Here you will learn about unit rate math problems, including the rates that involve whole numbers, decimals, integers, and fractions, and how to use unit rate math to make comparisons between rates.
Students will first learn about unit rate math problems as part of ratios and proportions in 6 th grade and 7 th grade.
Unit rate math problems involve creating equivalent ratios where one part of the ratio is 1. A rate is a ratio comparison of different units that can be used to create different quantities.
The rate of 500 miles to 2 hours, can be used to create the unit rate of 250 miles per hour or mph. In this case, the original rate is 500\text2 and the equivalent unit rate is 250\text1.
Unit rates are also a key part of converting between different measurement systems.
The conversions 1 foot =12 inches or 100 centimeters =1 meter are examples of unit rates that can be used for problems involving measurement.
Let’s look at a few examples of solving unit rate math problems below.
A bag of 5 apples costs \$ 6.00. What is the price per apple?
The original rate is 5 to \$ 6.00. To find the price per apple ( 1 apple), both sides of the rate are divided by 5, leaving the equivalent ratio 1 to \$ 1.20. Each apple costs \$ 1.20.
Unit rates can also be used to compare different quantities to decide things like, which rate is cheaper.
A grocery store sells 3 pounds of green apples for \$ 2.34 and 2 pounds of red apples for \$ 1.86. Which apples have the better unit price?
Unit price means the price per 1 unit. In this case, the units are pounds of apples.
Divide each side of the green apples rate by 3, to create a rate for 1 pound of green apples.
Each pound of green apples costs \$ 0.78.
Divide each side of the red apples rate by 2, to create a rate for 1 pound of red apples.
Each pound of red apples costs \$ 0.93.
The green apples have a better unit price, because they cost less per pound than the red apples.
