What is the difference between a rate and a unit rate?

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What is the difference between a rate and a unit rate?

A rate is something like 50 miles per hour. Here it expresses the speed of a car -every hour the car moves 50 miles.

A unit rate, also known as unitary rate is used to change units.

It is called a unit rate for 2 reasons: 1. we are multiplying by "1" and, 2. the expression contains units.

The unitary rate for km/miles is 1.0 km/ 0.62 miles = 1. See, the numerator is 1.0 km; the denominator is 0.62 miles. They represent the same distance and so if we divide them we get a logical value of 1. So if we multiply 50 miles/hour by this we don't actually change the answer because we are multiplying by 1 and we all know that multiplying by 1 does not change the answer.

However the units get cancelled.

Here it is

(50 miles / hour ) * (1km/0.62miles) = (50/0.62) (km*mile/hours*miles)

= 80.7 km/hr

What is the difference between a rate and a unit rate?

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