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Money

FoundationChallengeAQAEdexcelOCR

Master money for GCSE Maths with structured, exam-style practice. This Foundation resource covers solving money problems and includes a complete mark scheme showing the steps examiners reward. Suitable for AQA, Edexcel and OCR. Free to download as a PDF. Work in the same units throughout — convert pounds to pence or vice versa first.

Free downloads

These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA, Edexcel and OCR specifications. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

WorksheetFoundation · PDFMark SchemeFoundation · PDF

Challenge / Extension

Stretch yourself beyond the basics.

WorksheetChallenge · PDFMark SchemeChallenge · PDF

Topic overview

Money calculations are decimal calculations with two decimal places, since pounds divide into a hundred pence. Answers should always be given to the nearest penny.

The most common presentation error is writing \(£4.5\) instead of \(£4.50\). Both are the same value, but money is conventionally written with two decimal places, and marks are lost for the wrong form.

Watch the units too. Mixing pounds and pence in one calculation gives an answer that is out by a factor of a hundred, so convert everything to one unit before starting. Working in pounds is usually simplest.

Revision notes

Writing money correctly

Give money to two decimal places with the pound sign, so \(£4.50\) rather than \(£4.5\) and \(£12.00\) rather than \(£12\).

Amounts under a pound may be written either way, as \(£0.65\) or \(65\)p, but never mix the two, so \(£0.65\)p is wrong.

Converting between pounds and pence

There are \(100\) pence in a pound. Divide pence by \(100\) for pounds, multiply pounds by \(100\) for pence.

So \(340\)p is \(£3.40\), and \(£7.05\) is \(705\)p. Convert everything to one unit before calculating.

Change and totals

Add the items, then subtract from the amount paid to find the change.

For items costing \(£3.45\) and \(£2.80\) paid with \(£10\): the total is \(£6.25\), so the change is \(10.00 - 6.25 = £3.75\). Writing \(10\) as \(10.00\) keeps the columns aligned.

Key points

  • Money is written to two decimal places.
  • There are 100 pence in a pound.
  • Never mix the pound sign and the p symbol.
  • Convert to one unit before calculating.
  • Write whole pounds as, for example, £12.00.
  • Change equals amount paid minus the total.

Worked examples

Example 1

Write \(485\)p in pounds.

Working

\[485 \div 100\]divide pence by 100 to get pounds
\[= £4.85\]write to two decimal places

Example 2

Items cost \(£5.60\) and \(£3.75\). Find the total.

Working

\[5.60 + 3.75\]align the decimal points
\[= £9.35\]add and give to two decimal places

Example 3

A book costs \(£6.49\) and is paid for with \(£20\). Find the change.

Working

\[20.00 - 6.49\]write £20 as 20.00 so the columns align
\[= £13.51\]subtract to find the change

Common mistakes

  • Writing £4.5 instead of £4.50.

    Money conventionally uses two decimal places, and the shorter form loses presentation marks.

  • Mixing pounds and pence in one calculation.

    Adding £3 and 40p as 3 + 40 gives 43. Convert first: £3.00 + £0.40 = £3.40.

  • Writing £0.65p.

    Use either £0.65 or 65p, never both symbols together.

  • Forgetting to write £20 as 20.00 when subtracting.

    The columns misalign and the answer comes out wrong.

Exam tips

  • Always give money answers to two decimal places with the pound sign.
  • Convert everything to pounds before calculating.
  • Write whole amounts with .00 when subtracting.
  • Check the answer is sensible for the context.

Key terms

Pence
The smaller unit of UK currency, with 100 to the pound.
Change
The money returned after paying more than the total.
Total
The sum of all the individual amounts.
Decimal place
A digit position after the decimal point.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA, Edexcel and OCR specifications. Spotted an error? Let us know.