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Overview
Money holds significant importance in our lives. Therefore, having an understanding of money and financial mathematics is crucial. It enables us to acquire the things we require and desire, as well as to save for the future. By comprehending financial mathematics, you gain the ability to make well-informed choices regarding the prudent utilization of your money.
In year 5 maths, you learnt about situations when you need an exact answer to a money problem or an approximation. You learnt about rounding up and down and also about financial planning. In this article on year 6 maths money and financial mathematics, we look at a few examples of how to approach situations related to money in real-world contexts.
Learning Outcome
By the end of this article, you will have a good understanding of how to plan financially in real-life situations.
Quick Review
Analyze the following situations and see if you can tell if an exact answer is needed or if an approximation would work.
Situation 1:
A family is planning a vacation and has allocated a budget of $2,500. If they spent $850 on accommodation, $560 on food, $280 on transportation and $180 on other activities, were they able to stay within the budget?
Analysis:
We don’t need an exact answer in this case. Accommodation costs about $900, food costs about $600, transportation costs about $300, and other activities cost about $200. Notice that we rounded up each of the figures to their nearest 100, and they add up to $2000. The actual sum must be less than that amount. Therefore, they were definitely within their budget!
Situation 2:
A store is offering a discount of 20% on all items. Lisa wants to buy a dress that originally costs $65. How much will Lisa pay for the dress after the discount?
Analysis:
When you are buying something, you don’t want to pay more, and the seller won’t accept less! Therefore, you need to find the exact amount that you should pay.
Financial Planning
Let’s now look at some situations that need financial planning…
Situation 1:
There are 25 students in a class. They want to organize a Christmas party. They plan to buy 6 pizzas at $9.50 each and 4 bottles of drink at $3.75 each. What is a reasonable amount of money each student should bring to cover the cost of the party?
Plan:
The total cost of pizzas = 6 x $9.50 = $57.00
Cost of drinks = 4 x $3.75 = $15.00
Total amount of money needed = $57.00 + $15.00 = $72.00
Exact amount of money each student should bring = $72.00/25 = $2.88
A reasonable amount of money each student should bring = $3.00
Situation 2:
A student is saving money to buy a new laptop. The laptop costs $1,200, and the student has already saved $966. If he wants to have enough money in 13 weeks (about 3 months), how much money should he save every week?
Plan:
The amount the student needs to save in 13 months = $1,200 – $966 = $234
Therefore, the amount that he needs to save every week = $234/13 = $18
Situation 3:
A group of 5 is going on a road trip. They need to fill up their car’s gas tank, which holds 45 litres. The price of one litre of gas is $1.60. In addition, they plan to buy some snacks for the journey, which cost $12.50. How much money should each member of the group bring to cover the cost of gas and snacks?
Plan:
Cost of gas = 45 x $1.60 = $72.00
Cost of gas and snacks = $72.00 + $12.50 = $84.50
The amount each member of the group must bring = $84.50/5 = $16.90
Here’s one for you to try:
A sports team of 12 players wants to buy new uniforms. Each uniform costs $32.50. They also plan to buy new equipment, which costs $55.20. How much money should each player bring to cover the cost of the uniforms and equipment?
Wrap Up
To summarize, having a grasp of money and financial mathematics is vital. It empowers you to make informed choices regarding your expenditure and savings. It is also crucial to develop the skill of determining when to provide precise answers and when to approximate. If you need a better understanding of these topics or any other year 6 maths topic, we are available to assist you!