Module 8

Module 8: Daily Living

 

Explore

 

For this activity you will need your calculator and access to the Internet.

 

Try This

 

In this activity you will convert foreign currency amounts into Canadian dollars using an online currency converter.

 

The Bank of Canada website has a currency converter. You can find this currency converter by searching the Internet using the words Bank of Canada currency converter. You can use this converter to explore exchange rates among major currencies. These rates are updated daily. You can look up current rates, or you can explore rates for any date in the past ten years.

 

In this activity, when working with the Bank of Canada currency converter, select the nominal exchange rate. The cash rate includes an estimate of the fees commercial banks and other financial institutions charge customers to convert their currency. These fees are to cover the cost of doing business, and they include a profit margin. The nominal rate does not include these transaction fees.

 

In the Bank of Canada currency converter, select the currency you wish to convert from the “From” list. Select the currency you wish to exchange into from the “To” list. For instance, if you were converting Canadian dollars into US dollars, you would select “Canadian dollar” in “From” and “US dollar” in “To.” Finally, enter the amount you wish to convert without spaces or any currency symbol, and then click “Convert.”

 

You will recall from the example in Get Started that Heather was interested in the prices (exclusive of taxes and other charges) consumers pay in several other countries for a particular subcompact, fuel-efficient hatchback she would love to own. Her research was as follows.

 

On February 3, 2010, Heather used the Bank of Canada website to convert the foreign amounts into Canadian dollars to see where the car was least expensive and where it was most expensive. Here are Heather’s results.

 

It appears the hatchback is least expensive to buy in the United States and most expensive in Russia. The prices in the United Kingdom and in France are similar.

 

TT 1. Set up a table like “Heather’s Research in Canadian Dollars.” Use the Bank of Canada’s currency converter for today’s date to complete the last column of the table. How do your results differ from Heather’s results? Why do you think that is?

 

TT 2. You will recall that, in Get Started, you looked up foreign prices for an item in which you were interested. Set up a table for your item, just like Heather did for the hatchback. Use the Bank of Canada currency converter set to today’s date. Based on Canadian dollars, where is your item the most expensive? Where is your item the least expensive?

 

TT 3. The Bank of Canada’s currency converter isn’t the only currency converter on the Internet. Search for at least three other currency converters. You may wish to look for an application you can download to your cellphone. Rank the calculators you find for accuracy and ease of use. Be prepared to share your results with other students.

 

Share

 

Share your answers to TT 1 to TT3. Use the discussion area for your class or another method indicated by your teacher to post your answers and to view the work of the people you are sharing with. Compare your answers. Identify where you have similar answers and where your answers are different.

 

View the applications other students downloaded to their cellphones. Which application is the best? Would such a currency converter be useful to you?

Mathematics 10-3 Learn EveryWare © 2010 Alberta Education