11-4 Proportions

A proportion is an equation that shows

two ratios are equivalent.

John made trail mix using 2 cups of nuts and

6 cups of dried fruit. Marcy used 3 cups of nuts
and 9 cups of dried fruit. Are the two mixes
the same?
To determine if the two mixes are the same,
check if the ratios form a proportion.
2 c nuts mmn ? 3 c nuts mmn


6 c dried fruit 9 c dried fruit

There are two ways to check if two ratios form a proportion.

Write the ratios as fractions in simplest form.
If the fractions are the same, the ratios are equivalent.
2 ? 3 2 1 3 1 1 1

  
 and 
 

6 9 6 3 9 3 3 3
2 3

 is a proportion because both ratios equal one third.
6 9

Use the cross-products rule:
Two ratios form a proportion if their cross products are equal.

The product of the extremes is

Cross-Products Rule
equal to the product of the means.
a : b
c : d when b, d  0
extremes
a c Write the ratios in

fraction form.
a:b
c:d ad
bc b d
a d c d Multiply both
means 
 sides by .
d
b c d c c
a
d c d
and are
2 and 9 are 2 ? 3 6 and 3 are
1 d c

  bc multiplicative inverses.
the extremes. 6 9 the means.
ad
bc Numerator and
denominator are equal
29 ? 63

since their quotient is 1.
18
18
The trail mixes are the same because the ratios form a proportion.

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Use equivalent fractions or the cross-products rule

to determine if the ratios form a proportion.
1 ? 6 3 ? 7 2 ? 10 6 ? 18
1.





2.





3.





4.






5 10 4 5 1 5 10 30
7 ? 14 ? 10
6
7 ? 49 8 ? 40
5.





6.



7.





8.






4 18 60 90 5 35 5 50

Find the missing term to form a proportion.

7 28 5 15 12 n 15 n
9.

 10.

 11.

 12.


3 n 1 n 21 7 18 36
3 n 9 81 n 14 32 8
13.

 14.

 15. 

16.


4 8 10 n 1 7 36 n

Choose the two equivalent ratios. Write a proportion.

Check by showing the cross products.

17.
4
,

20 , 5




24 , 40
18.
1
,



19.
9
,

36 , 36




5 25 4 12 21 35 5 30 20
20 , 2 , 4
20.
21.
9
,
9
,
1
22.
7
,
7
,

14







10 1 5 81 27 9 6 16 32
23. 6 : 2, 3 : 1, 10 : 5 24. 8 : 4, 4 : 2, 3 : 1 25. 10 : 15, 12 : 18, 14 : 16

26. Leonard’s cat catches 3 mice every 2 days. Francine’s

cat catches 10 mice every 6 days. Do the two cats
catch mice at the same rate? Explain.

27. George Ferris constructed the first Ferris wheel. It

was about 250 ft high and almost 800 ft around.
Name four equivalent ratios that compare the height
of the wheel to the distance around it.

a c
If
and a, b, c, and d are nonzero numbers, determine whether
b d
each statement is true or false for given values of a, b, c, and d.
Give an example to support your answer.
b d a b a c a
b c
d
28.  29.  30.  31. 
a c c d ab cd b c

Chapter 11 383
11-5 Solve Proportions
You can use the cross-products rule
to solve a proportion.
n 6
Solve the proportion:



.
25 5

Method 1 Method 2

Find the cross products. The product Multiply each side of the proportion by
of the extremes is equal to the the reciprocal.
1 5
product of the means.
n 6 n 25 6 25




 


Extremes Means 25 5 25 1 5 1
1 1
n 6 n  30




n  5  25  6
25 5
5n  5  150  5
 5n  30

Check by substituting the solution for n.

30 ? 6 ?
Check:



30  5  25  6 150  150
25 5

Study these examples.

Extremes Means Extremes Means
30 6




30  5  n  6 3 : 8  n : 24 3  24  8  n
n 5
 150  6n 572  8n
150  6  6n  6 5 72  8  8n  8
 525  n or n  25 9  n or n  9
30 ? 6 6 6 3 ? 9 3 3
Check:







Check:








25 5 5 5 8 24 8 8

Complete to find the missing term in each proportion.

n 5 8 32
1.



n365 2.



8  40  n  32
6 3 n 40
3n  ?  30  ? 320  ?  32n  ?
 3n  ? ? n

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Find the missing term in each proportion.

n 5 n 3 n 7 6 24
3.



4.



5.



6.




12 20 10 5 3 21 5 n

4 16 2 14 12 18 5 n
7.



8.



9.



10.




n 36 n 28 4 n 15 12

n 3 n 5 n 6 18 n
11.



12.



13.



14.




16 6 9 9 7 2 48 8

Find the value of n.

15. 4 : 5  n : 10 16. 6 : n  3 : 9 17. n : 8  5 : 5

18. 9 : 8  18 : n 19. n : 12  18 : 9 20. 13 : 5  n : 15

21. n : 6  0.4 : 12 22. 9 : 4  2.7 : n 23. 17 : 3  n : 1.5

Select the two ratios that form a proportion.

Check by showing the cross products.

24.
1
,
1
,
2
25.
3
,
9
,
6
26.
2
,
3
,
1

2 4 4 5 15 9 3 9 3

27.
4
,
2
,
8
28.
5
,

20 , 15



29.
3
,
9
,
9

6 5 12 8 32 16 10 10 30

Is the given value of n reasonable?

Explain your answer.
3 n
30.



No, 6 is not reasonable.
7 140
3 1 n 1
n
6




so

should be


.
7 2 140 2

33 n 32 1 100 n 35 0.2
31.



32.



33.



34.




60 40 160 n 250 5 n 0.4
1
n
30 0n
5 0n
7.5 n
7


2

Chapter 11 385
11-6 Write Proportions
At the given rate, how many gallons would Average Miles Per Gallon
Meghan use on a 3600-mile trip?
Meghan 30
To find the number of gallons, t, write and Ann 35
solve a proportion.
Harold 37
When you write a proportion, be sure that the
Paco 38.5
two equivalent ratios compare similar things.

Write two equal rates of miles to gallons.

miles per 30 miles 3600 miles total miles

Think
gallon

in t gallons Miles per gallon means
1 gallon t gallons
miles per 1 gallon.

Use the cross-products rule
to solve the proportion.
30 3600

30  t
1  3600
1 t
30t  30
3600  30 Apply the Division Property of Equality.
t
120

Check.
30 3600 30 ? 3600 ?


30  120
1  3600 3600
3600
1 t 1 120
Meghan would use 120 gallons on a 3600-mile trip.

There are many ways to set up a proportion as long

as the equivalent ratios compare similar things.
gallons 1 t short trip 30 1



miles 30 3600 long trip 3600 t

Use the table above to write and solve a proportion to

find the number of gallons of gasoline for each trip.
1. Harold, 185 miles 2. Ann, 1050 miles 3. Paco, 3080 miles

Write a proportion. Then solve.

4. If apples sell at 3 for $.75, how many 5. If 12 calculators cost $60, what will
apples can be bought for $4.25? 4 calculators cost?
6. If rent for 2 weeks is $750, how much 7. If 5 CDs cost $60, how much would
rent is paid for 6 weeks? a dozen CDs cost?
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Distance, Speed, Time, and Proportion

Speed, or rate (r), is the ratio of distance (d) to time (t). d
r

You can use a proportion to solve for distance or time. t
38,600 mi d mi
Voyager I travels through space at about

1h 0.5 h
38,600 mph. At that rate, about how far
would Voyager I travel in a half hour? 38,600  0.5
1  d
19,300
d
Voyager I would travel about 19,300 miles in a half hour.

Use the formula relating distance, speed, and time to write

and solve a proportion.
8. How far will a motorboat travel in 9. A train takes 1 hour to go 75 miles.
5 h if it travels 35 mi in 1 h? How long will it take the train to go
450 miles?

10. How long does it take a car to 11. A dragonfly can travel 58 km per
travel 510 miles at a rate of hour. At this speed, how long would
68 miles per hour? it take this insect to fly 87 km?
1
12. Chin delivers 4 newspapers in 13. Catherine spent 22 hours writing
5 min. At this rate, how many 3 pages of her report. At this rate, how
newspapers can he deliver in long will it take her to write a 15-page
one hour? report?

14. A rocket sled traveled a record 15. An electronic car traveled a record of
of 10 300 km in one hour. At 321.8 mi in one hour. At this rate, how
this rate, how long would the far would it travel in 15 min?
vehicle take to travel 2575 km?

16. A cake recipe calls for 1.5 cups of 17. A rocket car travels at a rate of 640
milk and 3 cups of flour. Ann made miles per hour. At this rate, how much
a mistake and used 5 cups of flour. time would it take for the car to travel
How many cups of milk should she 384 miles?
use to keep the proportion correct?
A 1.75 cups B 2.25 cups F 36 min G 256 min
C 2 cups D 2.5 cups H 245 min J 1.7 h

Chapter 11 387
11-7 Proportions and Similar Figures
The lengths of the corresponding sides of similar figures are in proportion.
ABCD
WXYZ Similar figures have the same shape and
AB BC CD AD their corresponding angles are congruent.




WX XY YZ WZ
Z 9 Y
D 6 C
6 2 6 2



2 2 3 3
9 3 9 3
6
6
3 2 6
3 2 A B
W 9 X




93 3 93 3
2 2 2 2




3 3 3 3
P
Study this example. E
15 cm 30 cm
F
What is the length of G ? 9 cm 18 cm
F
G m R Q
EG GF 9 m 24 cm


Write a proportion.
PR RQ 18 24
EFG

PQR
9  24
18  m Use the cross-products rule.

216
18m
216  18
18m  18 Apply the Division Property of Equality.

12
m
The length of  is 12 cm.
GF

Write the lengths of the corresponding sides in a proportion for each pair of
similar figures.
1. A 2. C 16 cm D
R S 8 cm T
15 cm 10 cm 6 cm 3 cm
12 cm 8 cm
V U
F E
S 6 cm T
B 9 cm C

3. 20 yd
S
Z
4. G
15 yd E
P W 20 in. 24 in.
12 yd 9 yd 12 in.
8 yd 6 yd 10 in.
Q R
X 12 yd Y 15 in. J 18 in. H
16 yd F
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The figures in each pair are similar. Write and solve a

proportion to find the length of each missing side.
5. E 6. F
B
6 ft 6 ft x 12 ft
A C a
y D F 21 in.
16 ft C
9 in. w
A B D E
5 in. 15 in.
Y B
7. 3 in. t
8. S
X Z m L
12 in. 36 ft
5 1 ft 7 3 ft
3 8 in. 3 4
1 4 in.
N M
R T 8 1 ft
A C 57 3 ft 2
8
7 in.

9. Rex draws two similar trapezoids 10. Danielle draws two triangles. The first
with the longer bases 12 cm and triangle has sides that are 7, 10, and
15 cm in length. If the length of the 13 inches long. The second triangle has
shorter base of the smaller trapezoid sides that are 10.5, 15, and 19.5 inches
is 4 cm, how long is the shorter base long. Are the triangles similar? Explain.
of the larger trapezoid?

11.
ABC

DGF.  AC, 

AB, and 
DF 12. The lengths, in inches, of the sides of a
are 3 cm, 5 cm, and 9 cm long, triangle are 5, 8, and 11. If the shortest
respectively. How many times the side of a similar triangle has a length of
length of 
CB is the length of 
FG? 10 inches, what is the length of its
longest side?

Find the value of n.

13.
ABC

DEF. 14.
ABC

ADE.
A A
D
12
15 n+2
12
D E
F E 9
3 8

C B n
9 B C

Chapter 11 389
11-8 Use Proportions
Proportions in similar triangles can be useful

lig
for indirect measurement, such as finding

ht
taller
heights of objects that are too large to be

lig
ra
structure

ht
shorter

y
measured directly.

ra
structure

y
To solve shadow problems, you can draw shadow cast by shadow cast by
taller structure shorter structure
a pair of similar right triangles.

A 6-ft-tall person is standing near a tree. If the

person’s shadow is 10 ft long and the tree’s
shadow is 20 ft long, what is the height of the tree?

To find the height of the tree, h, draw a pair of similar right triangles.
Then write and solve a proportion.
R

O

MNO

PQR
h h
6 ft
M 10 ft N P 20 ft Q

6 10




Write a proportion.
h 20
6  20  10h Use the cross-products rule.
120  10  10h  10 Apply the Division Property of Equality.
12  h
The tree is 12 ft tall.

Study this example.

Gil found the distance across a pond, MN, by
measuring land distances and setting up 10 yd
similar triangles as shown in the given figures. 45 yd
What is the distance across the pond?
60 yd
DA MA 10 45
  Write a proportion.
NE MN 60 MN
10MN  60  45 Use the cross-products rule.
10MN  10  2700  10 Apply the Division Property of Equality.
MN  270
The distance across the pond is 270 yards.

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Write a proportion. Then solve.

1. An 8-foot electricity pole casts a 8 ft h
12-foot shadow. At the same time,
Ruth Ann casts a 9-foot shadow. 12 ft 9 ft
How tall is Ruth Ann? F

2. Similar triangular sails are raised F

10 m
on two sailboats. If the larger sail is
5 m wide and 10 m high and the 6m
smaller sail is 6 m high, how wide B S X R 5m
is the smaller sail?
w

3. A 6-ft-tall person casts a shadow 15 ft 4. What is the height of a vertical pole

long. At the same time, a nearby tower that casts a shadow 8 ft long at the
casts a shadow 100 ft long. Find the same time that a 12-ft-high vertical
height of the tower. pole casts a shadow 3 ft long?

5. A mailbox that is 1 meter tall casts 6. A lamppost is 6.5 meters high. Next
a shadow 4 meters long, while a to it, a 1.2-meter-high mailbox casts
lamppost casts a shadow 24 meters a shadow 4.8 meters long. How long
long. How tall is the lamppost? is the shadow of the lamppost?

7. A triangular sail has sides of 10 ft, 8. The heights of two signal poles are
24 ft, and 26 ft. If the shortest side of 20 feet and 30 feet, respectively. If the
a similar sail measures 6 ft, what is shorter pole casts a shadow of 8 feet,
the measure of its longest side? how long is the taller pole’s shadow?

9. A surveyor determines the width of a A C

river by setting up similar triangles as
shown in the given figure. E

AEC

BED with AC
89.5 ft,
CE
20 ft, and DE
80 ft. What is
the width of the river BD ? D B

10. On the school softball team, there 11. A football team has 6 players who
are 3 boys for every 4 girls. If the play offense for every 5 who play
team has 21 members, how may defense. There are 33 players on the
boys does it have? how many girls? team. How many players play offense?
how many play defense?

Chapter 11 391