Recognise the relationships between dollars and cents and represent money values in different ways

One dollar equals 100 cents. The same money value can be represented with different combinations of coins and notes.

Learning routine: Read dollars and cents → Convert → Compose amount → Compare representations → Check

Success looks like

• Use $1 = 100c
• Convert dollars and cents
• Represent values
• Add money
• Compare amounts

Success criteria:

• Use $1 = 100c
• Convert dollars and cents
• Represent values
• Add money
• Compare amounts

Key idea: One dollar equals 100 cents. The same money value can be represented with different combinations of coins and notes.

Learning routine: Read dollars and cents → Convert → Compose amount → Compare representations → Check

dollar

a money unit equal to 100 cents

cent

one hundredth of a dollar

equivalent value

a different representation of the same amount

The content description and elaborations below show the curriculum ideas taught in this unit. Items marked as teaching context support lesson planning.

• Content description: recognise the relationships between dollars and cents and represent money values in different ways
• E1: investigating the relationship between dollars and cents, using physical or virtual materials to make different combinations of the same amount of money
• E2: representing money amounts in different ways using knowledge of part-part-whole relationships; for example, knowing that \$1 is equal to 100 cents; representing \$1.85 as \$1 + 50c + 20c + 10c + 5c or 50c + 50c + 50c + 10c + 10c + 10c + 5c; when calculating change from buying an item for \$1.30 from \$2, starting from \$1.30 add 20c and 50c which gives \$2
• E3: representing money values in multiple ways when role-playing money transactions; for example, using play money to represent the coins and dollars you could use to pay for items

Australian, Victorian and NSW alignment retained from the previous page

What is the big idea in this topic?

One dollar equals 100 cents. The same money value can be represented with different combinations of coins and notes.

What routine should I use?

Read dollars and cents → Convert → Compose amount → Compare representations → Check

How do I know I am ready to move on?

You can use $1 = 100c, convert dollars and cents, represent values, add money, compare amounts and explain how your model or calculation supports the answer.

• Treating 50c as $50 — Cents are parts of one dollar.
• Missing zero in $4.05 — $4.05 means 4 dollars and 5 cents.
• Only one representation — Many combinations can have the same value.

1. Explain why $4.05 is not the same as $4.50.

2. A student says 50c is more than $2 because 50 is greater than 2. Explain the unit relationship.

Review hint: Follow the routine “Read dollars and cents → Convert → Compose amount → Compare representations → Check” and use the worked model to check whether your answer is reasonable.

One dollar equals 100 cents. The same money value can be represented with different combinations of coins and notes.

Learning routine: Read dollars and cents → Convert → Compose amount → Compare representations → Check

Success looks like

• Use $1 = 100c
• Convert dollars and cents
• Represent values
• Add money
• Compare amounts

Success criteria:

• Use $1 = 100c
• Convert dollars and cents
• Represent values
• Add money
• Compare amounts

• Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 — ACARA
• Victorian Curriculum — VCAA
• NSW Curriculum — NESA

Official curriculum sites are the source of record.

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