Comparing rates

The  exercise appears under the 6th grade (U.S.) Math Mission. This exercise uses description of real-life scenarios to assist understanding of rates.

Types of Problems
There are two types of problems in this exercise:


 * 1) Put the rates in increasing order: This problem provides a set of rates given in a chart or other form. The student is expected to find the unit rates for each scenario and use the manipulative to put the rates in increasing order.Comrat1.png
 * 2) Select the rate the that is requested: This problem provides a collection of various rate. The student is expected to find the unit rates in each scenario and select the one that the problem is specifically asking for.Comrat2.png

Strategies
Knowledge of division, ratios and rates are encouraged to ensure success on this exercise.
 * 1) The name of the units, for example "miles per hour," can help to determine which value should be divided by which other to get the correct rate.
 * 2) Research indicates that the order will always be increasing on the order problem.
 * 3) One way to complete the problem is to divide each ratio as a fraction to get it's decimal representation. The decimals can often be compared more quickly.

Real-life Applications

 * 1) Rates and ratios are prevalent in much of the sciences, such as stoichiometry.
 * 2) Several of the problems in this exercise can be viewed as real-life applications.
 * 3) Comparing unit rates is useful for anyone that has to shop to buy food items for their household.