Ratio Calculator

In mathematics, a ratio indicates how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8∶6, which is equivalent to the ratio 4∶3). Similarly, the ratio of lemons to oranges is 6∶8 (or 3∶4) and the ratio of oranges to the total amount of fruit is 8∶14 (or 4∶7).

The numbers in a ratio may be quantities of any kind, such as counts of people or objects, or such as measurements of lengths, weights, time, etc. In most contexts, both numbers are restricted to be positive.

A ratio may be specified either by giving both constituting numbers, written as "a to b" or "a∶b", or by giving just the value of their quotient a/b. Equal quotients correspond to equal ratios.

Consequently, a ratio may be considered as an ordered pair of numbers, a fraction with the first number in the numerator and the second in the denominator, or as the value denoted by this fraction. Ratios of counts, given by (non-zero) natural numbers, are rational numbers, and may sometimes be natural numbers. When two quantities are measured with the same unit, as is often the case, their ratio is a dimensionless number. A quotient of two quantities that are measured with different units is called a rate.

History and Etymology

It is possible to trace the origin of the word "ratio" to the Ancient Greek λόγος (logos). Early translators rendered this into Latin as ratio ("reason"; as in the word "rational"). A more modern interpretation of Euclid's meaning is more akin to computation or reckoning. Medieval writers used the word proportio ("proportion") to indicate ratio and proportionalitas ("proportionality") for the equality of ratios.

Euclid collected the results appearing in the Elements from earlier sources. The Pythagoreans developed a theory of ratio and proportion as applied to numbers. The Pythagoreans' conception of number included only what would today be called rational numbers, casting doubt on the validity of the theory in geometry where, as the Pythagoreans also discovered, incommensurable ratios (corresponding to irrational numbers) exist. The discovery of a theory of ratios that does not assume commensurability is probably due to Eudoxus of Cnidus. The exposition of the theory of proportions that appears in Book VII of The Elements reflects the earlier theory of ratios of commensurables.

The existence of multiple theories seems unnecessarily complex to modern sensibility since ratios are, to a large extent, identified with quotients. However, this is a comparatively recent development, as can be seen from the fact that modern geometry textbooks still use distinct terminology and notation for ratios and quotients. The reasons for this are twofold: first, there was the previously mentioned reluctance to accept irrational numbers as true numbers, and second, the lack of a widely used symbolism to replace the already established terminology of ratios delayed the full acceptance of fractions as alternative until the 16th century.

Reduction

Ratios can be reduced (as fractions are) by dividing each quantity by the common factors of all the quantities. As for fractions, the simplest form is considered that in which the numbers in the ratio are the smallest possible integers.

Thus, the ratio 40∶60 is equivalent in meaning to the ratio 2∶3, the latter being obtained from the former by dividing both quantities by 20. Mathematically, we write 40∶60 = 2∶3, or equivalently 40∶60∷2∶3. The verbal equivalent is "40 is to 60 as 2 is to 3."

A ratio that has integers for both quantities and that cannot be reduced any further (using integers) is said to be in simplest form or lowest terms.

Sometimes it is useful to write a ratio in the form 1∶x or x∶1, where x is not necessarily an integer, to enable comparisons of different ratios. For example, the ratio 4∶5 can be written as 1∶1.25 (dividing both sides by 4) Alternatively, it can be written as 0.8∶1 (dividing both sides by 5).

Where the context makes the meaning clear, a ratio in this form is sometimes written without the 1 and the ratio symbol (∶), though, mathematically, this makes it a factor or multiplier.

Euclid's Definitions

Book V of Euclid's Elements has 18 definitions, all of which relate to ratios. In addition, Euclid uses ideas that were in such common usage that he did not include definitions for them. The first two definitions say that a part of a quantity is another quantity that "measures" it and conversely, a multiple of a quantity is another quantity that it measures. In modern terminology, this means that a multiple of a quantity is that quantity multiplied by an integer greater than one—and a part of a quantity (meaning aliquot part) is a part that, when multiplied by an integer greater than one, gives the quantity.

Euclid does not define the term "measure" as used here; however, one may infer that if a quantity is taken as a unit of measurement, and a second quantity is given as an integral number of these units, then the first quantity measures the second. These definitions are repeated, nearly word for word, as definitions 3 and 5 in book VII.

Definition 3 describes what a ratio is in a general way. It is not rigorous in a mathematical sense and some have ascribed it to Euclid's editors rather than Euclid himself. Euclid defines a ratio as between two quantities of the same type, so by this definition the ratios of two lengths or of two areas are defined, but not the ratio of a length and an area. Definition 4 makes this more rigorous. It states that a ratio of two quantities exists, when there is a multiple of each that exceeds the other. In modern notation, a ratio exists between quantities p and q, if there exist integers m and n such that mp>q and nq>p. This condition is known as the Archimedes property.

Definition 5 is the most complex and difficult. It defines what it means for two ratios to be equal. Today, this can be done by simply stating that ratios are equal when the quotients of the terms are equal, but Euclid did not accept the existence of the quotients of incommensurate so such a definition would have been meaningless to him. Thus, a more subtle definition is needed where quantities involved are not measured directly to one another. In modern notation, Euclid's definition of equality is that given quantities p, q, r and s, p∶q∷r ∶s if and only if for any positive integers m and n, np<mq, np=mq, or np>mq according as nr<ms, nr=ms, or nr>ms, respectively. This definition has affinities with Dedekind cuts as, with n and q both positive, np stands to mq as p/q stands to the rational number m/n (dividing both terms by nq).

Definition 6 says that quantities that have the same ratio are proportional or in proportion. Euclid uses the Greek ἀναλόγον (analogon), this has the same root as λόγος and is related to the English word "analog".

Definition 7 defines what it means for one ratio to be less than or greater than another and is based on the ideas present in definition 5. In modern notation it says that given quantities p, q, r and s, p∶q>r∶s if there are positive integers m and n so that np>mq and nr≤ms.

As with definition 3, definition 8 is regarded by some as being a later insertion by Euclid's editors. It defines three terms p, q and r to be in proportion when p∶q∷q∶r. This is extended to 4 terms p, q, r and s as p∶q∷q∶r∷r∶s, and so on. Sequences that have the property that the ratios of consecutive terms are equal are called geometric progressions. Definitions 9 and 10 apply this, saying that if p, q and r are in proportion then p∶r is the duplicate ratio of p∶q and if p, q, r and s are in proportion then p∶s is the triplicate ratio of p∶q.