Ratios & Ratio Language

How the lesson starts: Ratios & Ratio Language

Welcome to Happy Paws!
Welcome to Happy Paws, Maya's pet shelter! Today there are 3 dogs and 2 cats waiting for new homes. Maya wants a quick way to compare them. We can do it with a ratio!
What is a ratio?
The ratio of dogs to cats is 3 to 2. We write it 3:2, with a colon between the numbers. It means for every 3 dogs, there are 2 cats. The ratio 3:2 for carrots to lettuce means 3 cups of carrots for every 2 cups of lettuce, not 3 cups in all!
Make it simpler
On Saturday there are 6 dogs and 4 cats: 6:4. Maya splits them into 2 matching play groups. Each group has 3 dogs and 2 cats. So 6:4 simplifies to 3:2!