Similes (I think!)Rev 10/09/07

Red:Pink::Brown: ?
Also can be read as
Red is to Pink as Brown is to ?
(Note, the : and :: are used in lots of standardized tests and such things!)
Choose one:
Blue
Aqua
Tan
Purple

Right you are!

Red:Pink::Brown:Tan (Red is to Pink as Brown is to Tan)

That is,
Basic color1: Pale Basic color1::Basic color2:Pale Basic color2
(Basic color1 is to Pale Basic color1 as
Basic color2 is to Pale Basic color2)
You can rearrange these more ways that still maintain the proportions
as long as you maintain the symmetry.
Here are 2 more:
Red:Brown::Pink:Tan (Red is to Brown as Pink is to Tan)
Brown:Tan::Red:Pink (Brown is to Tan as Red is to Pink)
Here's are 4 ways to write and say to yourself the same thing:

Red  = Brown
Pink    Tan

Pink =  Tan 
Red    Brown

Brown = Red 
 Tan    Pink

 Red  = Pink 
Brown   Tan

There are more ways, as long as you maintain
the symmetry.

Now consider some numbers:
10:5::30:? (10 is to 5 as 30 is to ?)
Choose one:
2
5
15
20
Right again!
10:5::30:15 (10 is to 5 as 30 is to 15)
Writing it as an equation:

 10  =  30 
  5      ?
Cross multiplying,
10 X ? = 5 X 30
10? = 150
Divide both sides by 10,
? = 15

Just like the colors, if we maintain the symmetry, we can
write the equation several ways, such as:
 10  =  5 
 30     ?

 5   =  ? 
10     30

 ?   =  5 
30     10

Not too bad, huh? Oh, yes. These are called PROPORTIONS
in math. Many, many roads lead from proportions, like
$US::$CA, miles::kilometers, dollars::cents,
tablespoons::teaspoons, pounds::ounces.

Although Farenheit::Centigrade also uses proportions,
there is the tricky additional part of adding or
subtracting the 32F at the right time. That's for another post.