Finding
Unit Rate
Notes
Unit Rate
Rate: A ratio that compares two quantities with
different units of measure.
Unit Rate: A comparison of two measurements where
one of the terms (the second) is 1.
Examples: Stan drives 30 miles per hour
Jen types 42 words per minute
Corinne pays $2 for each cupcake
To find the unit rate:
1. Determine what is the first quantity (numerator) and
what is the second quantity (denominator)
*look for clues like “how many miles per hour”*
2. Divide the first amount by the second amount
3. Write the unit rate as # (first unit) per (second unit)
Example: If there are 70 students in 5 classes, find the
number of students per class.
70 students
5 classes à 70 ÷ 5 = 14 ! 14 students per class
Practice
Steve drove 120 miles in 3 hours. Find the unit
rate, in miles per hour.
120 miles ÷ 3 hours
120 ÷ 3
40 miles per hour
Practice: Find the Unit Rate for each example.
1. Steve drove 120 miles in 3 hours. How far did he drive each hour?
2. Deliah does 184 jumping jacks in 4 minutes. How many jumping
jacks did she do each minute?
3. Sydney read 200 pages in 40 minutes. How many pages did she
read per minute?
4. Lainey bought a set of 30 markers for $6. What is the cost for one?
5. Nikola buys a bouquet of 9 sunflowers for $18. How much does
each sunflower cost?
6. Jen types 168 words in 4 minutes.
7. A plane flew 765 miles in 5 hours.
8. Marc can make 42 birthday cakes in 7 days.
9. Frances can complete 91 oil changes in 7 days.
10. A baker decorates 42 cupcakes in 30 minutes.
Explore: Answers
1. 40 miles per hour
2. 46 jumping jacks per minute
3. 5 pages per minute
4. $0.20 per marker
5. $2 per sunflower
6. 42 words per minute
7. 153 miles per hour
8. 6 birthday cakes per day
9. 13 oil changes per day
10. 1.4 cupcakes per minute
When finding the unit rate, you might have to leave your
answer as a fraction or a decimal if the numbers do not
divide evenly
(ex: 39 miles in 6 hours à 6.5 miles per hour)
If you are dividing two fraction unit rates, remember to
KCF
Practice: Chris buys dog food for his dog that costs $15.75
for 5 pounds. How much does each pound of dog food
cost?
15.75 dollars
à 15.75 ÷ 5 = 3.15 ! $3.15 per pound
5 pounds