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What a Rate Actually Measures is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on what an interest rate is, aligned to Common Core standard D2.Eco.10.3-5. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 12 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

What a Rate Actually Measures

D2.Eco.10.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.What does an interest rate measure?
  • A.How long the loan lasts
  • B.The cost of borrowing as a share of what was borrowed
  • C.How rich the lender is
2.Why is a loan to a failing weaver charged more than one to a mill?
  • A.He is less likely to repay, so the lender charges for the risk
  • B.Weavers are disliked
  • C.Mills are larger
3.A family borrows the four pound fare at high interest. What is the risk?
  • A.The ship sinks
  • B.If no work is found abroad, the debt and its interest remain
  • C.Fares fall
4.The relief fund is kept in a savings bank and grows. What is the growth?
  • A.A gift
  • B.Interest paid to the union for lending the bank its money
  • C.A subscription
5.Rates rise from 3 to 7 in the hundred. What happens to new mills?
  • A.More are built
  • B.Nothing changes
  • C.Fewer are built, because borrowing to build costs more
6.The harbour board borrows for a new light. What must it plan?
  • A.Dues high enough to repay the loan and its interest
  • B.Never repaying
  • C.Charging nothing
7.Why does a lender charge anything at all?
  • A.Because coins wear
  • B.To discourage borrowing
  • C.The money could have been earning elsewhere while it was lent
8.A mill borrows 5,000 pounds and repays 5,300. What is the 300?
  • A.A fine
  • B.Interest: the price of borrowing the 5,000
  • C.A tax

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.10.3-5 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What a Rate Actually Measures

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The cost of borrowing as a share of what was borrowed
  2. 2.He is less likely to repay, so the lender charges for the risk
  3. 3.If no work is found abroad, the debt and its interest remain
  4. 4.Interest paid to the union for lending the bank its money
  5. 5.Fewer are built, because borrowing to build costs more
  6. 6.Dues high enough to repay the loan and its interest
  7. 7.The money could have been earning elsewhere while it was lent
  8. 8.Interest: the price of borrowing the 5,000

More practice for D2.Eco.10.3-5

Explain what an interest rate is.

Teaching this next? What a Rate Actually Measures is the 50-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 to Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.10.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.