Maths and money
Term 2 starting in week 5 :: Estimated time: 2 weeks
- Solve problems with bills and bank statements
- Calculate simple interest
- Calculate compound interest
- Solve problems with Value Added Tax
- Calculate wages and taxes
- Solve problems with exchange rates
- Solve unit pricing problems
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Activities for pupils
Here are some related resources in alphabetical order. Some may only be appropriate for high-attaining learners while others will be useful for those in need of support. Click anywhere in the grey area to access the resource.
The Invention of Money An excerpt from the animated film American Dream
Currency Conversion Test your ability to convert from one currency to another with this self marking quiz.
Percentage Change Video When you have mastered working out percentages you can then apply that skill to calculating percentage increase, decrease and reverse percentages.
Percentage Change Test your understanding of using percentages with this self marking quiz about percentage change.
Thai Restaurant Calculate the restaurant bills for each of the tables in the Thai Restaurant.
Money Maths Test your skills and understanding with this online exercise about Money Maths and Personal Finance.
Percentage Switch Practise percentage increase and decrease calculations by completing this table.
Interest Practise using the formulas for simple interest and compound interest.
Simple vs Compound Interest This video portrays a visual of how to explain the difference between simple interest and compound interest in a very practical way.
Flowchart Bills Calculate bill totals by following the instructions given in the form of a flow chart.
Interest Video Learn about simple interest, compound interest, appreciation and depreciation. This video is to help you do the online, self-marking exercise.
Unit Pricing Calculate the unit cost of items to earn jigsaw pieces that make a joke.
4.3 Billion Dollars Short Futurama clip: Fry's reaction to becoming a billionaire!
Mathopoly A game of buying and selling property with maths questions thrown in for good measure.
Compound Interest Calculator A customised online calculator for quickly finding the solutions to compound interest problems.
Overdraft Charges Do you understand how your bank charges you for taking out an overdraft? Try this self marking quiz.
Iteration Find approximate solutions to equations numerically using iteration.
Two-Step Percentages An exercise in which each problem requires two percentage calculations to find the solution.
Click on a topic below for suggested lesson Starters, resources and activities from Transum.
- Money For many pupils the ability to understand financial transactions is a skill they thank their mathematics teacher for. Understanding the use of money is a real, practical application of mathematics in the real world and is just as important today as ever it was. When it comes to managing our money and avoiding costly mistakes it is well worthwhile to strive to become an expert. There are key aspects of personal finance the pupils should understand as the get older and more independent in their lives and the activities provided here provide resources for a small part of their learning process.
- Percentages Percentages provide a useful and common way to express a part of a quantity. The word is derived from the Latin per centum meaning “by the hundred”. Although percentages are usually used to express numbers between zero and one, any ratio can be expressed as a percentage. Pupils begin working with common percentages such as 50%, 25% and 10% and practise estimating percentages to get a better understanding of the concept. They then learn how to convert percentages to decimals and vulgar fractions and vice versa. More advanced problem solving may include percentage change and how it is applied in real life to discounts and interest. A study of the use of percentages in the media can provide many discussion points and can provide a stimulus for classroom display work.
- Sequences A pattern of numbers following a rule is called a sequence. There are many different types of sequence and this topic introduces pupils to some of them. The most basic sequences of numbers is formed by adding a constant to a term to get the next term of the sequence. This rule can be expressed as a linear equation and the terms of the sequence when plotted as a series of coordinates forms a straight line. More complex sequences are investigated where the rule is not a linear function. Other well-known sequences includes the Fibonacci sequence where the rule for obtaining the next term depends on the previous two terms. Sequences can be derived from shapes and patterns. A growing patterns of squares or triangles formed from toothpicks is often used to show linear sequences in a very practical way. Diagrams representing sequences provides interesting display material for the classroom. Typically pupils are challenged to find the next term of a given sequence but a deeper understanding is needed to find intermediate terms, 100th term or the nth term of a sequence.
Lesson Starters
Here are some suggestions for whole-class, projectable resources which can be used at the beginnings of each lesson in this block.
1st Lesson
Missing Pound
A puzzle about a restaurant bill. Exactly where did the missing pound go?
2nd Lesson
Shopping List
A quick quiz about five items on a shopping list written 40 years ago.
3rd Lesson
Sid's Schemes
Work out which is the best scheme for Sid to choose for his summer bonus. One scheme involves a common misconception about percentages.
4th Lesson
Thai Baht
How many different ways can you make a given total with Thai coins?
5th Lesson
Stencils
Which of the coloured stencils will fit over the numbered card to produce correct calculations?
6th Lesson
Refreshing Revision
It is called Refreshing Revision because every time you refresh the page you get different revision questions.
Some of the Starters above are to reinforce concepts learnt, others are to introduce new ideas while others are on unrelated topics designed for retrieval practice or and opportunity to develop problem-solving skills.
