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Money word problems ask a child to connect prices, payments and amounts left. First identify what each amount means. The cost is what the purchase requires; the payment is what the buyer gives; the change is the difference returned when the payment is larger than the cost.
This Primary 2 Mathematics guide uses original small-value examples and counts in cents where helpful. Keep all amounts in the same unit before calculating. Use drawings or play money to show the relationship, then write an answer that names the amount and what it represents.
Chua Chu Kang Primary's 2026 P2 assessment plan includes money and word problems. MOE's Mathematics syllabus updated October 2025 is the national reference; its direct download presented a verification screen. The examples below are imaginary practice prices, not current shop prices, official questions or a national assessment schedule.
One dollar equals 100 cents. A payment of $2 therefore represents 200 cents. An amount of $1 and 20 cents represents 120 cents and can be written $1.20.
Make the unit visible. Two dollars plus 20 cents is not 22 dollars or 22 cents. A useful beginner method is to convert both amounts to cents before adding or subtracting, following the teacher's current method.
Three 10-cent coins have a total value of 30 cents. One 50-cent coin has a greater value even though it is only one coin. Count the value printed on each coin, not just the number of objects.
Use a drawing labelled with each coin's value if play money is unavailable. Keep the numbers clear and add the values once each. Real money is unnecessary for this lesson.
In an imaginary shop, a pencil costs 40 cents and an eraser costs 30 cents. Buying one of each costs 40 + 30 = 70 cents. The two amounts describe parts of the total cost.
Now compare a different question: “The pencil costs 40 cents and the eraser costs 30 cents. How much more does the pencil cost?” That asks for a difference, so 40 − 30 = 10 cents. The same prices can answer different questions.
A bookmark costs 60 cents. Lina pays $1, or 100 cents. Change = payment − cost = 100 − 60 = 40 cents. Check that 60 cents paid towards the cost plus 40 cents returned equals the original 100 cents.
Do not add the payment and the cost to find change. They are not two purchases. The cost is the part kept by the seller, while the change is the part of the payment returned to the buyer.
An imaginary notebook costs $1.20. Ravi pays $2. Convert to cents: cost 120 cents, payment 200 cents. Change = 200 − 120 = 80 cents.
The answer can be recorded as 80 cents or $0.80. Avoid writing $80: that means eighty dollars, not eighty cents. If decimal notation is unfamiliar, write the amount in cents until the notation is understood.
A card costs 70 cents and a sticker sheet costs 50 cents. Mei buys both and pays $2. First find the cost: 70 + 50 = 120 cents. Then find the change: 200 − 120 = 80 cents.
Name the intermediate amount. The 120 cents is the combined cost, not the final change. Explain the two questions in order: “How much do both items cost?” and “How much of the payment is returned?”
- What is the value of two 20-cent coins and one 10-cent coin?
- A pen costs 50 cents and a card costs 30 cents. Find their total cost.
- A child pays $1 for an item costing 70 cents. Find the change.
- Two items cost 90 cents and 60 cents. A child pays $2. Find the total cost and change.
Answers: 1. 50 cents. 2. 80 cents. 3. 30 cents. 4. Total cost 150 cents, or $1.50; change 50 cents. Check the last answer: 150 + 50 = 200 cents.
If calculations are accurate but the operation is wrong, label price, total cost, payment and change before trying again. If units are mixed, convert the amounts into cents. If the story is unclear, act it out with labelled play money.
For language support, use the existing P2 money and financial-literacy vocabulary guide. Understanding cost and change helps the child explain why the calculation answers the question.