11+ Maths
Sharing quantities in a ratio, scaling recipes and maps, and solving proportion problems in the 11+.
Ratio and Proportion appears in 109 of our 571 ready papers (224 tagged questions). It averages 2.1 questions a paper worth about 1.71 marks each. The typical question allows around 1.1 min.
Ratio and proportion questions are fewer than fractions overall, but they punch above their weight in selective papers — especially independent-school Maths. Typical asks: share an amount in a given ratio, find one part when another is known, or scale a recipe or map. Children who treat ratio as two unrelated numbers, or who forget to use all the parts when sharing, drop marks quickly. Teach “parts” language explicitly, bar models for sharing, and unitary method for proportion, then practise under timed conditions. Always write the total number of parts before dividing, and check whether the question wants one share, several shares, or the difference between shares. A thirty-second sense-check (“do the parts add back to the original amount?”) prevents many expensive mistakes.
A real tagged question from our catalogue — method included, not paywalled.
Ranked from our tagged catalogue — open a paper to practise the questions that actually test this topic.
Not sure whether ratio and proportion is the problem? Mark any past paper on 11plusSolved and the report tells you which topics are costing marks — and how many.
