Why do we write ratio in a table?
Having looked at multiple ways to write and represent ratios - numerically, diagrammatically - we will look at one more way to write ratios and show equivalent ratios. The TABULAR FORM! They are similar to double number lines but also have their own perks.
Let’s look at one example of how we express ratios in a table.
To make a t- shirt, fabrics of two colors are used - green and yellow. Each shirt requires 700 cm of green and 200 cm of yellow fabric. Some equivalent ratios for green to yellow fabric are 7:2, 3.5:1, 14:4, etc. Now, we can show the two quantities in a table containing two columns.
Here, each column heading is a quantity (here, green and yellow fabric). So, each value in that column is for the specific quantity and they are equivalent. Each row has a value for each of the quantities (green and yellow fabrics), thus making a ratio!
One other thing about the tabular representation is that the numbers when going down the table are not in order. If this was a double number line, we would need to write the numbers in order when we increase the line in one direction. This makes it easier to find a missing value for an equivalent ratio when one of the values is given. We will not need to go in order even if we have to find an equivalent ratio with a value like 100 or 500.
For example, say you want to make a t- shirt with 1200 cm of yellow fabric. How much green fabric would you need? If we used a double number line, we would have to continue to draw a line until we reached 1200, which would be pretty long. But, in the case of a table, we simply add one more row and find the missing value by multiplying both numbers with 6 (This is because 200 x 6 = 1200, so we multiply the quantity for green with 200 as well, giving us 700 x 6 = 4200 cm).
To begin with what ratios are, visit our other post: What do we mean by Ratio?
To understand the equivalent ratios, visit our other post: What are equivalent ratios and how exactly do we find them?
For double number line, visit our other post: Do we need double number line in ratio?