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Support Pack | Grade 10

CAPS

Mathematical
Literacy
Basic skills
Unit 1: Numbers and calculations
with numbers

This revision pack for Mathematical Literacy Grade 10 provides

valuable support and opportunity to revise basic skills, to help
learners with exam preparation. These basic skills are required to
work out problems in other sections of the Curriculum.
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Brighter Thinking | Better Learning

i
Basic skills – Unit 1: Numbers and
calculations with numbers

The focus in this section is on basic calculation and computing skills. These
skills are also used throughout the rest of the book.
This section covers:
• number formats and conventions • ratio
• rounding off • proportion
• negative numbers • rates.
• percentages

Number formats and conventions

The section on negative numbers includes fractions, decimal numbers and
percentages in everyday situations. It is useful to use a scientific calculator.
Remember to keep its instruction booklet so that you can refer to it when you
are not sure about a specific calculation or procedure.

Rounding off decimal numbers

• Everyday situations involve using whole numbers, such as 5,27 and 100, as
well as fractions and decimal numbers. For example, we use decimal values
such as 1,2 m to record someone’s height.
• We also know how and when to round off numbers that we use in everyday
life. For example, when baking a cake, it is not practical to measure
249,89 ml of cake flour. We round up the measurement to 250 ml so that we
can measure the amount easily using a measuring cup.
• Sets of measuring spoons include spoons to measure 1 ml, 2,5 ml, 5 ml,
12,5 ml, 25 ml, 50 ml, 100 ml and 250 ml. We round off measures of
ingredients to suit these measures. For example, if the quantity of baking
powder in a recipe is 5,25 ml, it is rounded off to 5 ml, which is practical
to measure.
• When working with money, we round off to two decimal places. It is not
practical to give an interest amount as R15,3742, so this is rounded off to
R15,37. Instead of pricing a block of cheese as R25,467, its price can be
rounded off to R25,47.
We can round off to any specified number of decimal places.

Rounding off to one decimal place

Always look at the digit in the second decimal place. If this digit is 5 or greater
than 5, increase the first decimal digit by 1. If the second decimal digit is less
than 5, do not change the first digit.
Examples: Round off 3,256 to 3,3.
Round off 3,246 to 3,2.

1
Rounding off to two decimal places
Look at the digit in the third decimal place. If this digit is 5 or greater than 5,
increase the second decimal digit by 1. If the third decimal digit is less than 5,
do not change the second digit.
Examples: Round off 3,1256 to 3,13.
Round off 3,1246 to 3,12.

Worked examples
1. You can make 10 pancakes using the following recipe. Increase the
quantities so that you would be able to make 25 pancakes.

Pancakes
250 ml cake flour 1 ml salt 125 ml water
5 ml baking 1 egg 6 ml vinegar
powder 125 ml milk 12,5 ml oil

2. A remote rural settlement receives a drum that contains 600 ℓ of water for
the 36 people in the settlement to share. If the water is shared equally, how
many litres will each person receive?

3. Boipelo invited 13 friends to her birthday party. Her mother bought

six large pizzas and cut each one into eight equal slices. How many slices of
pizza are there for each person at the party?

Solutions
1. Use a calculator and multiply each quantity by 2,5.
flour: 250 ml × 2,5 = 625 ml
baking powder: 5 ml × 2,5 = 12,5 ml
salt: 1 ml × 2,5 = 2,5 m
eggs: 1 egg × 2,5 = 2,5 eggs ≈ 3 eggs (Round off.)
milk: 125 ml × 2 = 312,5 ml ≈ 315 ml (Round off.)
vinegar: 6 ml × 2,5 = 15 ml
water: 12,5 ml × 2,5 = 312,5 m ≈ 315 ml (Round off.)
oil: 12,5 ml × 2,5 = 31,25 ml ≈ 30 ml (Round off.)
Round off in a logical and practical way.

2
2. 600 ÷ 36 = 16,666… Round off to 16 ℓ per person as there is likely to be
spillage when the water is distributed.
16 × 36 ℓ = 576 ℓ
An amount of 4 ℓ has been allowed for spillage.

3. There are 14 people at the party: Boipelo + 13 friends. Using calculations

only, your answer will be:
6 × 8 = 48 ÷ 14 = 3 remainder 6
Reasoning logically, if each pizza is cut into eight slices (6 × 8 = 48 slices),
you can give 12 girls each three slices (12 × 3 = 36). There will be two slices
left in each pizza (6 × 2 = 12 slices). You can give the other two girls each
three slices and six pizza slices will be left over.
You can divide the six remaining pieces in half and give 12 of the 14 girls
each an extra half slice. Both methods give the same answer (three slices of
pizza each), but using logic gives a more accurate idea of how much would
be left over and how it could be shared among the girls.

Negative numbers
• We use negative numbers in everyday life. The most common example is
indicating degrees of coldness. The colder it is, the lower the temperature
will be. Water freezes at 0 °C at sea level. Temperatures colder than 0 °C are
indicated as minus temperatures.
• We also use negative numbers in the business world:
• A bank balance is positive if there is money in the account. However, if
a person overdraws the account (withdraws more money than there is in
the account), the balance will be negative.
• Be careful when you read statements of account sent to customers.
We sometimes use a negative sign to indicate that a value has been paid
and that it must be deducted from the balance. On other statements, a
negative sign shows an amount that has not been paid yet.
• Most businesses use the terms debit and credit to avoid confusion. Debit
(Dr.) on a statement shows an amount that is still outstanding (must be
paid) and credit (Cr.) shows an amount that has been paid.

Worked examples
1. In colder countries, a daytime temperature of 1 °C can drop by six
degrees during the night. What will the temperature be after such a
drop in temperature?

2. Study the statement of account and answer the questions.

Account summary
Mr B Khumalo
PO Box 554369
Wishbone
Statement as at: 30 January 2018 0070
Account number: 00 699 4231
Mini Hi-Fi and speakers R 5 600,99 Dr.
Internet 2014-01-15 R 200,00 Cr.

Interest late payment (4,5%) R 252,04 Dr.

Balance outstanding R 5 653,03 Dr.
Next repayment date: 1 February 2018

3
 a) To whom is the statement addressed?
b) What did this person buy?
c) Has the person paid part of the amount owing yet? If so, when was
such a payment made and how much was paid?
d) How much money is still owed to R&B Radio and Sound?
e) How much would the amount have been if the account was paid
on time?
f) What advice would you give people about buying items on hire
purchase (HP)?

3. The statement below shows the college fees of a student who studies
full time.

Ms G Barnes (3819388)
PO BOX 449922
RIVER WALK
4489

Detailed statement of tuition, residence and sundry fees for the first semester.
Date: 2014-11-25 Course: Web Design
Registration number: 3819388 Student name: G Barnes
DATE TYPE DEBIT CREDIT
20140123 Registration 350,00 –350,00
20140412 Tuition 3 550,00
20140530 Tuition adjustment –440,00
20140625 Computer usage 1 500,00
20140629 BANK deposit –2 500,00
20140729 Payment –500,00
20140829 BANK deposit –1 000,00
20140928 BANK deposit –1 000,00
TOTAL 5 400,00 –390,00

Last date of payment: 2014-10-30

Examination results will not be released if account is outstanding.

a) What is the total amount due to Creative College?

b) What is the total amount that Ms Barnes has paid to Creative College?
c) Does the statement show that Ms Barnes owes money to
Creative College?

Solutions
1. 1 °C − 6 °C = −5 °C

2. a) Mr B Khumalo
b) a mini hi-fi set with speakers
c) On 15 January 2018, R200 was paid using internet banking.
d) Amount due to R&B Radio and Sound: R5 653,03
e) R5 600,99 − R200,00 = R5 400,99
f) Pay cash for items rather than buying on HP as an item will cost much
more when interest has been added.

3. a) R5 400,00
b) R5 350,00
c) No, she has a credit balance of R390,00 due to the adjustment in
tuition fees. (On 30 May the college gave her a credit of R440.)

4
Practice questions (1)
1. If Joe’s bank account balance is R225,00 and he draws R355,50, what
will his balance be? If he deposits R1 460,00 into his account, what is his
new balance?

2. Arabang received 57 out of 75 for a Science test.

a) What fraction of answers did she get correct?
b) What percentage did she get for the test?
Remember: Percentage means a value out of 100.
69
Example: ​​ ___
100 ​​ = 69%
12,5
Example of percentage calculation: ​​ ____
35 ​​× 100 = 35,7%

3. When each set of three numbers is arranged in descending order, which

number will be second (between the other two numbers)?
a) 7,234; 7,259; 7,22
b) 8,7239; 8,7241; 8,724
c) 0,423; 0,4203; 0,4236

4. For Science, Nomvula needs to pour 50 ml of a solution into six test tubes.
She put 7,5 ml into the first test tube, and then shared the rest of the liquid
equally between the other test tubes. How much solution did she put into
each of the five test tubes?

5. Six boys took part in an angling (fishing) competition. The table gives the
results of the mass of the fish they caught. The boy who caught the fish
with the highest mass won the competition.

Competitor Mass (kg)

Shaun 1,170
Brian 0,310
Mpho 0,360
Prenovin 1,020
David 0,870
Lee 0,940

a) Who won the angling competition?

b) Who came last in the angling competition?
c) What was the average mass of all the fish? (Round off the answer to
three decimal places.)

6. There are 206 bones in the human body. The table shows how many
bones there are in each part of the body. Round off your answers to two
decimal places.

Head Back Chest Both arms Both legs

29 26 25 64 62

a) What fraction of the total number of bones is in the head?

b) What percentage of the total number of bones is in the back?

5
 c) What percentage of the total number of bones is in the chest?
d) What percentage of the bones is in the legs and arms together?

7. a) A certain type of fruit juice comes in 750 ml bottles. If a standard glass

holds 185 ml, how many glasses will you be able to serve from one
bottle of juice?
b) The juice also comes in 1,5 ℓ bottles. How many glasses of juice will you
be able to serve from one 1,5 ℓ bottle?
c) Adrienne is planning her 21st birthday party. She has invited 40 people
to her party and she decides to buy enough juice so that there will be
two glasses of juice for each guest. How many 750 ml bottles of juice
must she buy for her party?

8. Read the advertisement carefully and answer the questions.

1 200 FREE SMSs

Yoko Yoko
2010
for only

R89,00 a month
for first 12 months.
Thereafter normal
rates apply.

FREE
Sim card

FREE
connection

120 FREE off-peak minutes

CALL CHARGES
Normal monthly charge R135,00
Standard time to Telecom 5c per second
Mobilecom to Mobilecom 3,6c per second
200 Mobilecom to another cell 5c per second
Cell to cell off-peak 1,8c per second
FREE SMSs National off-peak 1,8c per second
each month for Caller line identity R17,50 per month
6 months Itemised billing R8,50 per month

Sales are subject to purchasing a 24-month Mobilecom

airtime contract.

a) Explain how the offer for 1 200 free SMSs was calculated.
b) This offer seems very attractive and reasonable at only R89,00 per
month! Is this true or is there a catch? Explain in detail.
c) Calculate the total charges someone would have to pay every month
(excluding calls but including itemised billing and caller line identity).
d) Calculate the charges for the 13th month for someone who makes calls
to Telecom numbers (not off-peak) for 25 minutes and off-peak calls to
Telecom numbers for 35 minutes.

9. Mashudu went into a lift. He got out on the eleventh floor, but realised that
it was the wrong floor. He then went down four floors, but he was still on
the wrong floor and so he went up three floors again. At which floor was
he then?

6
10. The temperature in Sutherland at noon was 14 °C. By midnight (12 hours
later), it had dropped by 16 °C.
a) What was the temperature at midnight?
b) By 4.00 a.m. the next morning, the temperature had dropped another
2 °C. What was the temperature at 4.00 a.m.?

Percentages
• Per cent means per hundred.
• A percentage is a way of expressing a value out of 100; for example,
15
15% means ​ ​___
100 ​​or 0,15.

Using a calculator for calculations with percentages

Three calculations you can do on a calculator when working with percentages
are explained below. Later in this section, calculations to increase and decrease
amounts by certain percentages are shown.

Convert a percentage to a decimal number

To convert a percentage into a decimal number, divide the number by 100.

Example Key sequence Answer

58% 0,58

Convert a fraction into a percentage

26
For example, convert a result of ​__
​  45 ​​for a Mathematical Literacy test into a
percentage. Round off the percentage to one decimal place.

Example Key sequence Answer

26
​​ __
45 ​​ 57,777…% ≈ 57,8
Or,

Calculate the percentage of an amount

If 28% of the 35 learners in a class did not hand in their assignments, how
many learners did not hand in their assignments?

Example Key sequence Answer

28
​​ ___
100 ​​ × 35 9,8 ≈ 10
We round off to 10
because a fraction
of a learner does
not make sense.

Worked example
Peter wants to calculate his term mark for Mathematical Literacy. His teacher
told him the average of the following marks would be used to calculate his
term marks:
17 26 19
Class test: __ Term test: __ Assignment: __ Project: __
41
​​  35 ​​ ​​  40 ​​ ​​  25 ​​ ​​  60 ​​

1. Calculate Peter’s term mark. Round off to the nearest percentage.

7
 86
2. In the second term, Peter got ​​ ___
150 ​​for his Mathematical Literacy
72
examination. His average mark for tests and assignments was ___ ​​ 120 ​​ in the
second term. Examinations count 75% towards the term mark and the rest
of the marks count 25%. Calculate Peter’s second term mark. Round off to
the nearest percentage.

Solutions
17 19
1. ​​ __
35 ​​ = 48,5% ​​ __
25 ​​ = 76%
26
​​ __ ​​ __
41
40 ​​ = 65% 60 ​​ = 68,3%

48,5 + 65 + 76 + 68,5
​​ ______________
   4 ​​= 64,45 ≈ 64%

86
2. 75% of ​​ ___
150 ​​ = 0,43
72
25% of ​​ ___
120 ​​ = 0,15
0,43 + 0,15 = 0,58
0,58 × 100 = 58%

Practice questions (2)

1. Study the pie chart. Calculate how many litres of water are used daily for
toilets and laundry in the average middle-income household.
Drips & leaks 0,5% Other uses 1%
Dishwasher 4,5% Kitchen 3%

Baths 9%

Laundry 17%

Showers 20% Toilets 9% Average household water usage

(100% = 500 ℓ per day)

Pool 11%
Garden 25%

2. According to a local municipality’s annual budget for one year,

R6 218 billion of the total budget of R12 805 billion would be spent on
education. What percentage of the total budget is this? Round off your
answer to two decimal places.

3. A travel agency offers cheaper holidays for students.

Cheap flights to Bangkok

Rates for students from R5 700 Rates for everyone from R7 120
Ex Johannesburg: R5 700 Ex Johannesburg: R7 120
Ex Durban: R6 310 Ex Durban: R7 620
Ex Cape Town: R6 495 Ex Cape Town: R8 020

Both packages include flights, transfer to hotel, four nights

accommodation with breakfast, and tour of city and temples.

8
 a) How much cheaper is a four-night trip to Bangkok for a student flying
from Johannesburg, compared to the cost for a non-student?
b) Calculate the percentage savings for this trip for a student.
c) Will a student who departs from Johannesburg and a student who
departs from Cape Town pay the same amount for the trip to Bangkok?
Give reasons for your answer.

4. In one episode of the popular television series, Fear Factor, each contestant
had to eat two sheep eyes, six live mopani worms, four live bugs and one
live earthworm. The winner was the contestant who could eat all or most
of the items or animals.
Sandy ate one sheep eye, five mopani worms and one bug. Evelyn ate two
sheep eyes and six mopani worms.
a) What percentage of the total number of items did Sandy and Evelyn
each eat? Give your answer to one decimal place.
b) Who won the contest – Sandy or Evelyn?

5. Aphiwe and Lindani have been married for three years. They would like to
buy their first house. They saw an advertisement in a newspaper and went
to view the house. The couple made an offer of R1 700 000 for the house.
The owner, Mr Singh, accepted their offer. Aphiwe and Lindani realise that
in addition to the R1 700 000 they had to pay for the house, they would
have other expenses:
• When someone buys a house, they have to pay transfer duty to the
government.

Value of property (R) Rate of transfer duty

      0–900 000 0%
900 001–1 250 000 3% of value above R900 000
1 250 001–1 750 000 R10 500 + 6% of value above R 1 250 000
1 750 001–2 250 000 R40 500 + 8% of value above R 1 750 000
2 250 001–10 000 000 R80 500 +11% of value above R2 250 000
10 000 001 and above R933 000 + 13% of value above R10 000 000

• Bond costs vary depending on the bank or institution that grants a loan.
• Legal fees vary depending on attorney’s fees.
• An amount for provisional water and electricity is usually included with
legal fees.
a) Calculate the transfer duty the couple would have to pay.
b) What would their legal fees be if the attorney charged them 1,1% of the
value of the property?
c) Lindani and Aphiwe pay a deposit of 10% on the house. They have to
apply for a loan for the balance. Calculate the amount for which they
have to apply as a loan from the bank.
d) The bank charges 1% bond costs on the value of a loan. Calculate the
bond costs.
e) Calculate the total amount for the expenses the couple would have
when buying the house.
f) Do you think the couple would have further expenses when they move
into their house? Explain.

9
Percentage increase and decrease
Percentage increases are used to calculate increases in salaries and in the prices
of goods. We also use percentage increases to calculate the amount to be added
to a price for VAT (value-added tax).
We use percentage decreases to calculate discounts and the prices of items that
are reduced by certain percentages.
It is easy to use the percentage key on a calculator to calculate a percentage
increase or a percentage decrease.

Increase an amount by a certain percentage

Vusi’s pocket money of R140 was increased by 15%, what was the amount
after the increase?

Example Key sequence Answer

An increase of 15% means R161
finding 115% of R140.
(100% + 15% = 115%)
___ 115
​​  100 ​​ × 140

Decrease an amount by a certain percentage

A shop reduced the prices of jackets by 65% for a sale. What was the sale price
of a jacket that cost R399 before the price reduction?

Example Key sequence Answer

A decrease of 65% means R139,65
finding 35% of R399.
(100% − 65% = 35%)
___ 35
​​  100 ​​ × 399

Worked examples
1. The price of a bicycle is R12 000 excluding VAT.
a) Explain in your own words what VAT is.
b) Calculate the price of the bicycle including VAT of 15%.

Ideal for town and country roads

as well as off-road cycling.
R12 000 VAT-exclusive
Visit us and ride away today!
Zoom Cycles
357 South Coast Road
Durban

2. When paying for a chocolate bar, the cashier charged Lerato more than the
price on the shelf. The shelf price was R23,95 and she was charged R27,55.
Suggest a reason why Lerato was charged more than the price on the shelf.
(Hint: Think about whether the shelf price included VAT.)

10
3. A pool cleaner is advertised for R1 299 including VAT.
a) What does it mean if a price includes VAT?
b) How much VAT would Mr Vanga pay if he bought the pool cleaner?

4. A baseball cap has been marked down by 25%. If the original price of the
cap was R95,50, how much would you pay at the discounted price?

5. A jewellery store gave a discount of 20% on all their watches.

a) How much discount would a customer get on a watch that was marked
at R899,95?
b) Calculate the sale price of the watch.

Solutions
1. a) VAT is value-added tax. In South Africa 15% VAT is charged on
most products that are sold in South Africa. Certain basic foods such
as brown bread, milk, maize meal, vegetables and fruit are exempt
from VAT.
15
b) 15% of R12 000 = ​​___
100 ​​× 12 000 = 1 800
VAT: R1 800
Price of bicycle including VAT: R1 800 + R12 000 = R13 800

2. The shelf price did not include VAT.

15% of 23,95
___ 15
​​ 100 ​​× 23,95 = 3,5925 ≈ 3,60
R3,60 + R23,95 = R27,55

3. a) When a price includes VAT, VAT has been added to the price on
an article.
1 299 × 100
b) _______
​​ 115 ​​= 1 129,57
Subtract 1 129,57 from 1 299: 1 299,00 − 1 129,57 = 169,43
VAT: R169,43

4. 100% − 25% = 75%

So, 75% of R95,50 = ?
Key in:
The baseball cap will now cost R71,63

20
5. a) 20% of 899,95 = ___
​​ 100 ​​× 899,95 = 179,99
Discount on the watch: R179,99
b) Sale price: R899,95 − R179,99 = R719,96
or, 80% of R899,95 = R719,96

Formulae for calculating percentage increases and decreases

discount amount
• Percentage discount on the regular price = ___________
  
​​  regular price ​​ × 100
• Discounted price = retail price × (1 − discount percentage)
• Retail price = cost price × (1 + mark-up percentage)

11
Practice questions (3)
1. Justin went shopping for his family. The prices on the items in the picture
are VAT-exclusive. Calculate how much Justin would have to pay if he
bought all the items except for the gift cards.

Special sale!

man’s shirt
R199 4-person picnic backpack
woman’s sandals
R199 R299

gift cards hat

R25 R80

2. The prices on the shopping list are VAT-inclusive. Calculate how much
VAT someone would pay on all the items on the shopping list.

1 loaf white bread R13,85

500 g butter R24,99
1,5 ℓ orange juice R24,99
1 ℓ milk R13,95
125 g bar soap R5,99

3. A pair of jeans cost R399,99, inclusive of VAT. Calculate the price of the
jeans before VAT was added.

4. Study the two cash slips.

Cash slip A Cash slip B

a) Has VAT been included on cash slip A? Explain.
b) What does “rounding” mean on cash slip A? Explain.
c) Why was VAT not included for any items on cash slip B?
d) How much extra would someone have had to pay if VAT were included
for the items on cash slip B?

12
5. a) Explain what the woman’s message in the first frame in the
cartoon means.
So you got a 3%
increase … I only But 2% of your pay
got 2%. is more than 3% of
our pay.

Don’t confuse
me now.

b) The man’s salary is R300 000 p.a. (per annum or per year), and the
woman’s salary is R132 000 p.a. Use this information to explain what
the cartoon says.

6. A trip to Los Angeles, USA, will cost a member of the Wanderers Travel
Club R11 840 per person sharing. What would the trip cost a non-member
per person sharing?

JOIN THE WANDERERS

TRAVEL CLUB NOW!
Membership only R100 per year
Get 5% off all
Wanderers Travel Club
special offers

7. Kgomotso’s present salary is R5 000,00 per month. Her employer promised

her an increase of 1,5%. What will Kgomotso’s salary be after the increase?

8. A glass vase marked R266,59 has been marked down on a sale by 35%.
What is the sale price for the vase?

9. The Wimbledon Tennis Championships take place during July every year.
In 2006 the prize money was increased by 4%, making the prize money for
the men’s champion £655 000 and £625 000 for the women’s champion.
How much was the prize money in 2005 in pounds?

10. Mr Moodley bought a stationery shop near a university. He had special

offers during the first week of term.
a) The usual price of a pen was R30,59 and the sale price is R22,50.
Calculate the discount on a pen.
b) Calculate the discounted selling price of a clutch pencil marked R35,99
that was selling at a discount of 30%.
c) Calculate the discount as a percentage of the selling price if the usual
price of a geometry set was R45,90, and a discount of R12,50 was
offered. Round off your answer to the nearest percentage.

13
 d) Mr Moodley bought 30 cm rulers at a cost price of 70c per ruler.
He sold the rulers at R1,85 each.
i) What was the mark-up in rand?
ii) What was the mark-up percentage? Give your answer correct to one
decimal place.
e) Mr Moodley bought pencil cases at a cost price of R12,50 each. What
was the retail price (selling price) if he sold them at a mark-up of 56%?

11. Read the headline below. Tractor prices range between R127 000 and
R2,2 million. Calculate the price of a tractor that costs R127 000 after an
increase of 40%.

Simple and compound interest

• Simple interest is calculated on an original amount that is invested or
borrowed (principal) every year.
• Compound interest is calculated on the original amount in the first year.
Thereafter, it is calculated on the original amount added to the previous
year’s interest. In other words, interest is calculated on interest.
The table gives two formulae for calculating simple interest and two formulae
for calculating compound interest.

Simple interest (SI) Compound interest (CI)

A = P (1 + in), where: A = P (1 + i)n, where:
A represents total amount of money at end of A represents the total amount of money at end of
investment period investment period
P represents initial amount originally borrowed P represents the initial amount originally borrowed
i represents interest rate per annum as a percentage i represents the interest rate per annum as a percentage
n represents number of years. n represents the number of years.
SI = P × i × n, where: CI = A − P, where:
P represents the principle amount A represents the accumulated amount (amount received
i represents the interest rate per annum at the end of investment)
n represents the number of years. P represents the principal (amount invested).

Worked examples
1. Maria borrows R1 799,00 from her father to buy a digital camera. They
agree that she will pay the money back over 12 months at 1,5% simple
interest. Calculate the following.
a) the total amount Maria will have to pay back
b) the interest she will pay on the loan
c) Maria’s monthly payments for twelve months

2. Matthew invests R3 800,00 in the bank for a period of four years at 2,75%
compound interest.
a) How much would Matthew’s investment be worth after four years?
c) How much interest did Matthew earn on his investment?

14
Solutions
1. a) You can use either of the two methods shown below.
Calculation to find the accumulated amount:
1,5
A = P (1 + i × n) = R1 799,00(1 + ​​ ___
100 ​​× 1) = R1 825,99
Calculation to determine the interest:
1,5
SI = P × i × n = R1 799,00 × ___
​​ 100 ​​× 1 = R26,99
Interest + original amount: R26,99 + R1 799,00 = R1 825,99
1,5
b) Simple interest (SI) = P × i × n = R1 799,00 × ___
​​ 100 ​​× R1 = 26,99
or, R1 825,99 − R1 799,00 = R26,99
c) Monthly payments: 1 825,99 ÷ 12 months = R152,17
Maria’s monthly payment (for twelve months): R152,17

2. a) A = P(1 + i)n = 3 800​​​(1 + ​ _

100 ​)​​​  ​​= 3 800(1,0275) = 4 235,56
2,75 4 4

Matthew’s investment after four years: R4 235,56

b) Matthew’s interest after four years:
CI = A − P
R4 235,56 − R3 800,00 = R435,56

Practice questions (4)

1. Sam would like to take a two-year photography course after completing
school. The cost of the course is R15 000,00. The bank approved a loan of
R15 000,00 in his father’s name at a rate of 9,25% simple interest, payable
over a period of 36 months.
a) Calculate the actual cost of the course after 36 months if simple interest
is calculated at 9,25% p.a.
b) Calculate the monthly instalments on the loan.
c) Sam is responsible for 30% of the monthly instalments. How much will
he have to pay each month, and how much will his father pay?
d) The government announced an increase of 0,5% in interest rates
12 months after the bank approved the loan. How would this affect
Sam’s father’s instalments and Sam’s monthly instalments?

2. a) Calculate how much money Lerato would have if she invested

R1 500 for a period of six years at an interest rate of 6,58%,
compounded annually.
b) How much interest would she earn in the six years?

3. How much money would Ayesha need to invest at 7,35% compound

interest p.a., compounded annually if she wanted to have R150 000 after
eight years?

4. Calculate the rate of interest (rounded off to two decimal places) if

an amount of R7 500 increased to R9 650 in two years. Interest was
compounded annually.

5. Mr Naidoo needed to take out a loan of R30 000 to buy a car for his
daughter. He had the following options for the loan:
Bank A: Simple interest is calculated at 10,75% p.a.
Bank B: Compound interest is calculated at 10,75% p.a.

15
 Mr Naidoo wanted to pay off the car over a period of five years. Which
bank’s offer is better for him?

6. Napogadi invests R7 000 in a fixed deposit account, at 8,5% compounded

annually. How long would it take for her investment to be doubled?

7. Andrew saw the advertisement below for a sound system. He decided to

buy it and pay it off over 24 months.

Sound system
MODEL KR700
• 2 × 60W speakers
• 3 × 40W RMS speakers
• CD, DVD and MP3
recording and playback
• Up-to-date stainless
steel finish
• FM/AM/MW tuning
• Remote control Was R3 299
NOW R2 799
cash
Terms over 24 months:
Deposit R280;
R129 × 24 months

a) How much would the system cost Andrew if he paid it off over
24 months?
b) Would you advise Andrew to buy the sound system now (and pay
it off over 24 months) or to save and wait until he could pay cash?
Give reasons for your answer.

Hire Purchase (HP)

Many people buy goods on hire purchase (HP) particularly when they buy very
expensive items such as cars.
• For each hire purchase transaction, the customer must sign a hire purchase
agreement. According to this agreement, the customer agrees to pay
monthly instalments for the goods.
• The customer has the privilege of being able to use an item while still paying
for it. The customer pays for this privilege in the form of interest that is
added to the purchase amount. The final amount a customer pays for an
item is much higher than it would have been if the customer had paid cash.
• When a customer buys something on HP, the item does not belong to the
customer until the final payment has been made.
• Hire purchase agreements make it possible for a customer to buy an item
for which the customer cannot pay cash. It is, however, important to
calculate the final cost of the product with interest included before signing
an agreement.
• Consumers should be aware of South Africa’s Consumer Protection Act
(No. 68 of 2008) – this act protects consumers against unfair hire purchase
arrangements, punitive fees for cancelling a contract, and so on.

16
 Appreciation and depreciation
Use the following formulae to calculate the appreciation and depreciation value
of an item over a period of time.

Appreciation Depreciation
A = P (1 + i )n, where: A = P (1 − i )n, where:
A represents the future value of the item/equipment A represents the future value of the item/equipment
P represents the present value of the equipment P represents the present value of the equipment
i represents the annual rate of appreciation i represents the annual rate of depreciation
n represents the number of years. n represents the number of years.

Worked examples
1. Do you think a scooter will appreciate or depreciate in value over a number
of years? Give reasons for your answer.

2. A scooter was priced at R13 680,00. Calculate the value of the scooter after
three years if the rate of depreciation was 18% on a reducing balance.

Solutions
1. The scooter will depreciate in value as a result of wear and tear. There may
be damage (scratches and dents) on it. Newer and better models will be for
sale and they will be more popular than the old scooter.

2. A = P(1 − i)n
= 13 680,00​​​(1 − ​ _
100 ​)​​​  ​​
18 3

= 13 680,00​​​(_
​  100 ​)​​​  ​​
82 3

= 13 680,00(0,551368)
= 7 542,71
Value of scooter after three years: R7 542,71
The scooter will have depreciated by R6 137,29 over three years.

Practice questions (5)

1. A new laptop computer costs R6 999. The laptop’s value will depreciate by
20% p.a. Calculate how much the laptop will be worth after five years.

2. Mr Kumalo bought a new car for R125 000 in 2010. The car depreciated by
20% per year. What was the value of Mr Kumalo’s car after four years?

3. Tessa bought a flat for R85 000. The value of the flat appreciated by 35,5%
over five years.
a) What was the value of Tessa’s flat after five years?
b) Which is a better investment – a car or a flat? Explain.

4. Rowan paid R5 500 for a computer five years ago. The rate of depreciation
was 45,5%. What will the computer be worth now?

5. Sujatha wants to buy a leather couch that costs R2 500 and a computer
that costs R9 250 on hire purchase and pay off the items over four years.
The interest rate is 12% (simple interest).

17
 a) Calculate Sujatha’s monthly instalment for both purchases.
b) The computer depreciates by 20% p.a. Calculate the value of the
computer by the time she has paid it off.

Percentage profit and percentage loss

• The cost price is the price shopkeepers pay when they buy goods.
• The selling price is the price for which shopkeepers sell goods.
• The profit (or loss) is the difference between the cost price and the
selling price.
• We can write the profit or loss as a percentage of the original price:
profit
Percentage profit = _________
​​ original price ​​ × 100%
loss
Percentage loss = ​​ _________
original price ​​ × 100%

Worked examples
1. Ipeleng bought a set of golf clubs for R3 500. She sold the golf clubs a year
later for R2 000. Calculate the percentage loss. Round off your answer to
the nearest percentage.

2. Wendy bought an antique chair for R8 599 and sold the chair to a collector
for R10 000. Calculate the percentage profit. Round off your answer to one
decimal place.

Solutions
1. Profit: R3 500 − R2 000 = R1 500
1 500
Percentage loss: ​​ ____
3 500 ​​× 100% = 42,9%

2. Profit: R10 000 − R8 599 = R1 401

1 401
Percentage profit: ____
​​  8 599 ​​× 100% = 16,3%

• If we do not have the cost price of an item, but we have its selling price and
the percentage profit or loss that was made when it was sold, we can use
reverse percentage to calculate the original value (cost price) of the item.
100 × current value
Original value = ​​ _____________
   100 + R ​​, where R represents the percentage increase
in the original value.
100 × current value
Original value = ​​ _____________
   100 − R ​​, where R represents the percentage decrease
in the original value.

Practice questions (6)

1. Mr Nyoka bought a powerboat for R34 000. He sold it two years later
for R28 000. Calculate the percentage loss. Round off your answer to two
decimal places.

2. Sindiswa bought a florist shop for R40 000. She sold the business for
R60 000 two years later. Calculate her percentage profit.

3. A store owner bought shoes for R180,60 per pair and sold them for
R220,99 per pair. Calculate the profit mark-up as a percentage. Round off
the answer to one decimal place.

18
4. A shop sells a camera for R3 400. It calculates the selling price using a
mark-up of 70% on the cost price. Calculate the amount the shopkeeper
paid for the camera.

5. A nursery bought garden benches for R480 each and sold them at a mark-
up of 60% on the cost price. Calculate the selling price of a garden bench.

6. Calculate the profit a street vendor made if he bought a packet of candles

for R3,00 and sold the candles at a mark-up of 50% on the cost price.

7. Jimmy bought roses for R1,80 each and sold them at a mark-up of 50%
on the cost price. After two days, he sold the roses at a discount of 10%.
Calculate the amount of profit he made on the roses that he sold at
a discount.

Personal finances
A budget gives a summary of a person’s monthly income and expenses.
When planning a personal budget, people usually include three
main categories:
• fixed expenses: the amount of money spent on these items is fixed every
month; an example is rent for accommodation
• variable or flexible expenses: the amounts that are spent on these items can
differ from month to month; an example is a telephone account
• emergency expenses: These are unexpected expenses; an example is car
repairs.
Other expenses that could be included in a budget are irregular expenses; an
example is having to buy new curtains.
Important points to remember when compiling a budget:
• There are always two columns in a typical budget: one for income and one
for expenditure.
• The totals for income and expenditure should always balance (be the same).
• The values in a budget are mostly approximate values, except for those for
fixed expenses.
• A budget should always include an amount for emergencies or
unforeseen expenses.
• All expenses, regardless of how insignificant they may seem, should be
included in a budget.
One of the biggest purchases most people will ever make is when buying a
house. Few people have the money to pay cash for a house and so they have to
take out a bond, which is a loan from a bank to buy a house. People who take
out a bond to pay for a house have to repay the bond and interest on it, but
they do not pay rent for accommodation. People who take out bonds have to
pay interest for the privilege of using the bank’s money to buy a house.
Banks use computers to calculate bond repayments. A person’s bond
repayment calculations may differ from the bank’s calculations because the
person uses monthly interest and a monthly repayment for calculations, but the
bank compounds interest more often than monthly.

19
Formula for calculating bond repayments:
−PV = ​​ ____
PMT −n
i ​​ [1 − (1 + i) ], where:
n represents the number of compounding periods
i represents the periodic interest rate expressed as a percentage
PV represents the present value of the loan amount
PMT represents the periodic payment required to reduce the loan to 0.

The payment on a loan corresponds with the compounding period. If you use
an annual interest rate, you will obtain an annual payment amount and if you
use a monthly interest rate, you will obtain a monthly repayment.
The formula for this calculation is quite complicated, but worth looking at so
that we can understand bond repayments.

Worked example
Abigail is a second year student at university. Her parents pay for her
university fees. She shares a commune with three students. The four students
pay R4 000 per month for accommodation. Abigail receives R2 500 as a
monthly allowance. To supplement her income, she works at a bookshop in the
evenings from Tuesday to Friday for two hours per day for R50 per hour. The
bookshop and the university are within walking distance of the commune.
Abigail’s budget

Income Expenditure
Allowance 2 500 Rent (4 000 ÷ 4) 1 000
Job in bookshop 1 600 Cellphone 250
Food 1 500
Toiletries 900
Gifts 250
Total 4 100 Total 3 900

1. Identify Abigail’s fixed and variable expenses.

2. List any item(s) that you think Abigail forgot to include in her budget.

3. Do you think Abigail will be able to balance her budget if she includes all
the items she has forgotten?

4. Make suggestions about how Abigail could include the additional items in
her budget and still have a balanced budget.

5. What percentage of Abigail’s original budget goes towards

accommodation? Round off your answer to one decimal place.

Solutions
1. Fixed expenses: rent of R1 000 per month.

2. Expenses for which Abigail did not budget: entertainment, emergency

expenses, savings and irregular expenses (and possibly transport)

20
 3. Abigail will not be able to balance her budget as there is only R200 that has
not been allocated to expenses.

4. Answers will differ. Below is an example.

If Abigail cuts down on the following costs by the amount in brackets, she
will have an additional R500 plus R200 for other expenses: cellphone costs
(R50), food (R150), toiletries (R200) and gifts (R100).
Below is an alternative for her budget.

Income Expenditure
Allowance 2 500 Rent (4 000 ÷ 4) 1 000
Job in bookshop 1 600 Cellphone 200
Food 1 350
Toiletries 700
Gifts 150
Transport 150
Entertainment 150
Emergencies 100
Savings 150
Irregular expenses 150
Total 4 100 Total 4 100

If Abigail does not use her emergency and irregular expenses in a particular
month, she could include these amounts with her savings for the next month.

1 000 100
5. x% of R3 900 = R1 000 Or, ____
​​ 3 900 ​​ × ___
​​  1 ​​ = 25,6%
​​ ___
x
100 ​​× 3 900 = 1 000
3 900x = 1 000 × 100
3 900x = 100 000
100 000
x = _____
​​  3 900 ​​
= 25,6%

Practice questions (7)

1. Lebo is in Grade 11. His parents give him R250 pocket money per month.
To increase his income, Lebo works as a runner (he helps by clearing tables
and carrying things) at a restaurant for two shifts per weekend. He receives
R110 per shift. Lebo is responsible for the following expenses every month:
• cellphone (R50,50 per week)
A debit order refers
to a fixed amount • fuel for his scooter (R200 per month)
that is deducted • toiletries (R110 per month)
every month to pay • entertainment (R200 per month)
for a fixed expense. • debit order of R20 per month for a skateboard magazine
• R115 per month to pay off the money he borrowed from his father to
buy an MP3 player.
a) What is Lebo’s total income per month?
b) Draw up a budget for Lebo that includes all his financial responsibilities
and anything that has been left out.

21
 c) List Lebo’s expenses in order of priority, starting with his most
important commitment.
d) Which of Lebo’s expenses are fixed expenses? Explain.

2. Mr and Mrs Smith both work full-time. Their two children go to a local
primary school. The budget shows the income and expenditure for the
Smith household.

Income Expenditure
Mr Smith’s salary 19 500 Home loan 1 890
Mrs Smith’s salary 17 000 Insurance 1 200
Mrs Smith (extra classes) 2 500 Medical aid 2 200
Car repayment 1 900
Rates 740
Retirement policy 1 200
Electricity 570
Transport 2 016
School fees 1 000
After-school care 450
Food 3 000
Clothes 2 000
Entertainment 1 000
Holidays 1 000
Emergencies 1 000
Savings 1 000
Gifts 1 000
Total 39 000 Total 23 166

a) List all the Smith’s fixed expenses.

b) Calculate their variable expenses. What percentage of their expenses are
their variable expenses?
c) The following changes took place in one month:
• Mr Smith received a 2% increase in salary.
• The petrol price increased from R12,60 to R13,25 per litre.
• There was an increase of 1,2% in the cost of electricity.
• Mr Smith changed insurance companies and paid R200 less for the
same amount of cover.
Work out the budget for the Smith household again using the
above changes.
d) List an important expense that has not been included in the budget.

3. Calculate the monthly repayments on a bond of R160 000 at 10% p.a. if the
interest is compounded annually, and the loan will be paid off in five years.
−PV = ​​ ____
PMT −n
i ​​ [1 − (1 + i) ]

22
4. Study the salary advice slip and answer the questions that follow.
Name: Mthunzi Xaba
Job title: Personal assistant
Earnings Amount Deductions Amount
Basic salary 7 998,00 UIF 79,98
Medical aid 550,00
Tax 650,75
Pension fund 490,98
Bond 700,00
a) Explain what a salary advice slip is.
b) What is Mthunzi’s gross income?
c) What is Mthunzi’s net income?
d) What percentage of his gross income does Mthunzi take home as net
income? Round off your answer to one decimal place.
e) What percentage of Mthunzi’s gross income goes towards his pension
fund? Round off your answer to one decimal place.
f) Do you think it is necessary that Mthunzi pays this amount of money
towards his pension fund? Explain.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF)

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) contribution is a deduction that
may be made from employees’ monthly salaries.
• Workers must contribute 1% of their pay to the UIF.
• In addition to the 1% deducted from the worker, the employer also
contributes 1% for every worker a company employs.
• The total contribution paid to the UIF is 2%.
• Workers who become unemployed have the right to claim from the UIF.
There are several conditions regarding claims from the UIF. Workers can
claim from the day they stop working until their benefits are used up, or
until they start working again.
• You can find information about conditions, and so on from:
www.labour.gov.za.

Worked examples
1. Wazini worked for a company for two and a half years, contributing to
UIF for that whole period. She was pregnant and claimed benefits. For how
many days would she receive UIF payment under the maternity benefits?

Maternity benefits
• Benefits are paid to a female who contributed (to the UIF) when she
worked. She can receive benefits from one month before the birth,
and for a maximum of four months in total.
• For every six months the woman contributed to the fund, she is
entitled to one month of maternity benefits.

2. A secretary who worked for four years at the same company became very
ill. She was not able to work and her treatment lasted for several months.
She decided to claim UIF illness benefits. According to a list of prescribed
benefits, she qualified for 65% of her salary. Her salary before she became
ill and left the company was R4 600 per month. Read the conditions that
follow and answer the questions.

23
 Illness benefits
• An employee’s illness must last for more than 14 days.
• For every six days worked while contributing to the fund, an
employee receives one day’s credit for UIF payment, subject to
the maximum number of days.
• Benefits are payable for a maximum of 238 days in any four-
year period.
• The rate at which benefits are payable is prescribed in the benefits
schedule, and should not exceed 100% of the normal remuneration
received by the person if they had been in employment.

a) For how many days credit for UIF illness benefits does the
secretary qualify?
b) Calculate her monthly illness benefit?

Solutions
1. Wazini contributed to UIF for 30 months in total (2​​ _2 ​​ years).
1

For every six months she contributed, she was entitled on one month of
maternity benifits:
30 ÷ 6 = 5 months
But benefits are payable for a maximum of four months, so Wazini
therefore qualifies for the four months.

2. a) 4 years × 365 = 1 460 days

1 460 ÷ 6 = 243 days
She qualified for 243 days UIF illness benefits.
She would receive the maximum of 238 days if her illness continued for
four years or longer. She would only receive the balance of five days
(243 − 238 = 5) in the fifth year. Thereafter, she did not have any more
days credit due to her.
b) She qualified for 65% of her salary of R4 600:
65
65% of 4 600 = ​​ ___
100 ​​× 4 600 = 2 900
Her monthly illness benefit: R2 990

Practice questions (8)

1. Mr Matome earns R4 500 per month.
a) How much will be deducted from his monthly salary for UIF
each month?
b) How much will his employer contribute towards Mr Matome’s UIF?
c) What is the total amount that will be paid to the UIF per month for
Mr Matome?

2. Ms Letsoalo worked at the same company for four years and contributed
to the UIF for the whole time she worked there. The company laid off
staff members and she was made redundant. She could not find a job
immediately and she claimed UIF unemployment benefits.
Ms Letsoalo’s salary in the month before she left the company was R5 000.
According to the UIF, she qualified for 39% of her salary. Read the
information that follows and answer the question.

24
 Unemployment benefits are payable to people who have paid into the UIF:
• To qualify, they must be unemployed for more than 14 days.
• For every six days that an employee contributed to the UIF, he or
she receives one day’s credit for UIF payment, subject to a maximum
number of days.
• Benefits are payable for a maximum of 238 days in any four-
year period.
• The rate at which benefits are payable is in accordance with a sliding
scale from 38% to 58%.

Calculate how much Ms Letsoalo would receive per month from the UIF
fund, based on the conditions listed above.

Ratio
We use ratios in everyday life when we compare two quantities of the same unit.

Example
Share R85 in a ratio of 4 to 6 (4 : 6) between two brothers. How much will they
each receive?
The total number of shares in the ratio: 4 + 6 = 10
One share: 85 ÷ 10 = 8,5
One brother’s share: 4 × 8,5 = R34
The other brother’s share: 6 × 8,5 = R51
Check the answer: R34 + R51 = R85

Worked examples
1. According to estimates, the average South African middle-income household
uses about 500 ℓ of water per day. This is about 180 000 ℓ of water per year.
The volume of water usage increases steadily every year and so it is essential
to find ways to reduce water wastage in and around our homes.

Use your 6 000 free

litres of household
water wisely.

A shower uses 10 ℓ
A bath uses 200 ℓ of water per minute.
of water.

a) Read the cartoon. Calculate how much water Thandeka would use per
month if she showered once a day for five minutes.
b) Calculate how much water Thandeka would use per month if she
bathed once a day.
c) Would you recommend that Thandeka showers or baths? Give reasons
for your answer.

25
2. The following statistics appeared in a magazine.

For every 1 000 Americans …

568 live in the state in which they 173 speak a language other than 23 are in prison, in jail, on parole
were born English at home or on probation
455 are employed 159 have no health insurance 8 are grandparents who care for
420 voted in the last presidential
election 126 live in poverty grandchildren

405 are married 122 are 65 and older 5 are in the active-duty military
341 drive to work alone 115 claim Irish ancestry 1 is in kindergarten
Source: Time Magazine, 30 October 2006

a) Write all the numbers in the table as percentages.

b) Which statements are true and which are false? Use the percentages you
calculated to motivate your answers.
i) In general, half of all Americans do not move out of the state in
which they were born.
ii) In general, Americans do not send their children to kindergarten.
iii) Half of all Americans claim to have Irish ancestors.
iv) Very few Americans join the military.
v) Americans are health-conscious and they take out health insurance.

3. Tefo and Tozi sold flowers at a roadside stall. Tefo worked for six hours and
Tozi worked for four hours. They decided to split the profit of R1 595,60 in
the ratio of the number of hours they worked. How much money did each
person receive?

4. The sides of a triangle are in the ratio of 4 : 7 : 9. The perimeter of

the triangle is 596 cm. Calculate the lengths of the triangle’s sides.
(The perimeter of a triangle is the sum of the lengths of the three sides
of the triangle.)

Solutions
1. a) Thandeka uses 10 ℓ to shower for one minute.
She uses 50 ℓ to shower for five minutes:
50 ℓ × 30 days = 1 500 ℓ per month
b) 200 ℓ × 30 = 6 000 ℓ per month
c) Thandeka should shower as she would use 4 500 ℓ less water when she
showers than when she baths.

568 173 23
2. a) ​​ ____ ____ ____
1 000 ​​ × 100 = 56,8% ​​  1 000 ​​ × 100 = 17,3% ​​  1 000 ​​× 100 = 2,3%
455 159 8
​​ ____ ____ ____
1 000 ​​ × 100 = 45,5% ​​  1 000 ​​ × 100 = 15,9% ​​  1 000 ​​× 100 = 0,8%
420 126 5
​​ ____ ____ ____
1 000 ​​ × 100 = 42% ​​  1 000 ​​ × 100 = 12,6% ​​  1 000 ​​× 100 = 0,5%
405
​​ ____ ____ ____
122 1
1 000 ​​ × 100 = 40,5% ​​  1 000 ​​ × 100 = 12,2% ​​  1 000 ​​× 100 = 0,1%
341 115
​​ ____ ____
1 000 ​​ × 100 = 34,1% ​​  1 000 ​​× 100 = 11,5%

b) i) True. 56,8% of Americans remain in the state in which they were

born – this is more than half.
ii) True. Only 0,1% of Americans sent their children to kindergarten.

26
 iii) False. Only 11,5% of Americans have Irish ancestry.
iv) True. Only 0,5% of Americans are in active military duty.
v) False. Only 15,9% of Americans had health insurance.

3. Add the ratios: 6 + 4 = 10

Divide the total profit by the sum of the ratios: 1 595,60 ÷ 10 = 159,56
Multiply each ratio by 159,56: 6 × 159,56 = 957,36
4 × 159,56 = 638,24
Check the answer: R957,36 + R638,24 = R1 595,60
Tefo will get R957,36 and Tozi will get R638,24.

4. Find the total of the three ratios: 4 + 7 + 9 = 20

Divide the total perimeter by the sum of the ratios: 596 ÷ 20 = 29,8
Multiply each ratio by 29,8: 4 × 29,8 = 119,2
7 × 29,8 = 208,6
9 × 29,8 = 268,2
Check the answer: 119,2 + 208,6 + 268,2 = 596
Lengths of the three sides: 119,2 cm, 208,6 cm and 268,2 cm

Practice questions (9)

1. Didintle and Henry share 288 marbles in a ratio of 5 : 4. How many
marbles will each person get?

2. There are 16 boys in Mr Watt’s Science club. The ratio of boys to girls in
the science club is 4 : 3. How many girls are in the Science club?

3. Builders mix concrete using sand, stones (gravel) and cement in the ratio of
3 : 2 : 1. If the builder needs to mix 360 kg of cement, how much of each
material does he need?

4. If you want to enlarge a photograph that is 15 cm by 15 cm in a ratio of

3 : 7, what will the measurements of the enlarged photograph be?

5. Sam and Mponeng started a small business. They sold decorative cellphone
covers. Sam invested R3 500 and Mponeng invested R5 000 in the business.
In their first year, they made a profit of R2 300. They decided to divide the
profit in the same ratio as their investments.
a) What is the ratio of their investments?
b) How much profit will each person get?

6. To make guava juice, mix two parts of guava concentrate to three parts
of water.
a) What is the ratio of water to guava concentrate?
b) If you made 30 ℓ of guava cooldrink, how much concentrate and how
much water would you have used?

7. Read the recipe for four cinnamon buns and answer the questions
that follow.

Sticky cinnamon buns (serves four)

500 ml self-raising flour 50 ml milk
125 ml oil 50 ml honey
100 ml dark brown sugar 25 ml cinnamon

27
 a) Work out the ratio: flour : oil : sugar : milk : honey : cinnamon
b) Simplify the ratio in question 7a.
c) If you wanted to make enough cinnamon buns for 12 people, would
you change the original recipe or the simplified ratio? Explain.
d) Adapt the recipe so that you could make enough cinnamon buns for
12 people.

8. Calculate each ratio.

3 7 3 3
a) ​​ __ __
b) _​​  4 ​​ to _​​  5 ​​ c) 2​​ _2 ​​ to _​​  5 ​​ to _​​  6 ​​
2 1 1
12 ​​ to ​​  12 ​​

9. A cook needs six large eggs to bake two chocolate cakes. How many eggs
will she need to bake 17 chocolate cakes?

10. The recipe below for salad dressing is sufficient for four people. If you
wanted to make enough salad dressing for 20 people, calculate how much
of each ingredient you would need.

Salad dressing
_1
​​  3 ​​cup avocado oil
_1
​​  2 ​​cup balsamic vinegar
_1
​​  6 ​​cup lime juice

11. Leonardo da Vinci lived in the 15th century. He used a number of ratios
in his drawings. Read the information below and answer the questions that
follow. Use the height of an adult man as 1,7 m. Round off answers to one
decimal place.

Leonardo de Vinci’s ratios:

• The length of the hand goes into the
height of a person nine times.
• The widest distance across the shoulders
is a quarter of the height of a person.
• The distance from the elbow to the
tip of the shoulders is an eighth of a
person’s height.
• If a person kneels, he loses a quarter of
his height.

a) Calculate the length of the 1,7 m man’s hand in centimetres.

b) Calculate the widest distance across this man’s shoulders in centimetres.
c) Give the height of the man when he kneels.
d) Calculate the length from the man’s elbow to the tip of his shoulders in
centimetres.

12. When changing the gears of a bicycle, we use ratios. The ratio between the
two gears determines the power and speed of the driven shaft (output),
compared to the power and speed of the driving shaft (input).
The velocity ratio is the relationship between the speeds at which the two
gears are moving.
Formula for calculating the velocity ratio:
number of teeth on the driven gear
_______________________
Velocity ratio = ​​    
   
number of teeth on the driving gear ​​

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 Calculate the velocity ratio of two gears if the larger gear has 60 teeth and
the smaller gear has 40 teeth. Give your answer as a ratio.

Driven gear
(output)
Driving gear
(input)

Gear with 40 teeth

Gear with 60 teeth

Rate
Uses of rates in our daily lives includes:
• We use rates to compare quantities of different units (such as speed and
distance).
• The word per is often used when describing rate. It means for every or for each.
• We use the slash (/) as a symbol for per.

Worked examples
1. Petrol costs R13,66 per litre.
a) How much will you pay for 25 ℓ of petrol?
b) How many litres of petrol will you be able to buy for R400,00?

2. The table shows a few rates charged by a bank.

ATM enquiry No charge
Branch balance enquiry No charge
Print ATM mini-statement R2,00
Print mini-statement at another bank’s ATM R3,00
Statement reprint per page R3,00
Declined authorisation fee R2,65

a) How much will it cost to print four mini-statements at the bank’s

own ATM?
b) How much will it cost to print four mini-statements at another
bank’s ATM?
c) How much will it cost if authorisation is declined for three
different transactions?
d) How much will it cost to print a statement of six pages twice at the bank?

3. What will you pay for 270 g of cheese at 89,99 per kilogram?
(Remember: 1 kg = 1 000 g)

4. Zimkita has to buy eggs for her mother. At the shop, eggs are sold in four
different packages:
• Half a dozen large eggs: R6,60
• A dozen large eggs: R14,97
• One and a half dozen large eggs: R19,08
• Two and a half dozen large eggs: R32,00
Which option gives the best price?

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5. Mohamed cycled 30 km in 2 hours and 15 minutes.
a) Calculate the average speed at which he cycled.
b) If Mohamed continued to cycle at that speed, how long would it take
him to cycle 45 km?
c) If Mohamed cycled at an average speed of 15 km/h for 3 hours and
15 minutes, what distance did he cycle?

6. Petrus needs insecticide for his vegetable garden. The insecticide is sold in
the following quantities:

5 ℓ for R182
10 ℓ for R350
16 ℓ for R369
20 ℓ for R409

Which quantity is the best buy?

Solutions
1. a) 13,66 × 25 = R341,50
25 ℓ will cost R341,50.
b) 400 ÷ 13,66 = 29,28 ℓ
You will be able to buy 29,3 ℓ of fuel (answer rounded off to one
decimal place).

2. a) R2,00 per transaction; therefore: R2 × 4 statements = R8,00

b) R3,00 per transaction; therefore, R3 × 4 statements = R12,00
c) R2,65 per transaction; therefore, R2,65 × 3 transactions = R7,95
d) Print first copy at R2,00 per page: R2,00 × 6 pages = R12,00
Print second copy at R3,00 per page: R3,00 × 6 = R18,00

3. 1 000 g (1 kg) of cheese costs: R89,99

The cost for 1 g of cheese: R89,99 ÷ 1 000 = R0,08999
The cost of 270 g of cheese: R0,08999 × 270 = 24,2973 ≈ R24,30
(Round off amounts in rand to two decimal places.)
Cost for 270 g of cheese: R24,30

4. Calculate the unit price per egg for each packaging:

R6,60 ÷ 6 eggs = R1,10 per egg
R14,97 ÷ 12 eggs = R1,25 per egg
R19,08 ÷ 18 eggs = R1,06 per egg
R32,00 ÷ 30 eggs = R1,07 per egg
The cheapest option is to buy the package of 18 eggs.

5. a) Convert the time in hours and minutes to hours (as we usually measure
speed in km/h (or m/s (metres per second)).
distance
(Remember, speed = ​​ ______
time ​​)

30
 Convert the time to hours as the distance was given in kilometres.
To convert minutes to hours, divide by 60.
15
__ 120 135
​​  60 ​​ + ___
​​  60 ​​ = ​​ ___
60 ​​= 2,25 h
30 km
Speed = ​​ _____
2,25 h ​​= 13,3 km/h
distance 45 km
b) Time = ​​ ______ _______
speed ​​ = ​​  13,3 km/h ​​= 3,38 h
Time to cycle 45 km: 3 h 23 min.
38 60
(0,38 h = ___
​​ 100 ​​ × __
​​  1 ​​= 22,8 min. ≈ 23 min.)
c) Distance = time × speed
You can use the triangle to help you remember formulae (D represents
distance, S represents speed and T represents time):

S T
15
Convert 15 minutes to hours: __
​​ 60 ​​
180
___ 15 195
​​  60 ​​ + ​​ __ ___
60 ​​ = ​​  60 ​​= 3,25 h
Distance = time × speed = 3,25 × 15 = 48,8 km
Distance Mohamed would have cycled: 48,8 km

6. Find the unit price per litre:

5 ℓ for R182: 182 ÷ 5 = R36,4/ℓ
10 ℓ for R350: 350 ÷ 10 = R35/ℓ
16 ℓ for R369: 369 ÷ 16 = R23,06/ℓ
20 ℓ for R409: 409 ÷ 20 = R20,45/ℓ
Best buy: 20 ℓ for R409
Note that the largest quantity is not always the best buy!

Practice questions (10)

1. A scooter’s fuel tank has a capacity of 6,5 ℓ. The scooter’s average fuel
consumption under normal conditions is 30 km/ℓ.
a) How much will it cost to fill the fuel tank with unleaded fuel if the rate
is R14,33 per litre in Gauteng?
b) Will it cost the same amount to fill the same fuel tank in Durban?
Explain.
c) Samson rides 11,8 km to school and back home every day. Calculate
how much fuel he will use in five days.
d) How much will Samson’s fuel for trips to school and back for four
weeks cost?

2. Which packaging gives the better buy?

• 2 kg butternut for R5,99
• 3 kg butternut for R9,99

3. A school is concerned about the increase in the number of overweight

learners at the school. All learners were given the following information
and asked to calculate their BMI (body mass index).
mass (kg)
BMI = ​​ ________
height (m)2
 ​​

31
 BMI result Status
Less than 18,5 Underweight
18,5–24,9 Normal
20,0–29,9 Overweight
More than 300 Obese

a) Calculate the BMI for the learners and complete a copy of the table.
Round off answers to one decimal place.
Learner Mass (kg) Height (m) Result
A 51 1,2
B 77 1,7
C 45 1,5
D 47 1,6

b) What advice would you give the learners about their weight?

4. Read the information and answer the questions. (Note that free electricity
and water are only provided to households that can prove that they are
indigent (poor). Assume that all the questions below are based on indigent
households.)

Happy Valley Municipality

Tariff structures for main services
Electricity
• 50kWh of free electricity per 30-day period
• Tariff: 0,4836c/kWh
Water
• 6 kl free water per 30-day period for households (1 kl = 1 000 ℓ)
• Tariffs on a sliding scale:
0–6 kl R0
7–12 kl R5,40
13–18 kl R5,70
19–24 kl R6,10
25–30 kl R6,80
31–42 kl R8,00
Assessment rates
(A rebate is an amount that is deducted from the amount payable.)
• 100% rebate if the value of the specific residential property is R10 000
or less
• 35% rebate on special residential properties
• The rate is based on the site (land) value.

a) How much will it cost a household for 18 kl of water per month?

Show your calculations.
b) How much will it cost a household for 29 kl of water per month?
Show your calculations.

32
c) Does the rate for water consumption remain constant? Explain.
d) Do you think it is fair that the tariff for water consumption does not
remain constant? Give reasons for your answer.
e) i) Use the tariffs for water consumption and complete a copy of
the table.
Consumption (kl) 6 12 18 24 30 36
Cost (R)

ii) Plot the points on a set of axes. Use the x-axis for the independent
variable (consumption) and the y-axis for the dependent
variable (cost).
iii) Use your graph to read off how much it will cost for 20 kl of water.
Indicate your answer on the graph with the letter A.
iv) Use your graph to read off how many kilolitres of water cost R150.
Indicate your answer on the graph with the letter B.
f) How much will it cost a household for 600 kWh of electricity
per month?
g) Use the formula that follows to calculate the assessment rate for a
property with a land value of R65 000.
Assessment rate = land value × R0,1372 ÷ 12 months – rebate (35%)

33