Handouts for Multiplication and Unit Rate Word Problems

Here are excerpts from two handouts I use to help students understand how to write multiplication and rate word problems as math expressions. The image, below at top, shows a problem from the first handout I present. The students draw a single group represented by the rate expression (for elementary school word problems the term rate is not used). The image at the bottom is the same problem with scaffolding to write the multiplication problem. I find that students working on rates and slope in middle school, high school, and even in college struggle with this topic. I use this approach as part of a review of prerequisite skills before getting into rate and slope.

Comparison Shopping – Real Life Example

Saw the following price tags, shown in the two photos, at an office supply store. $4 for 4 batteries or $9 for 8 batteries. To compare we can double the smaller pack to see that 2 packs would cost $8 for 8 batteries for a better deal.

Another method is to use unit rates. Rates are a measure of one quantity, with units, per 1 unit of another quantity, e.g. you make $10 per hour. To compute

$4/4 batteries = $1/1 battery  vs $9/8 batteries = $1.13/1 battery

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Below is an example of instruction for unit rates to help a student conceptually understand (pretend that gas price shown on this pump is $2 per gallon). Say you pumped 3 gallons and it cost $6. Show the 3 1-gallon gas cans together and the 6 $1 bills together. Separate them to you have equal groups to get $ per 1 gallon. You can use actual gas cans (unused) or cutouts from Google Images.

gas price rate

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