What it shows
Money is used to buy things, and shopkeepers give back change. Playing shop teaches adding prices, counting notes and finding change.
The science
Each thing has a price. The total bill is found by adding the prices of all things bought. If a customer pays more than the total, the shopkeeper gives back change, which is the payment minus the bill. Checking by adding the change back to the bill should give the amount paid.
Materials
Cost: free. Many items come from home or from waste; spare parts such as LEDs, motors and wire are in the store.
- Paper cut as play notes and coins of Re 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 (free)
- Small items from home to sell, such as pencils, erasers and biscuits
- Price tags on paper
- A small box as a till
- Paper and pencil for a bill
- A friend or family as customers
Safety
For this project: Use only play money and no real notes. An adult must supervise the shopkeeper.
Never use mains electricity: power models with cells, batteries or a low-voltage adapter. Sharp and hot tools, flames and lab chemicals need an adult or your teacher beside you. Keep magnets, button cells and small parts away from young children, and wash your hands after making.
All the safety rulesStep by step
8 steps. Do them in order, and test each part before you go on to the next. Write what you notice in a notebook as you go.
Make play money from paper with a clear number on each note and coin.
Put a price tag on each item between Rs 1 and Rs 20.
Arrange the items on a table as a shop and put the box as a till.
Give each customer play money worth Rs 50.
A customer picks two or three items and brings them to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper adds the prices and writes the bill on paper.
The customer pays and the shopkeeper gives change, checking by adding back.
Swap roles and play again with different items.
What you should see
Both players practise adding prices and giving the right change, and the bills on paper are correct.
Viva questions
A teacher or a judge will ask how it works. Try to answer each question before you open it, then compare.
1What is a bill?
The total price of all the things bought.
2What is change?
The money returned when you pay more than the bill.
3If something costs Rs 12 and you pay Rs 20, what is the change?
Rs 8.
4How can you check your change?
Add the change to the bill. It should equal the money paid.
Take it further
Add a discount sign, such as Rs 2 off, and see how the bill changes.
Change one thing, measure what happens, and add a table or chart of your readings: that is what turns a model into your own investigation.
Free ebooks for this project
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