It means the comparison between two numbers.
A. Ratio
B. proportion
C. decimal
D. fraction
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is A. Ratio.
A ratio is a mathematical relationship between two numbers, showing how many times the first number contains the second. In other words, it compares the sizes or quantities of two items by dividing one by the other. Ratios are typically expressed as “a to b” or as a fraction (a/b), but their primary function is to highlight the relative magnitude of the two numbers in relation to each other.
For example, if there are 4 apples and 6 oranges, the ratio of apples to oranges is 4:6, which can be simplified to 2:3. This means that for every 2 apples, there are 3 oranges.
Ratios are fundamental in various fields like statistics, finance, engineering, and everyday life. In statistics, ratios help to understand trends, for example, comparing the number of male and female students in a class. In finance, ratios such as debt-to-equity ratio, current ratio, and profit margins help analysts assess the health of a company. In engineering, ratios can represent proportions in mixtures or measurements of structural components.
Ratios are different from fractions in that fractions represent a part of a whole, while ratios compare two separate quantities. Ratios also differ from decimals, which express numbers in a base-10 system, and proportions, which are equations that state two ratios are equal.
In short, a ratio simply shows the comparative relationship between two numbers or quantities. By understanding ratios, one can make sense of the relationships between different values, which is crucial in many disciplines and real-life applications.