How we got there
Read this like a teacher at the board. We go slowly, name every number, and say why we take each step.
Explain in another language · 11
1. What is the question asking?
Read the question twice. Circle the unknown. Underline every number and unit. The paper is asking: Vehicles at the start of the year: cost R450 000, accumulated depreciation R130 000. A new vehicle costing R180 000 was bought on 1 December. Depreciation is 20% p.a. on cost. The year ends on 28 February. Calculate total depreciation and the closing carrying value for the fixed-asset note.
In other words — as if you have never seen this before
If you have never seen this before: Depreciate the old vehicles for 12 months and the new one only for the months owned. We will name a method in words, write the formula with no numbers, then substitute one line at a time.
2. What do we already know?
Opening cost R450 000, acc. depreciation R130 000. Addition R180 000 on 1 Dec (3 months). 20% on cost.
3. Which method — and why this one?
Depreciate the old vehicles for 12 months and the new one only for the months owned.
4. Step-by-step working
01 / 07
Calculate
Old vehicles: 450 000×20%=R90 000.
450 000×0,20=90 000Why this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.
02 / 07
Calculate
New vehicle: 180 000×20%×312=R9 000.
180 000×0,20×312=9 000Why this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.
03 / 07
Add
Total depreciation=90 000+9 000=R99 000.
90 000+9 000=99 000Why this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.
04 / 07
Calculate
Carrying value=(450 000 − 130 000)+180 000−99 000=R401 000.
320 000+180 000−99 000=401 000Why this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.
05 / 07
Step G — Sense-check the size
Ask: is this the kind of number a Grade 10–12 paper would want? A speed of 3 000 ms for a learner walking, or a probability bigger than 1, means a unit or algebra slip. Estimate first: round the numbers and do the sum in your head.
Why this step: Markers write ‘unrealistic’ in the margin when the method is right but the size is wild. A 10-second head check often finds a missing 10² or a unit that never changed.
06 / 07
Step F — Box the answer with its unit
Depreciation R99 000; closing carrying value R401 000.
Why this step: A number without a unit is half a mark on a Physics paper, and a marker can miss a Maths answer that is buried in working.
07 / 07
Step H — What the marker is looking for
On an NSC memo you usually earn: (1) a method mark for naming the right formula or idea in words, (2) an accuracy mark for substituting the given numbers with units, (3) an accuracy mark for the boxed answer with its unit. Write those three lines even if you are unsure of the arithmetic — blank pages score zero.
Why this step: First-timers chase the final number and leave the method blank. The memo still pays out for the idea and the substitution even when the last line is wrong.
5. The answer
Depreciation R99 000; closing carrying value R401 000.
Copy onto your answer sheet — in this order
Formula: 450 000×0,20=90 000
Answer: Depreciation R99 000; closing carrying value R401 000.
6. Check it like a marker
Check: closing cost 630 000 − accumulated depreciation 229 000 = R401 000.
7. A trap first-timers fall into
First-timers often grab the first formula they remember, mix units (cm with m, minutes with seconds), or drop a minus sign. Write the formula in words first: “this equals that, because…”