F. Financial Literacy · Making Change

Change from a Loonie

F1.1 A1About 35 minutes

Learning goals

I can find the change from a loonie (100¢) when something costs less than a dollar.
I can use pairs that make 100 to find change.
I can count up with coins to find and give change.
I can find change from 50¢ or from a quarter.

Words to know

cent (¢)
A small unit of money. 100 cents make 1 dollar. The ¢ sign goes after the number: 65¢.

loonie
The $1 coin. It is worth 100¢.

pairs that make 100
Two numbers that add up to 100, like 65 and 35, or 40 and 60.

count up
Start at the price and count forward to the money you paid, coin by coin.

nearest 5 cents
When you pay with cash in Canada, the total is rounded to an amount ending in 0 or 5, because we no longer use pennies.

Remember from Grade 2

You know the coins and how much each one is worth. And you know a very important fact:

100¢ = $1

A loonie is worth 100 cents. That makes the loonie a great coin for buying small things that cost less than a dollar.

Canadian coins: nickel 5¢, dime 10¢, quarter 25¢, loonie $1 (100¢) and toonie $2 (200¢).

Let's get started!

After skating at the outdoor rink, Rosa is thirsty. At the snack bar, a juice box costs 65¢. Rosa pays with a loonie. A loonie is 100¢, and that is more than 65¢, so Rosa will get change.

How much change should she get?

Count up with coins

The snack bar worker counts up from the price to 100¢, one coin at a time:

Start at 65¢.
Hand over a dime: 65 + 10 = 75.
Hand over a quarter: 75 + 25 = 100. That is a loonie!

The change is a dime and a quarter: 10¢ + 25¢ = 35¢.

Start at 65¢. A dime brings it to 75¢. A quarter brings it to 100¢. The change is 35¢.

Counting up from 65 to 100: +10 (a dime), then +25 (a quarter). 10 + 25 = 35.

A smart way to count up

From the price, count up to the next ten (like 55 → 60) or to a quarter number (25, 50 or 75).
Then jump to 100.
Add your jumps. That is the change.

Worked example

Example 1: Use tens

A pencil costs 40¢. Jake pays with a loonie. What is his change?

Think: "40 plus what makes 100?"
40 is 4 tens. 100 is 10 tens. 4 tens + 6 tens = 10 tens.
So 40 + 60 = 100.
The change can be 2 quarters and a dime: 25, 50, 60.

Jake gets 60¢ in change.

Worked example

Example 2: Count up by small jumps

A granola bar costs 85¢. Pay with a loonie. What is the change?

Start at 85. Hand over a nickel: 90.
Hand over a dime: 100.
Add the jumps: 5¢ + 10¢ = 15¢.
Check: 85 + 15 = 100. ✔

The change is 15¢ (a dime and a nickel).

Worked example

Example 3: Two good ways

Maple candy costs 55¢. Pay with a loonie. What is the change?

Way 1, next ten: 55 to 60 is 5. 60 to 100 is 40. 5 + 40 = 45.
Way 2, with coins: start at 55. A quarter makes 80. A dime makes 90. Another dime makes 100.
Quarter + dime + dime = 25 + 10 + 10 = 45¢.
Check: 55 + 45 = 100. ✔

The change is 45¢. Both ways give the same answer.

Price	Change from a loonie (100¢)	Pair that makes 100
95¢	5¢	95 + 5
90¢	10¢	90 + 10
85¢	15¢	85 + 15
75¢	25¢	75 + 25
65¢	35¢	65 + 35
50¢	50¢	50 + 50
45¢	55¢	45 + 55
40¢	60¢	40 + 60
25¢	75¢	25 + 75
10¢	90¢	10 + 90

Some pairs that make 100. The cheaper the price, the more change you get.

Worked example

Example 4: Change from 50¢

A sticker costs 35¢. Ali pays with 2 quarters. What is his change?

2 quarters are 50¢.
Count up from 35: a nickel makes 40, a dime makes 50.
5¢ + 10¢ = 15¢.
Check: 35 + 15 = 50. ✔

Ali gets 15¢ (a dime and a nickel).

Why do our prices end in 0 or 5?

Canada stopped making the penny (1¢) in 2012. The smallest coin we use now is the nickel (5¢).

So when you pay with cash, the total is rounded to the nearest 5¢:

Totals ending in 1 or 2 go down to 0. (62¢ → 60¢)
Totals ending in 3 or 4 go up to 5. (64¢ → 65¢)
Totals ending in 6 or 7 go down to 5. (67¢ → 65¢)
Totals ending in 8 or 9 go up to the next 0. (98¢ → 100¢)

When people pay with a card, there is no rounding. In this unit, every price already ends in 0 or 5, so you can make the change with our coins.

Use the way that makes sense to you

Some people like counting up with coins. Some like pairs that make 100. Both are right! If one way feels tricky, try the other way. Then check by adding.

Just for fun

Here is a funny-but-true fact: the dime is worth 10¢ and the nickel is worth only 5¢, but the dime is the smaller coin! Size does not tell you the value. You have to read the coin.

Hands-on activity

The loonie snack bar

You need: a few coins (loonies, quarters, dimes and nickels, real or play), sticky notes, and 5 snacks or toys.

With a grown-up, make a price tag for each thing. Every price is less than $1 and ends in 0 or 5 (like 35¢, 60¢, 85¢).
The shopper picks a thing and pays with a loonie.
The snack bar worker counts up out loud, putting down one coin at a time: "35... 45, 50, 75, 100."
The shopper adds the change to the price to check that it makes 100¢.
Switch jobs.

Grown-up note: coins are a choking hazard. Keep them away from babies and toddlers, and put them away after playing.

Your turn

Hot chocolate costs 75¢. You pay with a loonie. What is your change?

A bookmark costs 30¢. You pay with a loonie. What is your change?

An apple costs 90¢. You pay with a loonie. What is your change?

A cookie costs 45¢. You pay with a loonie. What is your change? Which coins could you get?

An eraser costs 20¢. You pay with a quarter. What is your change?

A pencil grip costs 15¢. You pay with 2 quarters (50¢). What is your change?

A freezie costs 60¢. Mo pays with a loonie and gets 2 quarters back. Is that right?

More practice: warm-up

Something costs 50¢. You pay with a loonie. What is your change?

Something costs 95¢. You pay with a loonie. What is your change?

Something costs 80¢. You pay with a loonie. What is your change?

Something costs 10¢. You pay with a loonie. What is your change?

Something costs 25¢. You pay with 2 quarters. What is your change?

More practice: on your own

A bag of popcorn costs 35¢. You pay with a loonie. What is your change? Show your jumps.

A pack of gum costs 70¢. You pay with 3 quarters. What is your change?

A juice costs 55¢. You pay with a loonie. Name the coins you could get back.

A muffin costs 85¢. You pay with a loonie. Give the change with the fewest coins.

Ella paid with a loonie and got 30¢ back. What did she buy it for?

Challenge

A granola bar is priced at 63¢. You pay with cash, using a loonie. What will the total be rounded to? What is your change?

A pen costs 40¢. You pay with a loonie. The change is exactly 3 coins. Which coins?

Mo paid for a snack with a loonie. He got back a quarter, a dime and a nickel. What did the snack cost?

Check your understanding

Quiz

A snack costs 70¢. You pay with a loonie. What is your change?

Which pair makes 100?

A muffin costs 85¢. You pay with a loonie. Which coins are the right change?

Why do cash totals in Canada end in 0 or 5?

A sticker costs 30¢. You pay with 2 quarters. What is your change?

Count up from 55¢ to 100¢. How far is it?

For parents and teachers

What your child is learning: to find the change for purchases of less than one dollar (F1.1), mostly when paying with a loonie (100¢). Strategies include counting up coin by coin, jumping to the next ten or a quarter number (25, 50, 75), and using pairs that make 100 (like 65 + 35). In Grade 3, amounts under a dollar are written in cents (65¢); decimal notation like $0.65 comes in a later grade.

About rounding (a Canadian fact, not a separate curriculum expectation): since the penny was discontinued in 2012, cash totals are rounded to the nearest 5¢ (ending in 1 or 2: round down to 0; 3 or 4: up to 5; 6 or 7: down to 5; 8 or 9: up to the next 0). Card payments are not rounded. All prices in this unit end in 0 or 5.

Common difficulties:

Forgetting to regroup when subtracting from 100 (taking 4 tens from 10 tens but just copying the 5 ones) and getting answers like 65¢ change for a 45¢ item (instead of 55¢). Encourage counting up to the next ten first: 45 → 50 → 100.
Losing track while counting up with coins. Have your child say the running total out loud each time they put down a coin.
Mixing up dollars and cents. Remind them that a loonie is 100¢.

How to help: Pay for a small item with a loonie and ask your child to predict the change before the cashier hands it over. Keep coins away from younger children (choking hazard).