Unitary method
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The unitary method is a technique for solving a problem by first finding the value of a single unit, and then finding the necessary value by multiplying the single unit value.
Examples[edit]
For example, to solve the problem: "A man walks 7 miles in 2 hours. How far does he walk in 7 hours?", one would first calculate how far the man walks in 1 hour. One can safely assume that he would walk half the distance in half the time. Therefore, dividing by 2, the man walks 3.5 miles in 1 hour. Multiplying by 7 for 7 hours, the man walks 7×3.5=24.5 miles, or consider the distance traveled by the man be X, then divide it given distance that is 7 (x/7). It is equal to the time taken to travel X distance that is 7 hours divided by the time taken to travel 7 miles, that is 2 hours (7/2), therefore x/7=7/2, hence X=24.5 miles.
The same method can be applied to the problem: "A man walks at 4 miles per hour. How long would it take him to cover 5 miles?". Dividing by 4 shows that the man covers 1 mile in a quarter (0.25) of an hour. Multiplying by 5 shows that the man, therefore, takes 1 hour and a quarter (1.25 hours) to cover 5 miles. Similarly, by the second method, we can find the value of time taken to cover 5 miles directly. The first method is preferable and easier.
Applications[edit]
The unitary method finds its practical application everywhere ranging from problems of speed, distance, time to the problems related to calculating the cost of materials.
1) The method is used for evaluating the price of a good.
2) It is used to find the time taken by a vehicle or a person to cover some distance in an hour.
3)It is used in business to determine profit and loss. etc.
References[edit]
https://byjus.com/maths/unitary-method/#applications