ABSTRACT
A ratio is a comparison of any two quantities. A ratio may be used to convey an idea that cannot be expressed as a single number. Ratios sometimes compare measures of the same type. Fraction notation is used when referring to those aspects in which ratios behave like other interpretations of rational numbers written in fraction form, while the colon notation is favored by those who like to emphasize the ways in which ratios do not act like other fractions. Finally, the inflation rate is perhaps the most elusive of these rates. In actuality many variables figure into its computation, and most people probably have only a sense of its meaning, without really knowing how it is computed. One of the most common rate situations is the distance–time–speed relationship.
