Episode 9 – Reaction Based Ratios

#CouchPotatoLab

First, you will need to download the “Reaction-Based Ratios” lab manual.

Do you have a fruit bowl in your home? How many apples are in it compared to oranges or bananas? How many slices of cheese do you put on your sandwich compared to slices of bread? These comparisons are called ratios. A ratio can identify how much of one object, thing, or slices of cheese we have compared to another object, thing, or slice of bread. I like two slices of bread on my sandwich and one slice of cheese. To represent this as a ratio, I would write 2:1. This is because for every two pieces of bread, I would add one slice of cheese. The colon (:) means to, therefore, I would say “this is a two to one ratio of bread to cheese!”. I would not say the ratio of bread to cheese is 1:2, because that would mean I would only have one slice of bread and two slices of cheese! That would not be a very tasty sandwich…

We will explain ratios in more detail in our activity. Specifically, we will explore what ratio of vinegar to baking soda is needed to create the BIGGEST reaction!

Saskatchewan Curriculum Connections:

N6.8: Demonstrate an understanding of ratio concretely, pictorially, and symbolically.