Ratio Math Problems - Three Terms Ratio

Ratio problems are word problems that use ratios to relate the different items in the question.

The main things to be aware about for ratio problems area:

• Change the quantities to the same unit if necessary.
• Write the items in the ratio as a fraction.
• Make sure that you have the same items in the numerator and denominator.

Ratio problems: Three-term Ratios

Example 1:

A special cereal mixture contains rice, wheat and corn in the ratio of 2:3:5. If a bag of the mixture contains 3 pounds of rice, how much corn does it contain?

Solution:

Step 1: Assign variables :

Let x = amount of corn

Write the items in the ratio as a fraction.

Step 2: Solve the equation

Cross Multiply

2 × x = 3 × 5
2x = 15

Isolate variable x

Answer: The mixture contains 7.5 pounds of corn.

Example 2:

Clothing store A sells T-shirts in only three colors: red, blue and green. The colors are in the ratio of 3 to 4 to 5. If the store has 20 blue T-shirts, how many T-shirts does it have altogether?

Solution:

Step 1: Assign variables :

Let x = red shirts
y = green shirts

Write the items in the ratios as fractions.

Step 2: Solve the equation

Cross Multiply both equations

3 × 20 = x × 4
60 = 4x
x = 15

5 × 20 = y × 4
100 = 4y
y = 25

The total number of shirts would be 15 + 25 + 20 = 60

Answer: There are 60 shirts.

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