Writing a ratio

Emma and Jason sell cupcakes at a bake sale. Every tray, Emma bakes 3 cupcakes and Jason bakes 2. Write the ratio of the number of Emma's cupcakes to the number of Jason's cupcakes. Here's the short way to write that. Emma's name first, then Jason's. Then 3, a colon, 2. We read it, 3 to 2. That's the ratio of the number of Emma's cupcakes to the number of Jason's. That's one statement, and it compares them. Each tray is one round of that comparison. Here's another tray for Emma, with 3 more cupcakes. And another for Jason, with 2 more. The ratio is still 3 to 2. Now count all of Emma's cupcakes. 6. And Jason has 4. But the ratio still reads 3 to 2. So 3 to 2 doesn't mean Emma baked 3 cupcakes. It means 3 for every tray. A ratio compares, it doesn't count. Now let's say it the other way round. Jason's cupcakes, compared with Emma's. Jason's name goes first, and his number goes with it. That reads 2 to 3. Same cupcakes, different order. So it's a different ratio, and it gets its own line. The numbers follow the names.

Your turn. Here's a new question. Emma, Jason and Maya bake trays of cupcakes. Every tray, Emma bakes 3 cupcakes, Jason bakes 2 and Maya bakes 4. Write the ratio of the number of Emma's cupcakes to the number of Jason's cupcakes to the number of Maya's cupcakes. Try it first. Pause if you like. Emma is named first, so her number goes first. Emma, then Jason, then Maya. 3, to 2, to 4. So the ratio is 3 to 2 to 4. The numbers follow the names. A ratio compares two quantities. For every 3 of Emma's cupcakes, there are 2 of Jason's and 4 of Maya's. The names are in one order, and the numbers are in the same order.