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Ratio quiz illustration | Red and blue clothes

Melanie has 18 red tops. How many blue tops does she have?

Ratio 3 (Medium)

This 11 Plus Maths quiz explores ratios through real-life situations, like mixing drinks or sharing ingredients, helping pupils understand proportions and fair comparisons.

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Fascinating Fact:

When you mix squash, one part syrup to five parts water makes it sweet enough to drink but not enough to glue your teeth together.

In 11 Plus Maths, pupils study ratios to compare quantities, share items fairly, and understand scaling. Ratios are used in recipes, construction, and map reading, helping students make sense of real-world problems.

Key Terms

Ratio: A way of comparing two or more quantities, such as 1:5 for syrup and water.
Part: Each quantity that makes up the ratio. For example, one part syrup and five parts water make six parts in total.
Proportion: The relationship between the parts and the whole, showing how quantities fit together.

Learn more about 11 Plus study materials in our guide for parents.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How are ratios used in recipes?

Ratios ensure ingredients stay in the right proportion when scaling up or down. For example, doubling a recipe with a 1:5 syrup ratio means using twice as much of each ingredient.

How do you simplify a ratio like 8:12?

Divide both parts by their highest common factor. In 8:12, dividing by 4 gives 2:3, which means for every 2 of one thing, there are 3 of another.

What does a ratio tell us in everyday life?

Ratios help compare quantities, measure fairness, and maintain balance — from sharing snacks equally to designing models or mixing paints.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

The following ratios show the number of fiction to non-fiction books in four bookshops. If each shop has the same number of books in it, which has the largest number of non-fiction books?

5:1

17:14

28:28

10:11

28:28 represents an equal amount of fiction and non-fiction. It could also be shown as 1:1
17:14 and 5:1 both represent a higher number of fiction books, so they are wrong.
10:11 is the only ratio which represents more non-fiction than fiction, so it must be the right answer

2 .

How else can the ratio 14:35 be written?

2:5

2:7

2:9

7:2

14:35 = 2:5 (dividing by 7)

3 .

Melanie has 18 red tops. How many blue tops does she have if the ratio of red tops to blue tops is 6:5?

For every 6 red tops, Melanie has 5 blue ones.
18 ÷ 6 = 3
3 x 5 = 15
Melanie has 15 blue tops

4 .

Which of the following is not a way of expressing the ratio 2:7?

6:21

14:4

10:35

8:28

The ratio 14:4 = 7:2 which is NOT the same as 2:7. All the others form ratios that can be reduced to 2:7

5 .

¹⁶⁄₂₄ of the patients at a vet’s are cats and the rest are dogs. What is the simplest way of representing this as a ratio of dogs to cats?

2:1

8:16

1:2

16:8

If ¹⁶?₂₄ of the animals are cats, then ⁸?₂₄ are dogs (24 - 16 = 8)
These can be simplified to ²?₃ cats and ¹?₃ dogs by dividing by 8 (16 ÷ 8 = 2, and 8 ÷ 8 = 1)
So, the ratio of cats to dogs is 2:1, BUT we were asked for the ratio of dogs to cats, so we must reverse the ratio to 1:2
Watch out for tricks like this!

6 .

The ratio of bananas to apples on a fruit stall is 13:9. If there are 45 apples on the stall, how many bananas are there?

45 ÷ 9 = 5, so we must multiply 13 by 5 to find the number of bananas.
5 x 13 = 65

7 .

If the ratio of wind instruments to string instruments in a band is 7:8, which of the following statements is correct?

The number of wind instruments is less than the number of string instruments

The number of wind instruments equals the number of string instruments

The number of wind instruments is more than the number of string instruments

There is not enough information to answer the question

8 is greater than 7 and it represents the number of string instruments. There are clearly more string instruments than wind instruments

8 .

The ratio of bean cans to soup cans in a shop is 2:7. What fraction of the cans contain soup?

²⁄₇

⁵⁄₇

²⁄₉

⁷⁄₉

2 + 7 = 9 so the fraction will be in ninths. You DON'T have to know what the total number of items is in order to find the fractional amounts of each type of item

9 .

63 meals are to be served at a wedding party. If the ratio of vegetarian meals to non-vegetarian meals is 2:5, how many vegetarian meals will be served?

2 + 5 = 7 ? the fractional parts are ²?₇ x 63 = 18 vegetarian meals, and ⁵?₇ x 63 = 45 non-vegetarian meals.
Check that 18:45 = 2:5 by dividing by 9. Your answer MUST preserve (keep) the same ratio

10 .

How else can the ratio 1.5:8 be written?

2:6

2:16

3:16

3:24

1.5:8 = 3:16 (multiplying by 2)

Author: Frank Evans (Specialist 11 Plus Teacher and Tutor)