Final answer:
Ali divided a pounds of candy among 4 people to find the unit rate of a/4 pounds per person. The process used is referred to as MPD, short for multiply and divide.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ali split a pounds of candy among 4 people. To find the unit rate in pounds per person, you would divide the total amount of candy a, by the number of people, which is 4. The unit rate is therefore a/4 pounds per person.
The process used to solve this type of problem is often represented by the acronym MPD, which stands for multiply and divide. This refers to the steps taken when converting units within the same system, such as pounds to ounces or vice versa. In this instance, since we are finding a unit rate, we are dividing the total amount by the number of units (people).