All prices, payments, products, roles, budgets and rates below are fictional teaching assumptions, except the explicitly cited general GST rule. They do not state a wage award, tax eligibility, benefit, investment return, contract, price quote or advice. You need not disclose personal or family finances. State given → method → units → check → limited conclusion. A missing fee is unknown, not $0. The teacher plan gives when to use a card; the A4 and text aids support paper, tactile and enlarged routes.
Card A · an annual salary expressed in different periods
A fictional adult print-studio role has a stated gross annual model amount of $65,520. For this classroom model use 52 equal weeks, 26 equal fortnights, and 12 equal months. These are conversion assumptions, not a real payslip calendar or a net take-home guarantee. No taxes, deductions, leave changes or award conditions are supplied. Find the gross weekly, fortnightly and monthly average and label each period.
Card B · one fictional piecework session
An imaginary prop-finishing brief offers either a stipulated $32 per paid hour for 5 paid hours, or $9 for each accepted finished prop. The example has 20 accepted props. Calculate both gross totals. Then test 15 props and identify the minimum whole number of accepted props whose stated piecework total exceeds the hourly total. Work conditions, fairness, safety, actual hours needed and legal entitlements are unknown. This is a mathematical comparison, not advice on a job.
Card C · an invented base-plus-commission rule
For a single fictional adult shift, model gross pay as $180 base plus 4.5% of eligible sales. Use invented eligible sales of $800, $1,200 and $1,600 in three separate scenarios. The percentage base is eligible sales, not the total pay. No returns, caps, deductions, minimum pay rules or time worked are supplied. Compare the three model totals; do not decide whether any real role is preferable.
Card D · a planning-only weekly budget
Use Card A's fictional $1,260 weekly gross amount as a stipulated available model income for arithmetic only. In a real budget, gross is not necessarily spendable income; actual deductions and timing would need verification. The model lists:
| Type | Fictional weekly item | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed | Housing | $520 |
| Fixed | Transport pass | $120 |
| Fixed | Connectivity | $40 |
| Variable essential | Food plan | $220 |
| Discretionary | Leisure | $65 |
| Discretionary | Creative materials | $45 |
Calculate fixed, variable-essential and discretionary subtotals, total planned spending and the unassigned model balance. Check planned + unassigned = 1,260. An unassigned balance is not a recommendation to spend or save any particular amount. Never use a classmate's actual household figures.
Card E · GST on stipulated fully taxable supplies
These are invented fully taxable design supplies for arithmetic. The current general Australian GST rate for taxable supplies is 10%, as verified from the Australian Taxation Office. Actual supplies may be GST-free, input taxed or mixed; this card does not decide classification or tax obligations.
- A fictional workshop print costs $84 excluding GST. Find 10% of that base and the GST-inclusive total.
- A different fictional design item is labelled $121 including GST. For a fully taxable item, find the exclusive base and GST component. Explain why taking 10% off $121 does not reverse adding 10% to the earlier base.
Card F · a simple-interest model
A fictional study of simple interest states principal P=$2,400, annual rate i=3.5%=0.035, time n=2 years, and no compounding, fees or tax. Use I=Pin for interest and A=P+I for final model amount. What changes if the time is one year, holding the other invented assumptions fixed? No real deposit, loan, return, product or recommendation is represented.
Card G · repeated budget what-ifs
Treat all columns as separate fictional weeks with the same stipulated model income $1,260 and no personal information. Formula: unassigned = income − fixed − variable essential − discretionary.
| Week | Income | Fixed | Variable essential | Discretionary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | $1,260 | $680 | $220 | $110 |
| B | $1,260 | $680 | $250 | $125 |
| C | $1,260 | $700 | $230 | $85 |
Calculate each unassigned balance, check by addition and ask whether a model target of at least $200 unassigned is met. This is a numerical constraint, not a real household target. The optional offline what-if spreadsheet repeats the visible formula; this table is equivalent for the arithmetic. Enter no personal information.
Beyond today's main case
Optional fictional transfer settings include an adult arts studio, sports-equipment planning, community garden supply, transport itinerary, theatre props, digital media commission and maker workshop. Keep the same rate/base/period rule and state which unlisted conditions remain unknown. No purchase, sign-up or data gathering is required at home. The fresh checks are separate public files; save first responses before reading feedback.