Money Math · Lesson Plan
Calculating Down Payments Using Percentages
Down payments are often stated as a percentage. This lesson reviews percents and converting them to decimals, then has students calculate a down payment as a percentage of a total price — the way real car and home purchases work.
For Teachers
Lesson at a glance
- Topic
- Money Math
- Grade Level
- Grades 6–8
- Resource Type
- Lesson + Worksheet
- Estimated Time
- 30–45 minutes
- Format
- Reading + practice worksheet
- Materials
- Printable lesson, worksheet, calculators
What Students Learn
Learning objectives
- Define a down payment
- Review what a percent is
- Convert a percent to a decimal
- Calculate a down payment as a percentage of a total
- Find the remaining balance after the down payment
Materials
What you’ll need
- Printed copies of the lesson and worksheet (one per student)
- Calculators
- Whiteboard or projector for worked examples
Key Terms
Vocabulary
- Percent
- A part of a whole out of 100.
- Down payment
- An amount paid up front toward a total purchase.
- Decimal
- A number with a fractional part after a point.
- Convert
- Change a percent into a decimal to calculate.
- Total price
- The full cost of an item.
- Balance
- The amount still owed after a down payment.
For Teachers
Lesson plan
Estimated time: one 30–45 minute class period.
Lesson sequence
- Warm-up (5 min). Review that 10% means 10 out of 100, and that 10% = 0.10.
- Read the method (10 min). Students read how a percentage down payment is calculated.
- Worked example (10 min). Convert a percent to a decimal, multiply by the total, and find the balance.
- Worksheet (12 min). Students practice; the answer key is included for teacher use.
Assessment
Assess the worked example and worksheet practice.
Discussion
Discussion questions
- What is a percent, and how do you convert it to a decimal?
- How do you calculate a down payment that is a percentage of the total?
- Why are down payments often given as percentages?
- How do you find the balance after a percentage down payment?
- How could you estimate to check your answer?
Printable Lesson & Worksheet
Down Payments Using Percentages — Lesson & Worksheet
Printable lesson plus practice problems, with an answer key for teacher use.
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