Final answer:
The student has traveled 3/5 miles in 1/3 of an hour, which equates to a unit rate or average speed of 1.8 miles per hour.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the unit rate of miles per hour, you would divide the number of miles by the number of hours. Given that the student has traveled 3/5 miles in 1/3 of an hour, the calculation would be as follows:
(3/5) miles / (1/3) hours = (3/5) * (3/1) miles/hour = 9/5 miles/hour
The division of the fractions is equivalent to multiplying the first fraction by the reciprocal of the second fraction. The final unit rate is 9/5 miles per hour, which can also be expressed as 1.8 miles per hour. This represents the average speed and is a standard kind of calculation in understanding rates and ratios.
When performing these calculations it's important to ensure that units are correctly cancelled out, and that the final answer is expressed in its simplest form for clarity.