Teaching Unit Rate and Use Rate Language

Teaching Unit Rate and Use Rate Language
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Lesson Objective

The lesson is aligned to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics – 6.RP.2 Ratios and Proportional Relationships – Understand the concept of a unit rate a/b associated with a ratio a:b with b not equal to 0, and use rate language in the context of a ratio relationship.

Materials Required

  • Calculator

Lesson Procedure

Using numbers, symbols and language to describe the relationship of the ratio between two quantities.

Example

Oliver paid $56 for 7 pizzas.

Unit rate: The cost of one pizza was $8.

Ratio relationship: Oliver paid $6 for 7 pizzas, which was a rate of $8 per pizza.

1. Brandon paid $24 for 8 drinks. What was the unit rate? Write a description of the ratio relationship.

2. Alison made lemonade. She used 2 cups of sugar and the juice from 6 lemons. Write a description of the ratio relationship.

3. Dylan wants to make cookies. The recipe says Dylan should use 3 cups of flour and 12 ounces of chocolate chips. Write a description of the ratio relationship.

4. Noah paid $16 for 4 hamburgers. What was the unit rate? Write a description of the ratio relationship.

Answers

1. The unit rate was $3 for one drink. Brandon paid $24 for 8 drinks, which was a rate of $3 per drink.

2. Alison used 2 cups of sugar and the juice from 6 lemons, so she used 1/3 cup of sugar for each lemon.

3. The recipe has a ratio of 3 cups of flour to 12 ounces of chocolate chips, so there is 1 cup of flour to 4 ounces of chocolate chips.

4. The unit rate was $4 for one hamburger. Noah paid $16 for 4 hamburgers, which was a rate of $4 per hamburger.

Individual or Group Work

Find the unit rate.

  1. A 16-ounce package of sausage costs $5.60. What is the cost of one ounce?
  2. A dozen (12) eggs cost $2.64. What is the cost of one egg?
  3. An 8-ounce package of cheese costs $2.96. What is the cost of one ounce?
  4. Four ears of corn costs $1. What is the cost of one ear of corn?
  5. A 6-ounce can of almonds costs $3. What is the cost of one ounce of almonds?

Use rate language to describe the ratio relationship between the two quantities.

1. Josh paid $28 for 4 tickets to the county fair.

_2. E_mily paid $6 for 12 tickets for rides at the county fair.

3. Jack bought 4 medium lemonades for $18.

4. Oliver paid $6 for 4 bags of popcorn.

Answers

  1. The cost of one ounce of sausage is $0.35.
  2. The cost of one egg is $0.22.
  3. The cost of one ounce of cheese is $0.37.
  4. The cost of one ear of corn is $0.25.
  5. The cost of one ounce of almonds is $0.50.
  6. Josh paid $28 for 4 tickets to the county fair, so $7 was the cost of one ticket to the county fair.
  7. Emily paid $6 for 12 tickets for rides at the county fair, so $0.50 was the cost of one ticket.
  8. Jack bought 4 medium lemonade drinks and paid $18, so 1 lemonade drink cost $4.50.
  9. Oliver bought 4 bags of popcorn and paid $6, so 1 bag of popcorn cost $1.50.

This post is part of the series: Ratios, Rates and Percentages

This series of lesson plans provides you with classroom teaching tool ideas as well as group or individual work example problems and answers you can use to help your students comprehend ratios, rates and percentages. The lessons align to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.

  1. Using the Language of Ratio
  2. Using the Language of Rate
  3. Using Ratio and Rate
  4. Solving Unit Rate Problems
  5. Solving Problems Using Percent
  6. Converting Measurement Units