Difficulty: Rating: GCSE Marks:

GCSE Text:
Shaynaz is travelling abroad to Spain and needs to convert some money. She has converted £700 into Euros through her local currency exchange shop, where she exchanged at a rate of £1.00 = €1.18

a)  How many Euros did she receive?

b)  If she had waited until getting to the airport where the exchange rate was £1.00 = €1.13, how many fewer Euros would she have received?

Suggestions:
A familiar style of GCSE question on exchange rates.  Students often forget whether to multiply or divide by the exchange rate, and in this problem they need to carefully read the question (especially in part 2).  This often throws up questions about  travelling internationally, and whether exchange rates differ that much. It also opens discussions naturally around converting money back to GBP when returning home.

Extension Ideas:
Teachers could extend the learning by considering:

• €200 euros is brought back home as it wasn’t spent. If all of that amount was exchanged at a rate of £1 = €1.34, how many £ would that convert back to?
• People often consider buying electronic goods abroad. Whilst in Spain, a camera is on offer for €255.  In the UK it is £210. Would it be cheaper to buy the camera in Spain with some of the converted money, or is it cheaper to buy it in the UK?