Money • Topic 7 of 7

Change and Balance

Change and balance are both subtraction ideas, but they answer slightly different questions. Change is the money the shopkeeper hands back when a customer pays more than the bill: change equals the amount given minus the total cost. If a bill is Rs 17 and the customer pays with a Rs 20 note, the change is 20 - 17 = Rs 3. A useful mental method primary teachers encourage is counting on, where instead of formal subtraction you start at the bill amount and count up to the money given. For a Rs 38 bill paid with a Rs 50 note, you count on Rs 2 to reach Rs 40, then Rs 10 to reach Rs 50, so the change is 2 + 10 = Rs 12. Balance, on the other hand, is the money a person has left after spending, found by subtracting the total expense from the amount they started with: if Simran had Rs 100 and spent Rs 65, her balance is 100 - 65 = Rs 35. When amounts include paise, line up the decimal points and borrow across the zeros carefully, as in Rs 200.00 - Rs 165.25 = Rs 34.75. A good life-skill habit, which CTET sometimes frames as a question, is verifying change by adding it back to the bill: if the change plus the bill equals the money you handed over, the change is correct.

✅ Solved examples

1. A bill is Rs 17 and the customer pays with a Rs 20 note. Find the change.
Change = Amount Given - Total Cost = 20 - 17 = Rs 3.
2. Using the counting-on method, find the change for a Rs 38 bill paid with a Rs 50 note.
From 38, count on Rs 2 to reach 40, then Rs 10 to reach 50. Change = 2 + 10 = Rs 12.
3. Simran had Rs 100. She bought a pen for Rs 25 and a notebook for Rs 40. What is her balance?
Total spent = 25 + 40 = Rs 65. Balance = 100 - 65 = Rs 35.
4. Riya buys a doll for Rs 165.25 and gives a Rs 200 note. What change does she get?
Change = 200.00 - 165.25 = Rs 34.75. (Check: 34.75 + 165.25 = 200.00.)

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. A bill is Rs 84 and the customer pays with a Rs 100 note. Find the change.
Change = amount given - bill.
100 - 84.
Rs 16
2. Use counting on to find the change for a Rs 72 bill paid with a Rs 100 note.
From 72, count on to 80, then to 100.
8 + 20.
Rs 28
3. A boy had Rs 500. He spent Rs 220 on shoes and Rs 130 on a shirt. What is his balance?
Add the two expenses first.
Then subtract from 500.
Rs 150
4. A girl pays for a Rs 73.50 item with a Rs 100 note. How much change should she get?
Line up the decimal points and borrow.
100.00 - 73.50.
Rs 26.50

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

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