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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 8 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.The harbour board borrows for a new light. What must it plan?
  • A.Charging nothing
  • B.Never repaying
  • C.Dues high enough to repay the loan and its interest
2.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
3.Why is a loan to a failing weaver charged more than one to a mill?
  • A.Mills are larger
  • B.Weavers are disliked
  • C.He is less likely to repay, so the lender charges for the risk
4.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
5.A mill borrows 5,000 pounds and repays 5,300. What is the 300?
  • A.A fine
  • B.A tax
  • C.Interest: the price of borrowing the 5,000
6.Rates rise from 3 to 7 in the hundred. What happens to new mills?
  • A.Nothing changes
  • B.More are built
  • C.Fewer are built, because borrowing to build costs more
7.Why does a lender charge anything at all?
  • A.The money could have been earning elsewhere while it was lent
  • B.Because coins wear
  • C.To discourage borrowing
8.What does an interest rate measure?
  • A.How rich the lender is
  • B.How long the loan lasts
  • C.The cost of borrowing as a share of what was borrowed

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.10.3-5 · Set 8 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What a Rate Actually Measures

Set 8. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.