Rate
Find the amount for one unit, then use that rate on a graph, in a tariff table and to recover a missing quantity.
Your child learns that a rate is an amount for each one of something, such as dollars per bottle or litres per minute. Your child finds the rate by dividing, then multiplies it to find a total or divides by it to find how many units. The same idea is then read off line graphs of taps filling a tank and off parking charges tables. Read the study guide →
About this chapter
Primary 5 rate questions treat rate as the amount of one quantity per unit of another, then find the rate, the total amount or the number of units from the other two. The chapter applies the same idea to taps filling a tank, line graphs, and charges tables for parking and postage.
Practise by question type: p5 rate word problems, p5 rate per unit questions, p5 rate graph and tap questions and p5 parking charges questions.
The order to learn them
What is the amount for each one?
8.1 to 8.3
Name the unit after per, find the amount for one, and use that rate to find the missing quantity.
When the rate changes partway through
8.4
Read each row of the charges table, then count every whole or part block charged at that rate.
The number tells you where a question type sits in this chapter, not what your child needs to learn first. A child who has already met a type in school can practise it without working through the ones above it.
How the end-of-year papers set these questions
Rate appears in every 2025 Primary 5 end-of-year paper.
Questions ask for one of three quantities: the rate, the total amount or the number of units. The other two are given, sometimes in different measurement units.
Direct questions find the amount for one before scaling.
The written method first finds the amount for one named unit. It then multiplies to find a total or divides to find how many units there are.
The harder questions use graphs and charges tables.
A graph may show the rate changing when a second tap opens. A charges table may use one price for the first block and another price for every later block or part of one.
Everything here is modelled against top school papers. Those papers are never reproduced, and every question on this site is original.
How to set out the working clearly
These examples show Mathweave's clear, consistent layout for each method. The layout is informed by the answer keys we reviewed.
- Name what one unit is before calculating A rate is incomplete without its unit. Write whether the amount is for each item, minute, second, gram or other unit named by the question.
- Write the amount for one on its own line Divide the total by the number of units to find the rate. Use that result on the following line to scale up or down.
- Decide which of the three quantities is missing Rate times number of units gives the total amount. Total amount divided by rate gives the number of units. Write the relation that answers the question.
- Split a tiered charge at the point where the rate changes Write the first charge separately. Count the later blocks, including a final part block when the table says it is charged in full, then add the charges.
Questions parents ask
Is this in the Primary 5 syllabus?
Yes. The question types follow the Rate outcomes in the latest MOE Primary Mathematics syllabus.
Which practice is available now?
All four question types have original practice.
Are the questions from past papers?
We write the questions ourselves rather than copy them from papers. Each chapter is modelled on the types of question that top school papers set. A question may look like one your child has met before because it is the same type.
What does the practice add over the films?
Practice uses different numbers for each question type, shows the working after every attempt and records which types your child can complete independently.
Primary 5 rate questions by question type
Primary 5 Rate Study Guide
Share a total into equal units to find the rate, then scale it up, read it off a tank graph and use it in a charges table. Four tap-through steps, worked examples and a five-question check.
Start herePer unitTotal or unitsGraphsTiered chargesOpen the study guide →