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

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.10.3-5 · Set 14 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What a Rate Actually Measures

Set 14. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.