Money Problems

Grade 4 · decimals · 94 practice problems · read aloud

🔊 Listen to this explanation

💰 Money Problems with Decimals

Money problems help us practice working with decimals in real-life situations. We use decimals with money every day when we see prices like $3.25 or $12.99!

📝 How to Solve Money Problems

  1. Read carefully: Understand what the problem is asking
  2. Line up decimals: Write numbers with decimal points directly under each other
  3. Calculate: Add, subtract, multiply, or divide just like with whole numbers
  4. Include dollar sign: Always write your answer with a $ and two decimal places

🔢 Worked Examples

Example 1: Adding Money

Sarah bought a pencil for $1.25 and an eraser for $0.75. How much did she spend?

Solution: $1.25 + $0.75 = $2.00

Example 2: Making Change

Alex paid with $5.00 for a toy that costs $3.45. How much change should he get?

Solution: $5.00 - $3.45 = $1.55

Example 3: Multiple Items

If one apple costs $0.65, how much would 4 apples cost?

Solution: $0.65 × 4 = $2.60

🚨 Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Forgetting the decimal point: $325 looks like three hundred dollars, but $3.25 is three dollars and twenty-five cents
  • Misaligning decimals: Always line up the decimal points when adding or subtracting
  • Incorrect change: Double-check subtraction problems when calculating change

💡 Tips & Tricks

  • Think in cents: $1.25 is the same as 125 cents - sometimes it's easier to calculate this way!
  • Use a number line: Visualize money amounts on a number line to help with addition and subtraction
  • Check with estimation: Round to the nearest dollar to see if your answer makes sense

🎯 Practice Suggestions

  • Practice with real coins and bills
  • Create your own store and calculate totals
  • Look at grocery store receipts and add up items
  • Play money math games online
  • Practice with worksheets that have money word problems

Practice problems

6 of the 94, worked through step by step — try them before opening the answer.

1 3.25 × 4 = ?

Hint: When multiplying a decimal by a whole number, multiply as if they were whole numbers first, then place the decimal point correctly in your answer.

Show the answer

Answer: 13.00

  1. Understand the problem We are multiplying a decimal number (3.25) by a whole number (4). 3.25 means 3 whole units and 25 hundredths.
  2. Break down 3.25 3.25 = 3 + 0.25 0.25 is the same as 25/100, which simplifies to 1/4.
  3. Multiply each part separately First, multiply the whole number part: 3 × 4 = 12
  4. Multiply the decimal part: 0.25 × 4 Since 0.25 = 1/4, we can do: (1/4) × 4 = 1 Or directly: 0.25 × 4 = 1.00
  5. Add the results 12 + 1.00 = 13.00
  6. Check decimal places 3.25 has 2 decimal places. 4 has 0 decimal places. Normally, the product should have 2 decimal places. 13.00 indeed has 2 decimal places, so it matches. Final answer: 13.00

Let's multiply 3.25 by 4 step by step.

2 4.25 × 3 = ?

Hint: When multiplying a decimal by a whole number, multiply as if they were whole numbers first, then place the decimal point correctly in the final answer.

Show the answer

Answer: 12.75

  1. Understand the multiplication. We are multiplying a decimal number (4.25) by a whole number (3).
  2. Break down the decimal number. 4.25 can be thought of as 4 + 0.25. So, 4.25 × 3 = (4 + 0.25) × 3.
  3. Use the distributive property. Multiply each part by 3: 4 × 3 = 12 0.25 × 3 = 0.75
  4. Add the results. 12 + 0.75 = 12.75
  5. Verify by thinking of 4.25 as a fraction. 4.25 = 425/100. So, 425/100 × 3 = (425 × 3) / 100. 425 × 3 = 1275. 1275 / 100 = 12.75. Final Answer: 12.75

Let's multiply 4.25 by 3 step by step.

3 4.75 × 3 = ?

Hint: Think about how to multiply a decimal by a whole number. You can break it into parts.

Show the answer

Answer: 14.25

  1. Write the multiplication: 4.75 × 3
  2. Multiply the whole number part: 4 × 3 = 12
  3. Multiply the decimal part: 0.75 × 3 = 2.25
  4. Add the two results: 12 + 2.25 = 14.25
  5. The final answer is 14.25.

4 3.45 × 6 = ?

Hint: When multiplying a decimal by a whole number, multiply as if they were both whole numbers, then place the decimal point correctly in the final answer.

Show the answer

Answer: 20.70

  1. Multiply 3.45 by 6 as if they were whole numbers: 345 × 6.
  2. 345 × 6 = 2070.
  3. Count the decimal places in the original number. 3.45 has two decimal places.
  4. Place the decimal point in the answer so it also has two decimal places: 20.70. The final answer is 20.70.

5 12.75 × 4 = ?

Hint: Think about multiplying a decimal by a whole number. You can break it into parts: multiply the whole number part and the decimal part separately, then combine.

Show the answer

Answer: 51

  1. Write the multiplication: 12.75 × 4
  2. Multiply the whole number part: 12 × 4 = 48
  3. Multiply the decimal part: 0.75 × 4 = 3.00
  4. Add the results: 48 + 3 = 51
  5. The answer is 51.

6 12.50 × 4 = ?

Hint: When multiplying a decimal by a whole number, multiply as if they were whole numbers, then place the decimal point correctly in the answer.

Show the answer

Answer: 50.00

  1. Multiply 12.50 by 4 as if they were whole numbers: 1250 × 4 = 5000
  2. Count the decimal places in the original number: 12.50 has 2 decimal places
  3. Place the decimal point in the answer so it also has 2 decimal places: 5000 becomes 50.00
  4. Verify: 12.50 × 4 = 50.00

The answer is 50.00.

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