Ratio of 30 minutes to 2 hours Step by Step

Step by step

The question

Question: write the ratio of 30 minutes to 2 hours in its simplest form.

30 minutes : 2 hours

Careful!

The units are not the same: minutes and hours.

30 to 2 would compare different things.

Careful: not 30 : 2 ✗

1 Same units

A ratio only compares amounts in the same unit.

We change to the smaller unit, minutes, so there are no fractions.

1 hour is 60 minutes.

1 hour = 60 minutes

So 2 hours is 2 times 60: 120 minutes.

= 2 hours = 2 × 60 minutes = 120 minutes

2 Drop the units

Now the ratio is 30 minutes to 120 minutes.

= 30 ~~minutes~~ : 120 ~~minutes~~

Both are in minutes.

The same units cancel, so we cross them out.

That leaves 30 to 120.

= 30 : 120

3 Simplify

30 and 120 can both be divided by 30.

We divide both parts by 30.

The ratio stays the same.

= 30 ÷ 30 : 120 ÷ 30

30 divided by 30 is 1.

120 divided by 30 is 4.

So the ratio is 1 to 4.

= 1 : 4

4 Check

Let's check: times each part by 30.

We get 30 minutes and 120 minutes again.

1 × 30 = 30 minutes, 4 × 30 = 120 minutes

And 120 minutes divided by 60 is 2 hours, as in the question.

So the answer is right!

120 minutes = 120 ÷ 60 = 2 hours

Let's look back.

First: same units.

Then: drop the units.

Then: simplify.

Last: check.

Answer