Definition of

Rate

A comparison of two related quantities.

Often the second quantity is time (per second, per hour, etc) but it can be anything.

Can be in the style "this per that" or as a single number calculated using division.

Example: Sam makes 3 pancakes every 6 minutes, that is a rate of:
• 3 pancakes per 6 minutes
• 0.5 pancakes per minute
• 30 pancakes per hour
• an hourly rate of 30
• etc

Example: 200 sausages were eaten by 50 people. that is:
• 200 sausages per 50 people
• 100 sausages per 25 people
• 4 sausages per person
• etc

Example: Alex invested $100 for a month and made $3
• the interest rate is 3/100 = 3% per month
• etc

When we compare to a single unit quantity we call it a Unit Rate.

See: Unit Rate