P5 Maths: Percentages (1) - Understanding Percent (Paper 3 (challenge))

P5 Maths: Percentages (1) – Understanding Percent (Paper 3 (challenge))

2026-11-15

Tutor Prep Guide · What a percentage means (parts per hundred), converting between percentages and fractions, converting between percentages and decimals, finding a percentage of a quantity, comparing sizes and common place-value slips

P5 Maths: Percentages (1) – Understanding Percent (Paper 3 (challenge))

Ten introductory percentage questions on what a percentage means, converting to and from fractions and decimals, finding a percentage of a quantity and comparing sizes, with answers and one-line notes.

Level: Primary 5 Maths; format: meaning of percent, converting percentages to and from fractions and decimals, finding a percentage of a quantity, comparing sizes, increases and decreases, and error diagnosis.　Primary 5 percentage practice: ten questions on the meaning of percent, converting to and from fractions and decimals, finding a percentage of a quantity, comparing sizes, simple increases and decreases, and common place-value slips, each with an answer and a one-line note.

01　Paper details (check answers afterwards)

Item	Detail
Questions	10
Suggested time	20
Difficulty mix	Foundation 3 · Intermediate 3 · Challenge 3 · Error redo 1
Chapter	Chapter: P5 Maths: Percentages (1) – Understanding Percent
Level	P5

02　Questions (10 items)

FoundationAn item is priced at 80 dollars and the price rises by 15%. What is the new price?
FoundationAn item costs 150 dollars and is sold at a 20% discount. What is the selling price?
FoundationWhat is 125% as a fraction in its simplest form?
Intermediate40% of a number is 36. Find the number.
IntermediateA value rises from 60 to 75. What is the percentage increase?
IntermediateWhat is 80 after a decrease of 20%?
Challenge100 dollars rises by 10% twice in a row. What is the final amount?
ChallengeAn item costs 50 dollars and sells for 60. What is the percentage profit?
ChallengeOf 240 students, 45% are boys. How many boys are there?
Error redoA student thinks a 20% rise followed by a 20% fall returns to the original price. Using 100 dollars, what happens?

03　Answers and one-line notes

#	Answer	One-line note
1	92 dollars.	The increase is 80 x 0.15 = 12, and 80 + 12 = 92; the same as 80 x 1.15.
2	120 dollars.	A 20% discount means paying 80% of the price: 150 x 0.8 = 120, with 30 dollars off.
3	5/4, that is 1 1/4.	Divide 125 and 100 by 25 to get 5/4; above 100% the fraction is greater than 1.
4	90.	Divide the part by the percentage: 36 / 0.4 = 90, and 90 x 0.4 = 36 checks it.
5	25%.	The increase is 75 – 60 = 15, divided by the original: 15 / 60 = 0.25, that is 25%.
6	64.	The decrease is 80 x 0.2 = 16 and 80 – 16 = 64; the same as 80 x 0.8.
7	121 dollars.	After the first rise it is 110, and the second 10% applies to 110: 110 x 1.1 = 121, not 120.
8	20%.	The profit is 60 – 50 = 10, divided by the cost: 10 / 50 = 0.2, that is 20%; the denominator is the cost.
9	108.	240 x 0.45 = 108, leaving 132 girls.
10	It does not return; the final amount is 96 dollars.	100 x 1.2 = 120 and 120 x 0.8 = 96; the second 20% is taken from the larger 120.

04　What to do after marking

After marking, redo only the wrong items and write down which step went wrong (formula, unit, or misread number).
Repeat the same item two days later; move to the next paper only when both attempts are correct.
Parents only need the answer and note columns; there is no need to explain every item.

Ask first what whole a percentage is taken from. When the question says “of”, multiply; when it asks what fraction one value is of another, divide the part by the whole. The percent sign is notation only, so the decimal is what does the work. Convert to decimals or fractions before comparing, and multiply step by step for two successive changes instead of adding the percentages.Tutor Registration →

Questions and answers are written originally by the TutorZone team and are not taken from any school, publisher or examination authority paper. Every value is checked by computer.