Percentages — NSW Year 7 Maths
Parts out of 100, used every day for discounts, GST, test marks and interest rates. Six subtopics and 120 practice questions, each with a fully worked solution, aligned to NESA outcome MA4-FRC-C-01.
Percentages in NSW Year 7
A percentage is a fraction with a denominator of 100, so 35% means 35 out of every 100. In Year 7, students convert freely between percentages, fractions and decimals, find a percentage of an amount, and express one quantity as a fraction or percentage of another, using real settings such as sale prices, GST on a bill and test results.
The six subtopics below begin with converting percentages to fractions and to decimals, then find percentages of quantities, first with easy benchmark values and then with increases, decreases and the unitary method. They finish by expressing quantities as fractions and as percentages. Percentages is one of the 13 topics in NSW Year 7 Maths and sits in the Number and Algebra strand (NESA outcome MA4‑FRC‑C‑01). The same skills return later in financial maths, in rates and ratios, and whenever data or probabilities are compared.
Subtopics
Percentages: common questions
What are percentages in Year 7 maths?
A percentage is a number out of 100. In Year 7 students change percentages into fractions and decimals, find percentages of amounts and write one amount as a percentage of another.
How do you find a percentage of an amount?
Change the percentage to a fraction or decimal and multiply, or build it from easy parts. For 15% of $60, 10% is $6 and 5% is $3, so 15% is $9.
What is a common mistake when changing percentages to decimals?
Moving the decimal point the wrong number of places. Divide by 100, which moves it two places left, so \(4\% = 0.04\) (not 0.4) and \(0.5\% = 0.005\).
Which NESA outcome covers percentages?
Percentages sit in Stage 4 of the NSW Mathematics K–10 Syllabus (2022) under outcome MA4‑FRC‑C‑01, together with fractions and decimals, usually taught in Year 7.
What comes after percentages in Year 7?
Percentages are used again for profit and loss, discounts and GST, and to compare data and probabilities. In later years they are the basis of interest, earnings and other financial calculations.