What is a unit rate?

A unit rate in math is the expression of a rate in a quantity of one. For example, 60 miles per hour represents a commonly used unit rate. Similarly, 30 students per school bus also represents a unit rate.

When rates are expressed as a quantity of 1, such as 2 feet per second or 5 miles per hour, they are called unit rates. If you have a multiple-unit rate such as 120 students for every 3 buses, and want to find the single-unit rate, write a ratio equal to the multiple-unit rate with 1 as the second term.