Ratio, rate and speed questions are word-problem traps. This page trains students to identify the relationship first, then calculate.

1. What This Page Fixes

Students often freeze when they see words like share, per, speed, scale, exchange rate, best value, direct proportion or inverse proportion.

The problem is not always the calculation. The real problem is choosing the correct first move.

Goal: students should recognise whether a question is ratio, rate, speed, scale, exchange rate, direct proportion or inverse proportion before calculating.

2. Quick Diagnostic: Ratio / Rate / Speed Safety Check

No. Question Skill tested
1 Simplify 18:24 Ratio simplification
2 Share RM150 in the ratio 2:3 Ratio sharing
3 Simplify 50 cm : 2 m Ratio with units
4 300 g flour makes 4 cakes. How much flour for 10 cakes? Direct proportion
5 6 workers take 8 days. How long will 12 workers take? Inverse proportion
6 Find the speed for 240 km in 4 hours Speed
7 Travel 70 km/h for 2.5 hours. Find distance Distance from speed
8 RM25 for 5 kg. Find the cost per kg Rate
9 A map scale is 1 cm : 4 km. What distance is 7 cm? Scale
10 RM1 = 4.7 baht. Convert RM30 to baht Exchange rate

Diagnostic Score Bands

Score Meaning Action
0–4 Relationship recognition is weak Start from First-Move Flow and Method System
5–7 Basic cases are okay, but mixed wording is risky Study traps and Level 2 drill
8–9 Mostly safe Do Paper 4 mixed questions
10 Strong Move to Accuracy / Bounds / Units

3. Recognition: First-Move Flow

Ask these before calculating:

  1. Does it say share? → Ratio sharing.
  2. Does it compare two quantities with :? → Simplify ratio, check units first.
  3. Does it say per / each / every? → Rate.
  4. Does it involve distance and time? → Speed.
  5. Does one quantity increase with another? → Direct proportion.