Percentages: Discounts And Sales
Percentages, discounts and sales is the everyday maths of working out how much money is taken off a price during a sale, and how much you actually pay at the till. A percentage means 'out of 100', so 50% is half and 25% is a quarter. A discount is the part of the price that is taken away — '20% off' means you pay the full price minus that 20%.
This maths matters because sale signs are everywhere: shops, online stores, and food courts all advertise '50% OFF' or '$5 off'. Being able to read them quickly helps a child (and parent) judge whether a deal is genuinely cheaper and avoid overpaying.
The key ideas are simple and build on each other. To find 10% of a price, divide by 10 (move the decimal point one step left); 20% is just double that. The sale price is found in two steps — first work out the saving, then subtract it from the full price. With those tricks, comparing two shops becomes a matter of finding each final price and picking the lower one. This forms part of the Singapore MOE primary maths syllabus on percentages.
▶ Play the lesson — free, no signup
Want to create your own Spark? Sign up free — type any skill and LearnBuddy builds you a playable lesson.
Sign up free to create your own SparkWhat this Spark covers
-
Sale time!🛍️ Percentages, Discounts & Sales Shops love big signs that say 50% OFF! 🎉 By the end, you will work out how much money you save — and how much you pay. SALE $40 ➡️ $20 Same toy. Half the price. Let's find out how! Tap Next to begin →
-
% means out of 100The % sign 🧩 Per cent means “out of 100”. Think of 100 little squares. 50% means 50 of the 100 squares are coloured. 0% Drag the slider. Watch the squares fill up! 🎯 Challenge: can you slide it to show exactly 50% (half)? …
-
Find 10% of a priceEasy trick: 10% 🔟 10% means 1 out of every 10. To find 10% of a price, just divide by 10 (move the dot one step left). 10% of $80 = ? 👉 Tap me: 10% means “1 out of 10”. 👉 So divide $80 by 10… ✅ $80 ÷ 10 = $8. That's 10%! Tap the steps in order to reveal the answer. 🎯 Your turn: What is 10% of $50? …
-
What is a discount?What is a discount? 🏷️ A discount is money taken off the price. “25% off” means you don't pay the full price — you save a part of it. Sale price = full price − discount 🧸 Teddy $20 25% OFF Tap the tag to see the deal 👆 Tap the price tag.
-
Work out the sale priceTwo steps to the sale price 🧮 A $60 scooter 🛴 has 20% off. Let's solve it together, one step at a time. Step 1 — How much do you SAVE? 20% of $60. (Hint: 10% of $60 is $6, so 20% is double.) … Step 2 — How much do you PAY? Full price $60 minus the $12 you saved. …
-
Spot the better dealWhich is the better deal? 🕵️ Same backpack 🎒 in two shops. Lower final price wins! Work out each sale price, then tap the cheaper shop. 🏪 Shop A $40 50% OFF 🏬 Shop B $30 10% OFF … Tip: 50% is half. 10% means divide by 10.
-
You're a sale superstar!🏆You did it! You can now read sale signs like a money-smart shopper. 💪 🧩 % means out of 100 — 50% is half. 🔟 10% of a price = divide by 10. (20% is double that!) 🏷️ A discount is money taken off: save the % first. 🧮 Sale price = full price − discount. 🕵️ Always work out the final price to spot the best deal. 🎯 Next time you see SALE, try working out the new price in your head. You've got this!
Frequently asked questions
- How do I find 10% of a price?
- Divide the price by 10 — that is the same as moving the decimal point one step to the left. For example, 10% of $80 is $8, and 10% of $45 is $4.50.
- What does '20% off' actually mean?
- It means you take 20% of the original price away and pay the rest. On a $60 item, 20% is $12, so the sale price is $60 − $12 = $48.
- What is the difference between the discount and the sale price?
- The discount is the money taken off (how much you save), while the sale price is what you finally pay. Sale price = full price − discount.
- How can my child compare two shop deals?
- Work out the final sale price in each shop separately, then choose the lower one. A bigger percentage off does not always win if the starting prices are different.
- At what age or level do Singapore students learn percentages?
- Percentages, including discounts and simple sales problems, appear in the upper-primary MOE Mathematics syllabus (around Primary 5 and 6), building on earlier work with fractions and decimals.
More Sparks like this
Loved this Spark? Sign up free for AskBuddy AI tutoring, past-year papers, and unlimited Sparks.
Sign up free →