Weekend Primary 5 Mathematics
The year Primary 5 opens up: ratio, percentage and algebra all appear for the first time, alongside harder work with fractions and shapes.
Numbers, fractions and decimals
- Working with whole numbers up to 10 million, and the four operations applied to larger values.
- Fraction division, and converting between fractions and decimals.
- Multiplying and dividing decimals, including by 10, 100 and 1000.
Percentage, beyond the basics
Primary 5 is where percentage stops being just "out of 100" and starts showing up in discounts, GST and interest. Students need to move fluidly between a percentage, its equivalent fraction and its decimal, and to handle problems where the percentage itself is the unknown, not just the answer.
Qn 1
A bag costs $40 before a sale. During the sale, the price is reduced by 15%. What is the sale price?
15% of $40 = 0.15 × 40 = $6
Sale price = 40 − 6
The bag now costs $34 ✓
A first look at algebra
This is most children's first time using a letter to stand for an unknown number. The habit worth building early is writing an expression that describes a situation in words, before trying to solve anything — that's the skill Secondary Mathematics leans on from Secondary 1 onward.
Qn 2
Mei has $y. Ken has $15 more than Mei. Write an expression, in terms of y, for the total amount of money they have together.
Ken's amount = y + 15
Total = y + (y + 15)
They have 2y + 15 in total ✓
Ratio and rate
- Simplifying ratios and finding equivalent ratios between two or three quantities.
- Word problems that combine ratio with fractions or percentage.
- A first, concrete introduction to rate — cost per item, or quantity per unit.
Shapes and space
- Finding the area of triangles and figures made up of rectangles and triangles.
- Finding the volume of cubes and cuboids, and relating volume to capacity.
- Angles on a straight line, at a point, and vertically opposite angles.
- Angle properties of parallelograms, rhombuses and trapeziums.
Also see P5 English
Not sure which level or subject fits? Get in touch and describe where your child is at, and we'll suggest a starting point.