GM Lesson 003 Salary Pay Cycles
Learning Intentions
- Calculate weekly, fortnightly and monthly wages from an annual salary.
- Compare different pay cycles for the same annual income.
- Interpret salary calculations in personal finance contexts.
Prerequisites
- Understand that a rate compares quantities with different units.
- Recognise annual, monthly, fortnightly and weekly as time periods.
- Use division to share a total amount evenly across equal time periods.
- Use dollars and cents correctly in financial calculations.
- Round money answers to the nearest cent when required.
Key Idea Summary
A salary is usually stated as an annual amount, meaning the amount earned over one year.
To calculate pay for a shorter pay cycle, divide the annual salary by the number of pay periods in one year.
There are:
weeks in one year fortnights in one year months in one year
Therefore:
Different pay cycles change how often someone is paid, but not the total annual salary.
For example, a person paid fortnightly receives fewer payments than a person paid weekly, but each fortnightly payment is larger.
Direct Instruction and Worked Examples
Time Allocation
Time Allocation
Link to original
- Introduction, warmup and vocabulary: 5 minutes
- Direct instruction: 15 minutes
- Understanding checks: 5 minutes
- Exercises: 20 minutes
- Homework: 20 to 30 minutes outside the lesson it was taught in.
Teacher Explanation
Explain that salary pay is different from hourly pay. A salary is usually fixed for the year, while hourly earnings depend on the number of hours worked.
Introduce the three common salary pay cycles:
| Pay Cycle | Number of Payments per Year |
|---|---|
| Weekly | |
| Fortnightly | |
| Monthly |
Emphasise that:
and therefore:
Worked Example 1: Weekly Pay
A receptionist earns an annual salary of $62 400.
Calculate the receptionist’s weekly pay.
Teacher prompts:
- What is the annual salary?
- How many weeks are there in one year?
- Which operation should be used to split the annual salary into equal weekly amounts?
- What unit should the final answer use?
Worked Example 2: Fortnightly Pay
A mechanic earns an annual salary of $78 000.
Calculate the mechanic’s fortnightly pay.
Teacher prompts:
- How many fortnights are there in one year?
- Why is fortnightly pay larger than weekly pay?
- Does changing the pay cycle change the annual salary?
Worked Example 3: Monthly Pay
A nurse earns an annual salary of $91 200.
Calculate the nurse’s monthly pay.
Teacher prompts:
- How many months are there in one year?
- Why is monthly pay larger than fortnightly pay?
- How can the monthly pay be checked against the annual salary?
Worked Example 4: Comparing Pay Cycles
A graphic designer earns an annual salary of $72 800.
Calculate the weekly, fortnightly and monthly pay.
Teacher prompts:
- Which pay cycle gives the smallest individual payment?
- Which pay cycle gives the largest individual payment?
- Why are the payments different even though the annual salary is the same?
- Which pay cycle might make budgeting easier? Explain.
Understanding Checks
Check 1
A salary is listed as $58 500 per year.
Which calculation gives the weekly pay?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Check 2
A person earns $1 400 per fortnight.
What calculation could be used to find their annual salary?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Check 3
A salary is paid monthly instead of weekly.
Explain why the monthly payment is larger than the weekly payment, even though the annual salary is unchanged.
Check 4
A person earns $84 000 per year.
Without calculating exact values, order these from smallest to largest payment amount:
- weekly pay
- monthly pay
- fortnightly pay
Exercises
Simple Familiar Exercises
Exercise 1
Calculate the weekly pay for each annual salary.
a. $52 000
b. $67 600
c. $83 200
d. $96 200
Exercise 2
Calculate the fortnightly pay for each annual salary.
a. $52 000
b. $65 000
c. $78 000
d. $91 000
Exercise 3
Calculate the monthly pay for each annual salary.
a. $48 000
b. $60 000
c. $84 000
d. $102 000
Exercise 4
For each annual salary, state which calculation should be used to find the requested pay cycle.
a. Weekly pay from $72 800
b. Monthly pay from $90 000
c. Fortnightly pay from $57 200
d. Weekly pay from $104 000
Complex Familiar Exercises
Exercise 5
A teacher earns an annual salary of $93 600.
Calculate the teacher’s:
a. weekly pay
b. fortnightly pay
c. monthly pay
Exercise 6
A laboratory technician earns $2 750 per fortnight.
Calculate the technician’s annual salary.
Exercise 7
A project officer earns $7 400 per month.
Calculate the project officer’s annual salary.
Exercise 8
A retail manager earns an annual salary of $72 540.
Calculate the manager’s weekly, fortnightly and monthly pay. Round each amount to the nearest cent.
Exercise 9
Two employees earn the same annual salary of $88 400.
Employee A is paid weekly.
Employee B is paid fortnightly.
a. Calculate Employee A’s payment each cycle.
b. Calculate Employee B’s payment each cycle.
c. Explain why Employee B receives more money per payment even though both employees earn the same annual salary.
Homework Problems
Homework 1
Calculate the weekly pay for each annual salary.
a. $45 500
b. $68 900
c. $110 500
Homework 2
Calculate the fortnightly pay for each annual salary.
a. $59 800
b. $81 900
c. $124 800
Homework 3
Calculate the monthly pay for each annual salary.
a. $54 000
b. $87 600
c. $132 000
Homework 4
A chef earns $2 180 per fortnight.
Calculate the chef’s annual salary.
Homework 5
A consultant earns $8 250 per month.
Calculate the consultant’s annual salary.
Homework 6
Priya is offered two jobs.
Job A pays $76 960 per year.
Job B pays $2 980 per fortnight.
Determine which job pays more annually.
Homework 7
A person earns $93 600 per year.
They are paid monthly and set aside $1 200 from each monthly payment for rent.
a. Calculate their monthly pay.
b. Calculate the total rent set aside over one year.
c. Calculate the amount remaining from their annual salary after rent.
Homework 8
Explain the difference between annual salary and pay per cycle. Use weekly, fortnightly and monthly pay cycles in your explanation.