November 2012

Students sometimes wonder when they’ll use certain information that they learn in school. They may not reap immediate benefits from reading Herman Melville or learning the laws of stoichiometry, but they usually take the teachers at their word that such knowledge is never wasted – it’s all part of the process of becoming educated citizens. In math, however, the benefits of learning ratio and proportion are instantly recognizable. People use ratios every day in all sorts of situations, and are often even unaware that they’re doing so. Ratio and proportion are so prevalent in daily life that their use has become reflexive.