Interest is just a percent of a sum, taken once a year. These free printable worksheets ask for the interest earned — principal, rate and time — with I = Prt, and every answer lands on a whole number.
The sum asked for is the INTEREST, not the new balance, because that is the part the standard is about and the part a child gets wrong. Finding 4% of $500 is the easy step; knowing the answer is $60 of interest — not $560 owed — is the one the question is really testing. Reading it back as “the interest” rather than “the total” is the habit these pages build.
Why this sheet works
One year first, then the years. The interest for a single year is the rate as a percent of the principal, worked the 1%-first way every percent sheet here uses; then it is multiplied by how many years the sum is held. Splitting it in two is what keeps I = Prt from being a formula a child plugs into without seeing what each letter does.
How this one works
One question from a sheet like this one, worked a step at a time — with a sentence saying what just happened and why.
1$4980 earns 25% simple interest a year.How much interest after 1 year?
2$2480 earns 15% simple interest a year.How much interest after 5 years?
3$3375 earns 4% simple interest a year.How much interest after 1 year?
4$3300 earns 20% simple interest a year.How much interest after 5 years?
5$2675 earns 8% simple interest a year.How much interest after 3 years?
Percent word problems · Simple interestAnswer key
1. $4980 earns 25% simple interest a year. How much interest after 1 year? → $12452. $2480 earns 15% simple interest a year. How much interest after 5 years? → $18603. $3375 earns 4% simple interest a year. How much interest after 1 year? → $1354. $3300 earns 20% simple interest a year. How much interest after 5 years? → $33005. $2675 earns 8% simple interest a year. How much interest after 3 years? → $642
