Grade 6 · Rates
Signal converter: Read a unit rate
Signal converter investigation: read a unit rate. Change the quantities, follow the motion, and explain the result using the displayed mathematical relationship.
Predict what will happen, press Play, then pause and explain what changed. Every control also works without playback.
Watch the relationship
PausedHD animation studio
From experiment to screen.
Present a crisp Canvas scene, save a full-HD image, or capture your model as a silent video.
Understand what you are seeing
The idea behind the motion.
A constant rate links an elapsed input to an accumulated output by multiplication. The origin represents zero elapsed time and zero new distance. The rate is the slope, with output units per input unit; it is not the total distance. This investigation begins with rate: distance/time = 4.5; final time = 2. Treat the named setting as a constructed classroom model, then explain which relationships would still hold if its numbers changed.
A relationship to keep
distance = rate × time
Read the symbols alongside the explanation. A diagram shows the relationship; the assumptions tell you when it applies.
- STEP 1
Represent the given quantities
Identify which quantity is measured per one time unit, rather than using the reciprocal rate.
- STEP 2
Follow the changing model
Follow the point along a straight distance-time graph. Equal increments in time produce equal distance increases.
- STEP 3
Check and explain the relationship
Multiply the selected rate by the final time and check that dividing the distance by time recovers the rate.
Your turn to explain
Make a prediction. Test your reasoning.
Signal converter: At a constant rate of 4.5 distance units per time unit, how far is covered in 2 time units?
Use the values specified in the question. Reset restores the initial values for this investigation.
Compare your explanation
9 distance units, from 4.5 × 2.
Work through a full lesson
Connect the animation to a worked example and practice questions.