Section 2 - rise / run = rise:run or run:rise?

[Thevishka K.]

I am getting conflicting answers from the texbooks + the practice exams on this.

For the purposes of the Section 2 LARE Exam, is the rise / run (represented as rise over run) expressed in a ratio as either:

a) rise : run

b) run : rise?

I've seen it represented both ways in textbooks, in the Shake and Bake notes, AND on the practice exam. Which is correct?! 

Thank you! 

[john lambert pearson]

a slope represented as 1:12 means rise of 1 over a run of 12. 

[caitlin...@gmail.com]

I'm confused about this as well because I see 3:1 in multiple places representing 33%, but that is the opposite math of 1:12 representing 8.3%

[john lambert pearson]

Yes you're right - we commonly describe 33% slopes as 3:1. even the wikipedia for grade / slope explains that both conventions are used. i think in our field you just need to know that the run is going to be more than the rise. we are VERY RARELY talking about something steeper than 45%. i guess you could also think of it as it's always a comparison to "one part rise" regardless of the order.

[caitlin...@gmail.com]

That's helpful to just know that the 1 is pretty much always the rise. Thanks John. 

[Thevishka K.]

Thank you for explaining it that way! I'm not doing this test in the US / I don't practice in the US, so I thought maybe that was affecting my judgement since it varies by region and profession. This is helpful. 

[EB Cink]

so I've found that 3:1 is most often used in Civil Engineering, our sister profession.  But I agree, knowing that 1 will be the raise should help you in all the problems!

[Thevishka K.]

For anyone who is curious, I found the answer in the answers to Lareprep Section 2, Exam A: