Question

The size of a white tablet is 0.000005 m and that of a red tablet is 0.0000275 m.Find their ratios and Compare their sizes

Answer 1

A ratio will just be trying to find whole number versions of these decimals and then compare them side by side (always divide the larger number by the smaller number).

Therefore:

$\frac{0.0000275}{0.000005}=5.5=\frac{5.5}{1}$

However, this isn't a proper ratio. Generally, ratios are whole numbers. Since it's 5.5, we can easily make this a whole number by multiplying it by 2. Keep in mind though, what we do to one number we do to the other! So:

$\frac{2}{2}(\frac{5.5}{1})=\frac{2*5.5}{2*1}=\frac{11}{2}$, technically this is a better format since it's whole numbers, but it gives you the ratio (11:2) which is a bit tougher to interpret than (5.5:1)

Therefore, the ratio we'll use is 5.5:1 for simplicity's sake:

From this ratio, we can see that the red tablet is 5.5x the size of the white tablet.

Hope this helps! :)