Money

Money helps us trade. Each country has its own coins, but the idea is always the same: a number written on the coin tells you how much it is worth.

Cents and dollars

In many countries, there is a small unit (a cent, sometimes shown as ¢) and a bigger one (a dollar, $). One hundred cents make one dollar.

The coins you might see in your country can include:

• 1¢ (penny)
• 5¢ (nickel)
• 10¢ (dime)
• 25¢ (quarter)
• 1$ (dollar coin)

If you live somewhere else, your coins look different — but they still have a number on them, and the same idea works.

Counting money

To find out how much you have, sort coins by their value, then add them up:

1$ + 25¢ + 10¢ + 10¢ = 1 dollar and 45 cents.

Start with the biggest coins, then add the smaller ones.

Paying for something

If a candy bar costs 50¢ and you have 25¢ + 10¢ + 10¢ + 5¢ = 50¢, you can pay exactly. If you have 1$ instead, you give the dollar and get 50¢ back as change.

Try it

If you have a piggy bank at home, dump it out and sort the coins. Count how many of each kind. Pick three coins and add up their values. That is real-life math.

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