When multiplying money that has both shillings and cents:

1. Multiply the cents first
2. Multiply the shillings next
3. If cents become 100 or more, convert to shillings (100 cents = 1 shilling)

Worked Example

A notebook costs shs 50 and 05 cents. Find the cost of 6 notebooks.

Solution

Answer: shs 300 and 30 cents (shs 300.30)

Worked Example (with conversion)

A book costs shs 250 and 75 cents. Find the cost of 10 books.

Solution

Answer: shs 2,507 and 50 cents (shs 2,507.50)

To divide money in shillings, divide the number of shillings by the whole number.

Worked Example

Shs 75 divided by 3 equals how much?

Solution

$75 \div 3 = 25$

So, shs 75 ÷ 3 = shs 25

Worked Example with larger numbers

Shs 2,850 divided by 38 equals how much?

Solution

$2850 \div 38 = 75$

So, shs 2,850 ÷ 38 = shs 75

When dividing money that has both shillings and cents:

1. Divide the shillings first
2. Convert any remainder shillings to cents (1 shilling = 100 cents)
3. Add any existing cents to the converted cents
4. Divide the total cents by the divisor

Worked Example

Shs 10 and 50 cents divided by 5 equals how much?

Solution

Answer: shs 2 and 10 cents

Worked Example (with remainder)

A pupil bought 17 exercise books for shs 14,790. How much was each book?

Solution

$14790 \div 17 = 870$

Answer: Each exercise book cost shs 870

Multiplication word problem

One litre of milk costs shs 1,850 and 50 cents. How much do 17 litres cost?

Solution

Multiply the cost by 17:

shs 1,850 50 cts × 17 = shs 31,458 and 50 cents

Division word problem

A poultry farmer sold 38 eggs for shs 17,126 and 60 cents. What was the price of each egg?

Solution

Divide the total by 38:

shs 17,126 60 cts ÷ 38 = shs 450 and 70 cents

• Cents are written with two digits (for example: 05 cents, not 5 cents)
• 100 cents = 1 shilling
• When multiplying: multiply cents first, then shillings
• When dividing: divide shillings first, then cents

In Tanzania, you use multiplication and division of money every day at the market. For example, if you are a farmer selling tomatoes at the market in Dar es Salaam and each bunch of tomatoes costs shs 720, to find out how much money you will get from selling 50 bunches, you multiply 720 by 50 to get shs 36,000. Similarly, if 10 customers share a bill of shs 20,000 equally at a restaurant, each person pays shs 2,000. These skills help with buying, selling, budgeting, and managing small business transactions.