When Year 7 students face ratio comparison problems, there are some helpful strategies they can use to understand and solve them. Here are some tips that I've learned over time:

1. What is a Ratio?
   First, it's important to know what a ratio is. A ratio compares two amounts. For example, if the ratio of boys to girls in a class is $3:2$, it means that for every 3 boys, there are 2 girls.

2. Finding a Common Scale
   A useful strategy is to change the ratios to a common scale. If you’re comparing $3:5$ and $4:6$, you can scale them to make them easier to understand. You can find the least common multiple (LCM) to help with this.

3. Cross-Multiplication
   Cross-multiplication can be very helpful when comparing ratios! If you have ratios $a:b$ and $c:d$, you can check if $a \cdot d$ equals $b \cdot c$ to see if they are the same.

4. Using Fractions
   Sometimes, writing ratios as fractions can make them easier to compare. Just change the ratio to $\frac{a}{b}$ and $\frac{c}{d}$, and see which fraction is larger.

5. Visual Aids
   Drawing pictures or using models can also be helpful. Bar models or circle graphs are great tools for showing how two ratios relate to each other.

Using these strategies can make solving ratio problems less scary and much easier!