A rate compares two different things: kilometres with hours, or coins with notebooks. Year 6 children link speed, distance and time, and use the cost of one item to compare prices.
What your child will learn
- Find a distance from a speed and a time
- Find a speed from a distance and a time
- Find how long a journey takes
- Work out the cost of one item, and then of several
One formula, three questions
Speed tells you how far something goes in one hour. So distance = speed × time: 60 km per hour for 3 hours is 180 km. Turn it round to find the other two: speed = distance ÷ time, and time = distance ÷ speed.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. 9 badges cost 72 coins. How much does 1 badge cost, in coins?
- 8
- 9
- 63
- 72
Show answer
Answer: 8. Share the cost equally: 72 ÷ 9 = 8 coins each.
2. 9 badges cost 90 coins. How much does 1 badge cost, in coins?
Show answer
Answer: 10. Share the cost equally: 90 ÷ 9 = 10 coins each.
3. 5 notebooks cost 30 coins. How much does 1 notebook cost, in coins?
Show answer
Answer: 6. Share the cost equally: 30 ÷ 5 = 6 coins each.
Tips for grown-ups
- On a car journey, use the distance and the time taken to work out the average speed.
- Compare two pack sizes in a shop by finding the cost of one.
- Time a walk and work out how far you would go in an hour.