Question

What is the unitary method and when its use?

Answer 1

The unitary method is a technique which is used for solving a problem by finding the value of a single unit, i.e., 1, (by dividing) and then finding the necessary value by multiplication the single unit value. In essence, the unitary method is used to find the value of a unit from the value of a multiple (by dividing), and thence the value of a multiple (by multiplying).[1]

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 7x3.5=24.5 miles.