Ratio word problems for 6th grade
These ratio word problems are great for ages 11 and older who are looking to improve their ratio skills.
There are 5 people in a room, three of which are boys and two of which are girls. What is the ratio of boys to girls?
-
Answer
3:2
-
Explanation
There are 3 boys to every 2 girls therefore the ratio is 3:2s
48 apples need to be divided into a ratio of 2:4:6 to fit into three different buckets. How many apples go into the smallest bucket?
-
Answer
8
-
Explanation
2 : 4 : 6 can be simplified to 1 : 2 : 3
And 1 + 2 + 3 = 6
We divide the total apples by 6
48 ÷ 6 = 8
Ratio of the smallest bucket is 1 : 6 therefore:
8 x 1 = 8
Two trains are passing each other on the train track. One has 18 carriages and the other has 90 carriages. How many times fewer carriages has the one train compared to the other?
-
Answer
5 times fewer
-
Explanation
The ratio is 18:90
To simplify this you can divide each side by 18 and the ratio you are left with is
1:5
What is the ratio of cupcakes to the total number of items in the picture below?
-
Answer
3:16
-
Explanation
There are 3 cupcakes and 16 items in the picture.
Jemima brought 10 cupcakes and Eddy brought 6 cupcakes to share for their class. What is the ratio of Jemima’s total cupcakes to Eddy’s?
-
Answer
5:3
-
Explanation
The ratio can be written as Jemima 10 : Eddy 6 which can be simplified if we divide each side by 2 leaving us with:
5:3
Tammi has a bowl of fruit which has only apples and bananas. The ratio is 2 apples to each banana. If there are a total of 15 fruits in the bowl, how many apples are there?
-
Answer
10
-
Explanation
We know that the fruit ratio is 2 apples : 1 banana meaning there are a total of 3 fruits per fruit grouping (2 apples + 1 banana).
15 / 3 = 5 fruit groupings
5 x 2 apples per group = 10 apples in total
What is the ratio of presents to the total number of items in the picture on the right?
-
Answer
1:4
-
Explanation
There are 4 presents and 16 items in the picture.
4:16 can be simplified to 1:4
If a pet store has a total of 66 cats and dogs into a ratio of 2 cats per dog, how many cats are there?
-
Answer
44
-
Explanation
We know that the pet ratio is 2 cats : 1 dog meaning there are a total of 3 pets per group (2 cats + 1 dog).
66 / 3 = 22 pet groups
22 x 2 cats per group = 44 cats in total
Convert 100m to feet if the ratio of meters to feet is 1 meter to 3,28 feet.
-
Answer
328 feet
-
Explanation
The ratio of meters to feet is 1 meter : 3,28 feet. Multiply your feet by 100 to convert the ratio.
100 m : 328 feet
On a cruise ship, there is a ratio of 3 adults to every 1 child. If there were a total of 400 people on the cruise ship, how many of the people were children?
-
Answer
100
-
Explanation
We know that the people ratio is 3 adults : 1 child meaning there are a total of 4 people per group (3 adults + 1 child).
400 / 4 = 100 groups of people
100 x 1 child per group = 100 children in total
Interested in more math problem practice? Try our worksheets and math problems on other topics on the links below.