Kitchen math is the most delicious way to teach ratios and proportions. A ratio simply compares two quantities. When you bake cookies, the balance between ingredients must remain proportional no matter how many batches you make.
The Cookie Recipe Ratio
A recipe makes 12 cookies and calls for:
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of butter
What if you want to make 36 cookies?
- Find the multiplier:
36 ÷ 12 = 3(You are making 3 times as many cookies). - Multiply every ingredient by 3:
- Flour:
2 × 3 = 6 cups - Sugar:
1 × 3 = 3 cups - Butter:
1/2 × 3 = 1.5 cups
- Flour:
The ratio of flour to sugar remained 2:1 in both batches. That is the essence of mathematical proportion!