wunder beta💷 Adding Money and Making Change
No calculator needed! Learn how British money really works — that 100 pence make a pound — then total up a shopping basket one step at a time, turn a big pile of pence into neat pounds and pence, and
What you’ll learn
- Pounds and PenceKnow that British money is pounds and pence, how each is written, and that 100 pence make £1.Pence (p, written after the number) are small amounts; pounds (£, written before the number) are larger. 100 pence equal 1 pound, which is why money behaves like ones, tens, and hundreds.
- Adding Up a Shopping ListAdd a short list of prices in pence by adding one item at a time to a running total.To total a basket, add the prices step by step (30p, then +80p = 110p, then +60p = 170p) rather than all at once. A running total keeps the adding easy and reduces mistakes.
- Turning Pence Into PoundsConvert a total in pence to pounds-and-pence by trading each 100 pence for £1.Because 100 pence make £1, a total like 170p becomes £1 and 70p, written £1.70. In a written price the pounds sit before the dot and the pence after it.
- What Is Change?Understand change as the extra money handed back when you pay more than the price.When you pay with more than something costs, the shopkeeper returns the difference as change. Finding change means finding how much extra you handed over.
- The Counting-Up TrickWork out change by counting up from the price to the amount paid in easy hops.Rather than subtracting, count up: from £3.70 hop 30p to £4.00, then £1 to £5.00, and add the hops to get £1.30 change. Counting up turns a take-away into easy addition.
- Change From £10Apply counting-up to find change from £10 for a two-decimal total.For a £6.45 total paid with £10, hop 5p to £6.50, 50p to £7.00, and £3 to £10.00; the hops add to £3.55 change. The same counting-up method scales to larger amounts.
- Does Your Answer Make Sense?Estimate a total by rounding prices, and use the estimate to check the exact answer is sensible.Rounding each price to an easy number gives a quick estimate (90p+80p+30p is about £2). Comparing the exact answer to the estimate catches big mistakes.
Questions this course answers
How many pence are worth the same as one pound?
100 pence make £1. That is why money counts in ones, tens, and hundreds, just like the numbers you already know.
Which of these is written correctly?
The £ sign goes in front of the number (£5), and the p goes after the number (5p).
You add an apple (30p) and bread (80p). What is the total so far?
30p + 80p = 110p. Adding one price at a time keeps a running total that is easy to follow.
How do you write 170 pence as pounds and pence?
170p has one whole 100 (which is £1) and 70 left over, so it is £1.70 — pounds before the dot, pence after it.
A toy costs £3.70 and you pay with £5. The money you get back is called…
Change is the extra money the shopkeeper hands back when you pay with more than something costs.
Counting up from £3.70: you hop 30p to £4.00, then £1 to £5.00. What is your change?
Add the hops: 30p + £1 = £1.30. Counting up in friendly steps turns change into easy addition.
Grounded in trusted sources
- UK national curriculum, Key Stage 1 and 2 mathematics (money, addition, estimation)
- The Royal Mint, British coins and denominations
Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.
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