need 500 g
of minced beef. How much minced beef do we need if we want to cook meatballs for
4 people?

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N Exercise 7. A toner cartridge of a laser printer costs 60 and can print 3500 copies.
How much does each copy cost?

Exercise 8. My car uses 9 litres of petrol to travel 100 km.

a) How far can I travel with 63 litres?
b) How much petrol would I need to travel 220 km?

Exercise 9. It takes Larry 1h 30 min to drive from Albacete to Valencia at an average speed of 120 km/h. How long does the same journey take at an average speed
of 110km/h?

Exercise 10. A farmer has 640 sheep and he can feed them for 60 days. How many
sheep must he sell if he wants to feed them for 75 days with the same amount of
food?

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Exercise 11. In Massanassa (a village in Valencia) the population is 1200 people

and 300 tourists went there to celebrate a party. In the party, they all started to eat
a 50-kg paella at 10:00. They finished the paella at 15:00. How long do 500 people
need to eat a paella of 70 kg?

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Exercise 12. A naughty student has to copy this line one hundred times: I will not
make fun of my Maths teacher. It takes him 60 minutes.
a) How long does it take for three students to copy this sentence five hundred
times?

b) How long does it take for the whole class (of 30 pupils) to copy I will never
forget to do my Maths homework one thousand times. (Note: It is supposed
that the number of letters of each sentence is in direct proportion to the time
it takes to copy it).

Exercise 13. In a TV contest you have the chance of choosing a prize:

Prize 1: 25% of 500;

Prize 2: 30% of 400;

Which one do you prefer?

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Prize 3: 90% of 150

Exercise 14. In a sale the price of a pair of shoes is 50 which is 75% of the usual
price. What was the original price?

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Maths test and there are exactly 12 pupils who must retake the test, what is the total
number of students in the class?

Exercise 16. The price of a wardrobe before taxes is 480 plus 18% VAT and the
salesman offers a 12% discount. What is the final price?

Exercise 17. I have paid 60 for a pair of glasses and the original price was 75 .
What is the percentage of discount?

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