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Year 10
Higher

Percentage profit and loss

I can calculate percentage profit and percentage loss.

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Year 10
Higher

Percentage profit and loss

I can calculate percentage profit and percentage loss.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. When calculating percentage profit or loss, you are interested in the change.
  2. If the final amount is more than the original, there is profit.
  3. If the final amount is less than the original, there is loss.
  4. This change can be described as a percentage of the original amount.
  5. A negative percentage is interpreted as a loss.

Keywords

  • Percentage profit - is the increase when referencing something that is sold for more than the cost price given as a percentage of the original amount

  • Percentage loss - is the decrease when referencing something that is sold for less than the cost price given as a percentage of the original amount

Common misconception

When using multipliers, pupils can mistake a decimal for the percentage decrease. e.g. 0.52 is a 52% decrease, rather than recognising a 48% decrease

Reminding students that a decimal multiplier greater than 1 means an increase, and a decimal multiplier less than 1 means a decrease. The latter requires a subtraction from 1 or 100%


To help you plan your year 10 maths lesson on: Percentage profit and loss, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Have a conversation about progress and how progress is relative. The concept of relative progress is difficult for students to have. How can a child have an IQ of 100 and a adult have an IQ of 100? IQ is relative to age. Percentage profit or loss is relative to the original amount.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Increase 65 by 5%
Correct Answer: 68.25
Q2.
Decrease 60 by 5%
Correct Answer: 57
Q3.
If a number increases by 70% and is now 85, what was it originally?
Correct Answer: 50
Q4.
Decrease 250 by 15%
Correct Answer: 212.5
Q5.
A mathematician celebrates their shares increasing by 12% which are now worth £100.80. How much did they originally invest?
Correct Answer: £90, 90
Q6.
If a number increases by 82% and is now 163.8, what was it originally?
Correct Answer: 90

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
If I increase £45 to £54, what is the percentage gain?
Correct Answer: 20, 20%
Q2.
If I increase £45 to £99, what is the percentage gain?
Correct Answer: 120, 120%
Q3.
If I increase £14 to £56, what is the percentage gain?
Correct Answer: 300, 300%
Q4.
If I decrease £90 to £18, what is the percentage loss?
Correct Answer: 80%, 80
Q5.
If I decrease £88 to £66, what is the percentage loss?
Correct Answer: 25, 25%
Q6.
Match the following so that the number on the right reflects a 20% percentage loss on the number on the left.
Correct Answer:£500,£400
tick

£400

Correct Answer:£530,£424
tick

£424

Correct Answer:£700,£560
tick

£560

Correct Answer:£592,£473.60
tick

£473.60