Chapter 17 Percentages

Key terms Prior knowledge assumptions

• absolute change • Students can calculate percentage increases
• percentage change and decreases.
• multiplier
• compound percentage

Chapter overview
Section Links Objectives covered Thinking and working
mathematically activities

17.0 Getting started Student’s Book p. 192 Grains on a chessboard

problem – exploring
compound percentage
growth.

17.1 Compound Student’s Book 9Nf.05 Understand Finding the percentage

percentages pp. 192–195 compound percentages. decrease that reverses
Workbook pp. 119–121 a percentage increase.

Consolidation Student’s Book

exercise pp. 195–196

End of chapter Student’s Book p. 196

reflection

Topic review End of chapter

Ideas for lesson starters

Starting point check: Percentage change dominoes
When to use: Section 17.0 or 17.1
Purpose: To consolidate previous learning about calculating percentage changes
Organisation: Students work individually or in pairs
Resources: Each student or pair of students needs a copy of Photocopiable resource 17A, cut into
individual dominoes.
Task: Give students the instructions below.
• Match each question with the correct answer. This should make one complete loop of dominoes.
Adaptation: Students can use the dominoes to play a game in pairs. Give students the instructions below.
• At the start, each player has half of the dominoes.
• The first player puts down any domino, face up.
• After that, each player places a matching domino at either end of the line. If they cannot, they miss a
turn.
• The game ends when one player has no dominoes left.

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Chapter 17 Percentages

Mental maths
When to use: Section 17.0 or 17.1
Purpose: To consolidate previous learning about calculating percentages of quantities, and percentage
change
Task: Read out questions from one of these sets.
Set A Set B

1. Find 25% of 36 m. 1. Find 15% of 75 m.

2. Find 150% of 80 kg. 2. Find 225% of 80 kg.

3. Increase $60 by 20%. 3. Increase $350 by 4%.

4. Decrease 400 g by 10%. 4. Decrease 50 g by 12%.

5. Increase 22 ml by 300%. 5. Increase 56 ml by 250%.

6. Decrease 50 cm by 4%. 6. Decrease 150 cm by 6%.

Adaptation: The questions could be put on the board instead of being read out.

Section 17.0: Getting started Student’s Book p. 192

When to use: Section 17.0 or 17.1

Purpose: To introduce the idea of repeated percentage change and show that it can have a powerful
effect
Organisation: Students work individually or in pairs
Use in the classroom:
• Allow about 10 minutes for this activity.
• Afterwards, discuss ideas and answers with the class.
Extension:
• Can you write an expression for quickly calculating the total number of grains of wheat on the board?
• The mass of a grain of wheat is about 0.07 g. Find the total mass of wheat the king should give.
• The total amount of wheat grown in the world in one year is currently about 700 million tonnes.
1 tonne = 1000 kg. Compare this with the mass of wheat the king should give.
(Answers: Total number of grains = 2 − 1. Total mass of wheat ≈ 10 kg, or 10 tonnes, or
10 million tonnes. This is over 1000 times the mass of wheat currently grown in the world in one year.)
Assessing thinking and working mathematically:
Students use generalising (TWM.02) and conjecturing (TWM.03) when they look for a pattern in the
calculations.

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Section 17.1: Compound percentages Student’s Book pp. 192–195

Misconceptions Probing questions

• Thinking that if you increase a quantity by
% and then decrease the result by %,
you get the original quantity. The thinking
and working mathematically activity will
help students to overcome this
misconception.
• Thinking that compound growth is the
same as simple growth (for example,
increasing $100 by $50 repeatedly is the
same as increasing by 50% repeatedly).
• In compound percentage growth, the
amount added gets larger each time. In
compound percentage reduction, the
amount subtracted gets smaller each
time. Explain why.
• In compound percentage growth, the
quantity is multiplied by the same number
in each time interval. But some quantities
grow by adding the same number in each
time interval. Find examples of this.

Support
• Use examples with simple integer results
to introduce compound percentage
growth. For example, in the Getting
started activity the number of wheat
grains on the chess board squares is 1, 2,
4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and so on. Ask students
to describe the characteristics of this
growth, and discuss real-life examples of
quantities that grow in this way.
• Show an animation or video clip of
bacteria dividing by doubling.
Extension
• Explore the effect of compound
percentages graphically. On paper, or
using an online graph plotting program,
plot a graph of = × . Experiment
with different values of the starting value
and the multiplier . is the number of
time intervals and is the value of the
quantity at different times.
• In real life, do quantities increase once
per hour/day/year, or do they increase
smoothly over time? Discuss examples.

Thinking and working mathematically activity page 195

When to use: As a main activity within the main lesson or in a follow-up lesson
Purpose: To help students avoid this common misconception: that if you increase a quantity by % and
then decrease the result by %, the result is the original quantity.
Organisation: Students work individually
Use in the classroom:
• Allow 20–30 minutes for this activity.
• Mark students’ written work, or give students marking guidelines and ask them to mark each other’s
work.
(Answers: A 25% increase can be reversed by a 20% decrease.
50% decrease; 75% decrease; 80% decrease; 25% increase; 900% increase.)
Extension: What percentage change reverses: an % increase; an % decrease?

Beware: This is particularly challenging. Students may find it helpful to use a spreadsheet program to
make a table of percentage increase and decrease pairs, and look for a relationship.

(Answers: ÷ (1 + )%, ÷ (1 − )%)

Assessing thinking and working mathematically:
Students use conjecturing (TWM.03) and characterising (TWM.05) when they interpret the diagram and
look for percentage changes that reverse the changes given. If students do the extension activity, they use
generalising (TWM.02) and conjecturing (TWM.03).

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Chapter 17 Percentages

Extra thinking and working mathematically activity: Calculating

compound percentages
When to use: Near the beginning of the lesson, before students do Exercise 1 from the Student’s Book.
Organisation: Students work individually.
Resources: A copy of Photocopiable resource 17B for each student (optional).
Task: Give students the instructions below.
• A quantity has a starting value of 512, and grows by 50% each day. Fill in the empty cells of the table,
showing the growth of the quantity.
• To find the value of the quantity after 50 days, which of the three methods in the table is most efficient?
Explain your choice.
• Write a formula for calculating the value of the quantity after days.

Calculation to find amount each day (written in three ways)

Multiply original
Multiply
value by 1.5 Value of
Day previous Multiply original value by 1.5 repeatedly
repeatedly, written quantity
value by 1.5
using a power
0 512
1 512 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 768
2 768 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 × 1.5 =
3
4
5
6
7

Tip: The ‘day’ value in the table represents the amount of time that has passed. For example, day ‘1’
means that one day has passed since the quantity was measured as 512.

(Answers:
Calculation to find amount each day (written in three ways)
Multiply original
Multiply
value by 1.5 Value of
Day previous Multiply original value by 1.5 repeatedly
repeatedly, written quantity
value by 1.5
using a power
0 512
1 512 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 768
2 768 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 1152
3 1152 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 1728
4 1728 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 2592
5 2592 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 3888
6 3888 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 5832
7 5832 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 8748

The method using powers would be quickest for working out the value of the quantity after 50 days.
To calculate the value of the quantity after days, use the formula 512 × 1.5 .)

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 Chapter 17 Percentages

Assessing thinking and working mathematically:

Students use generalising (TWM.02) when they look for patterns in the calculations and write a general
formula. They use critiquing (TWM.07) when they consider which of the three methods is most efficient.

Technology idea: Compound percentages with a spreadsheet

Purpose: To learn how to use a spreadsheet to calculate repeated percentage change
When to use: Before students try the Tech question in Exercise 1 of the Student’s Book
Organisation: Students work individually or in pairs
Resources: Each student needs access to a spreadsheet program
Task: Give students the text below.
• A 12-week-old human foetus (unborn baby) has a mass of 28 g.
• For the next 10 weeks, the mass of the foetus increases by 30% per week.
• Use a spreadsheet to predict the mass of the foetus each week until it is 22 weeks old.
Support: If students need help, give some or all of the instructions below.
• In one column, enter the numbers 0 to 10 (representing the number of weeks after week 12).
• In the next column, type ‘28’ next to the number 0.
• In the cell below that, type a calculation that increases 28 by 30%.
• Select that cell and copy the calculation downwards.
Extension: Use the spreadsheet program to plot a graph of the mass of the foetus (on the -axis) against
time (on the -axis).

Consolidation exercise Student’s Book pp. 195–196

The Consolidation exercise on pages 195–196 of the Student’s Book provides additional questions linked
to the content of this chapter. These questions could be used in class or for homework.

Topic review End of chapter

You may also wish to use the Chapter 17 Topic review (on the next page) to provide formative
assessment of the topic. This resource could be used in class or for homework. Alternatively, it could be
used as a more formal test.

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Chapter 17 Percentages

Chapter 17 Percentages: Topic review

1) The number of students in a school club is 32.

The number increases by 25%.
Later, the number decreases by 25%.
Draw a ring around the number of students now in the club.

24 30 32 40 50 [1]

2) Draw a line to match each statement with the correct calculation.

The population of a village is 150.

The population decreases by 15% each year. 150 × 1.15
Find the population after 5 years.

The mass of a tree is 150 kg.

The mass increases by 5% each year. 150 × 0.95
Find the mass of the tree after 15 years.

The value of an antique is $150.

The value increases by 15% every 5 years. 150 × 1.05
Find the value after 25 years.

The cost of a new type of mobile phone is $150.

The cost decreases by 5% each month. 150 × 0.85
Find the cost after 15 months.
[2]

3) The population of bats in a colony is 850.

The population increases by 5% each year.

Find the population after 10 years. Write your answer to the nearest hundred.

……………… [2]

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 Chapter 17 Percentages

4) Maurice buys a painting for $800.

The value decreases by 7%.
Its value then increases by 20%.

Maurice says his painting is now worth over $900.

Is he correct? Yes No

Show how you worked out your answer.

[2]

5) The value of a new car is $15 000. Each year, its value decreases by 18%.

a) Find the value of the car after 7 years. Write your answer to the nearest $100.

……………… [2]

b) After how many years does the value first fall below $10 000?

……………… [1]

6) A quantity increases by the same percentage every month.

Below are three statements about this quantity.
Write whether each is true or false.

Each month, the absolute change is greater than the absolute

………….
change in previous months.

The quantity increases by the same amount each month. ………….

Each month, the quantity is multiplied by the same number. ………….

[1]

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Chapter 17 Percentages

Chapter 17 Percentages: Topic review mark scheme

Question Answer Mark Part marks

1 30 1

2 2 Award 1 mark for two or three

correct answers.

3 1380 2 Award 1 mark for 1384.5(…) or

1385 or 1384 seen
OR
Award 1 mark for 850 × 1.05

4 No AND correct working. For example: 2 Sight of 892.8 is sufficient

• 800 × 0.93 × 1.2 = ($)892.80 working.
• After 7% decrease the painting is worth ($)744 Award 1 mark for sight of 744
and after 20% increase it is worth ($)892.80 OR
• 0.93 × 1.2 = 1.116. This is less than a 12.5% Award 1 mark for sight of 0.93
increase and 1.2.

5(a) $3700 2 Award 1 mark for 3739(.28…)

or 3740 seen
OR
Award 1 mark for
15 000 × 0.82

5(b) 3 years 1

6 TWM True 1 All correct for 1 mark

False
True

TOTAL = 11 marks

Suggested formative assessment guidelines

A mark of less than 4 The student is working towards an understanding of the objectives.

A mark of between 4 and 5 The student shows a basic understanding of the objectives.

A mark of between 6 and 8 The student shows a good understanding of the objectives.

A mark of 9 or more The student has an excellent understanding of the objectives and can
apply their understanding to solve problems.

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 Chapter 17 Percentages

Photocopiable resource 17A: Compound percentage calculations

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 © HarperCollinsPublishers 2021
A quantity has a starting value of 512, and it grows by 50% each day. Fill in the empty cells of the table,

Calculation to find value of quantity at each step (written in three ways)

Photocopiable resource 17B: Compound percentage calculations

Multiply previous Multiply original value by 1.5 Value of

Day Multiply original value by 1.5 repeatedly
value by 1.5 repeatedly, using a power quantity
512
0
512 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 512 × 1.5 = 768
1
768 × 165 = 512 × 1.5 × 1.5 =
2
3
4
which shows the growth of a quantity.

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Chapter 17 Percentages

6
7

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