SSAT Elementary Level Math : Ratio and Proportion

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Elementary Level Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #3 : How To Find A Proportion

Sofia goes to the movies with . She spends  on her ticket and  on food and drink.

What fraction of Sofia's original  was not spent?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Adding Sofia's expenses shows that she spent a total of  dollars. Subtracting this from the original amount of money she had gives the unspent portion: 

The ratio of the unspent portion to the original amount gives the fraction of the money that was not spent: .

Example Question #1 : How To Find A Proportion

 sweater is on sale for . What percentage of the original price has been discounted for the sale?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Set up a proportion of the new price to the old price to see how they relate.

 of the original price

Subtract  from  to find the amount that was discounted. 

Convert  to a decimal by multiplying both the top and bottom of the fraction by , then convert to a percentage.

, which is equivalent to  or 

Example Question #8 : How To Find A Proportion

Mary wants to enlarge a picture that she has in her office. The original picture is  cm (width) by cm (length). What would be the length of the enlarged picture if the width is cm?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the length of the enlarged picture, we must set up a proportion:

cross multiply:

Divide both sides by 5:

Example Question #2 : How To Find A Proportion

Solve for y:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Multiply both sides by 8 to yield:

Therefore:

 

Therefore:

Example Question #3 : How To Find A Proportion

Solve for the variable:

Possible Answers:

8

15

5

4

3

Correct answer:

5

Explanation:

Cross multiply: 

Solve for x by dividing 60 by 12:

 

Example Question #11 : How To Find A Proportion

Solve for the variable:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:
Cross multiply:
 
 

Solve for  by dividing 135 by 9:

 

Example Question #12 : How To Find A Proportion

Solve for the variable:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

There are two ways to solve. First, you may see that the top numbers are related by multiplying by 2.

This means that the bottom numbers must also be related by multiplying by 2.

The missing number is therefore 8.

The other way to solve is to cross multiply:

Solve for  by dividing 24 by 3:

The answer is again 8.

Example Question #12 : How To Find A Proportion

Find the unknown value:  

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To solve the proportion, cross multiply and find the value of the missing variable.

Divide by  on both sides.

Example Question #13 : How To Find A Proportion

Solve:  

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Solve by cross multipling the two fractions.

Divide by  on both sides.

Example Question #15 : How To Find A Proportion

What is  of ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

 of  is calculated by multiplying . by .

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