Pass Functional Skills logo

Percentages and interest

Percentages and interest for A Level Geography AQA Higher: what it means, how to set the working out, and the questions it is asked in.
  • A Level
  • AQA
  • Geography
  • Higher
  • Spec G2
  • 6 min read
  • 6 revision boxes

Introduction

2 boxes
3 min read

What is percentages and interest?

Listen to this box

Transcript

A short spoken summary of percentages and interest and where it is used.

A spoken walk-through of percentages and interest before you read the notes.
Read the units in the question before you start; a converted unit is the most common slip.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing percentages and interest laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
6 rows

The percentages and interest reference table

The specification wording is precise here, and the mark scheme follows that wording exactly.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing percentages and interest laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}.
Term
Meaning
Example
Common slip
Row 1 column 1
Row 1 column 2
×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left
Row 1 column 4
Row 2 column 1
Row 2 column 2
34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}
Row 2 column 4
Row 3 column 1
Row 3 column 2
≈160\approx 160
Row 3 column 4
Row 4 column 1
Row 4 column 2
49=7\sqrt{49} = 7
Row 4 column 4

Learning

2 boxes
3 steps

How to work with percentages and interest

Work through the method one line at a time and write down what changes at each step.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing percentages and interest laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for percentages and interest in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2.
Answer: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left
3 rules

Key facts: Percentages and interest

Check the answer against an estimate before you move on, so a place-value slip is caught here.
Worth knowing: ≈160\approx 160.

  • Rule 1

    How percentages and interest behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    ≈160\approx 160

  • Rule 2

    How percentages and interest behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2

  • Rule 3

    How percentages and interest behaves in the 3rd of the cases the specification names.
    a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2

20 minutes

Get your predicted grade

Twenty questions gives you a predicted grade, your target, and the gap between them — plus the topics that close it fastest.
Get my predicted grade

Examples

2 boxes
1 marks · worked

Worked example: percentages and interest

Read the units in the question before you start; a converted unit is the most common slip.
Worth knowing: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}.
3 marks · worked

Practice question 6: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7

This idea appears again in the higher-mark questions, so it is worth over-learning.

Practice bank

Thousands of revision questions

Every topic is backed by graded practice with instant marking and full solutions.
Try it now
Practice questions
11,000+
Topics
10
Marking and solutions
Instant

Common questions

How many marks is percentages and interest usually worth?
Between one and four, depending on how many steps the question asks for.
Is this on the A Level Geography AQA Higher paper?
Yes — it sits in the Probability strand.