Math Worksheet - Calculating Tax

Now that we've got some basics of math covered off - rounding and order of operations - we can start to build on those with some real life scenarios.

Calculating the tax is something we all should know how to do. Often it is done for us (buying groceries, eating out, etc), but it is always good to know how to calculate it to help us plan ahead. We recently to a friend of Holly's skiing for the day. We have season's passes, but her friend had to buy a ski pass for the day. We googled how much the day pass would be, but taxes were not included in the cost. Should we bring only the $30 for the day pass? Should we bring $35? Would that be enough? Doing some quick math, using a 15% tax rate as an estimate, we estimated ($30 times 10%) + ($30 times 5%) is $3 + $1.50 = $4.50. So, $35 was just enough.

Here are some worksheets, with answers, on calculating taxes.

Free Math Worksheet - Rounding

We've started the new semester, and Shane has math now. I've covered off the some of the basics in past postings - Order of Operations, or BEDMAS / PEMDAS, is one of the fundamentals. I work in a business environment, and I use this principal every single day, to make basic calculations. To view this post, please view my archive from Oct 31, 2010. There are also some youtube videos that are useful - just search for BEDMAS.

Another basic in math is ROUNDING. This is a critical step for many everyday uses. I'll just cut to the chase and post the worksheets. All the principals of rounding are explained in the worksheets.

Enjoy!

A New Semester

We started the new semester last Thursday, and we are once again easing into the homework routine. Most of the course outlines have come home, with the usual stuff in them.

Shane is taking a warm-up course to the full term co-op that he will be doing next year in grade 12. This is a really good idea - it's a full credit course that introduces the students to the world of working. They will each complete 2  one-week work co-ops, the first in April (after quite a bit of classroom prep) and then re-grouping back in the classroom, then the second session in May. We've been asked to think of work places that would be appropriate. I am very much looking forward to the feedback we will see from this course!

His other courses are math, science of the environment, and cooking. I'm guessing he will enjoy the cooking course the most. He already cooks at home once a week for the family, and he's getting pretty good at it. This week will be steak. Yum!

Tip of the week:
Introduce your child to as many life-skills as you can at home, in a very safe environment, with all the time he needs to learn. Shane has been cooking for 2 years now. In the beginning with tons of guidance. Now, he can plan a meal independently, follow recipes, and cook really well. His confidence is really strong now.

Cheers
Lisa