Question 1 of 10 · Basic · free to tryThe table below shows the postage charges for letters at a post office. Siti…The table below shows the…
The table below shows the postage charges for letters at a post office. Siti posts a letter with a mass of 75 g. How much is the postage charge for her letter?
75 g is more than 60 g, so the $0.70 and $1.10 rows do not apply
postage charge for a mass up to 120 g = $1.60
Answer: $1.60
For parents
How do you work out P5 parking charges questions from a rate table?
Charges tables for parking, postage and phone calls use one price for the first block and another for each block after it.
What your child learns here
Charges tables for parking, postage and phone calls use one price for the first block and another for each block after it. This page applies the Primary 5 Rate outcomes to these tables, including a parking time worked out from two clock times.
Read the first block and the later blocks as separate charges.
Take the first block off the total time or mass before counting the later blocks.
A part of a block is charged as a whole block when the table says 'or part thereof'.
A row that says 'up to 50 g' includes 50 g; anything heavier moves to the next row.
Find the parking time from the two clock times before using the table.
Does the answer make sense?
A total charge your child finds must be at least the price of the table's first block. When the amount paid is given and the longest time is asked, that time must end exactly where the last paid block ends, because any part of a block costs a full one.
How to practise these questions
Basic practice trains reading a stepped table of charges by finding which band the amount falls in. Intermediate questions add charges for each further block or part of one, and times worked out from clock readings first. Challenge questions compare two tariffs, cross between two price bands, or work back from the amount paid to the longest time allowed. If a table question goes astray, watch that question's solution film and try it again from Revision on another day.
Questions parents ask
What does 'or part thereof' mean? It means a part of a block is charged as a full block. 10 minutes into a new half hour costs the same as the whole half hour.
Are parking charges questions in the Primary 5 syllabus? The syllabus covers rate and finding rate, total amount or number of units. Charges tables apply that to costs that change after the first block.
Does my child need to work out the time first? Yes, when the question gives a start time and an end time. The parking time comes first, then the table.
