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Approximately 874 people per day wonder what a unit rate is. If you're one of them, check out our video on unit rates and how to use them. (We just made up that 874 number, but it’s no surprise; we make up 22 numbers per minute here at Shmoop.)

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Transcript

00:07

Unit Rate, a la Shmoop. Have you ever wondered how to compare two

00:10

entirely different categories of terms, such as warthogs and distance?

00:17

Here is where a "rate" comes in handy. It's important to use rates for good, not

00:28

evil: an important message to all future mechanics out there.

00:38

In math, a rate is a comparison, or ratio, between two terms that are measured in different

00:43

units. If you were to come across 60 warthogs over

00:46

a two mile stretch... ...We'd suggest you get the heck outta dodge.

00:49

Those things are vicious. In mathematical terms, this incidence of warthogs

00:58

can be expressed as a rate of 60 warthogs for two miles.

01:01

However, a "unit rate" reduces one of the terms to a single unit. It's like "magic"...

01:14

or to use a highly technical term: "math." So we have a unit rate of 30 warthogs per

01:22

mile. You might be thinking, <<DS nerdy voice>>

01:25

"Fine. Now I know what a unit rate is, but when will I ever need to compare warthogs

01:31

to miles?" Touché. But what about candy bars per dollar?

01:34

If a candy bar is $1.50, how many candy bars would you get for your dollar?

01:38

All right, we gave you a tricky one. The answer is two-thirds of a candy bar. And when is

01:46

that ever enough? Unit rates are used all the time in our everyday

01:52

lives... ...such as miles per hour for driving, dollars

01:55

and cents per pound when buying food, and points per game in basketball.

02:00

Without unit rates, the world would be a vastly more complicated place.

02:04

We wouldn't know how many miles per gallon our vehicles receive.

02:10

Or how many calories per meal we should eat to meet our nutritional goals. Assuming we

02:15

have any. Even many professional writers, including

02:20

freelance journalists, are paid by the word. Unit rates are all around us, and they help

02:28

keep the world from descending into chaos. Let's hear it for Unit Rates - keeping the

02:35

world from falling into disorder. We thank you, on behalf of neat freaks everywhere.

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