Skip to main content
Common Core Math2nd GradeMeasurement & Data

2.MD.8: Solve Money Word Problems

Also written as 2.MD.C.8 and CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.C.8 · Cluster: Work with time and money.

Make Word ProblemsAll 26 2nd Grade Math Standards

The Official Wording

Solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, using $ and ¢ symbols appropriately. Example: If you have 2 dimes and 3 pennies, how many cents do you have?

Common Core State Standards, Grade 2, Measurement & Data · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What 2.MD.8 Means in Plain English

Second graders count a handful of money and solve stories with it: 2 dimes and 3 pennies make 23¢, a dollar bill with 2 quarters, a dime, a nickel and 3 pennies make $1.68. They count from the biggest coin down and write the symbol that fits.

Money is where skip-counting by 5s, 10s and 25s (2.NBT.2) and adding within 100 (2.NBT.5) pay off. Third grade has no money standard, though its two-step word problems often use prices (3.OA.8), and money returns formally in 4th grade with decimal notation (4.MD.2).

2.MD.8 I Can Statements

  • I can tell the value of a quarter, dime, nickel and penny.
  • I can count a group of coins and bills from largest to smallest.
  • I can write an amount of money using ¢ or $.

2.MD.8 Worked Example

A bill and five coins counted from the biggest value down, then written with the right symbols.

Problem

Omar has 1 dollar bill, 2 quarters, 1 dime, 1 nickel and 3 pennies. How much money does he have?

Counting a pocketful of money
  1. Start with the biggest value. The dollar bill is 100 cents, or $1.$1 = 100¢
  2. Count the coins from largest to smallest. Two quarters are 25 and 25.25¢ + 25¢ = 50¢
  3. Add the dime, then the nickel, then the pennies one at a time.50¢ + 10¢ = 60¢, 60¢ + 5¢ = 65¢, 65¢ + 3¢ = 68¢
  4. Put the dollar and the coins together. 68 cents is less than a dollar, so it stays as cents after the dollar.$1 and 68¢, written $1.68
Answer$1.68, or 1 dollar and 68 cents

Check it: Count the coins again a different way: 3 pennies and the nickel make 8¢, the dime makes 18¢, the two quarters make 68¢. Same total.

Common Mistakes with 2.MD.8

Counting coins as ones

2 quarters, 1 dime and 3 pennies counted as 6¢

Try this: Sort the coins by type first and say each value as you touch it: 25, 50, 60, 61, 62, 63.

Dime and nickel swapped by size

The nickel called 10¢ because it is the bigger coin

Try this: Teach the trick directly: the dime is the smallest coin but worth more than the nickel. Sort a mixed pile by value, not size.

Mixing up the symbols

68¢ written as $68, or 68 cents written as 0.68¢

Try this: Match each symbol to a real object: ¢ goes with coins under a dollar, $ goes with bills. Read every answer aloud.

Where 2.MD.8 Fits

Comes Before2.NBT.2Skip-count by 5s and 10s, the counts for nickels and dimes.
Alongside2.NBT.5Add and subtract within 100, which is every coin total under a dollar.2.OA.1Solve word problems within 100 with the unknown in any position.2.MD.7Tell time to five minutes, the other half of this cluster.
Comes Next3.OA.8Solve two-step word problems, often about prices and change.4.MD.2Solve money word problems with decimal notation and all four operations.

Practice 2.MD.8

Word Problem GeneratorFree ToolAddition and subtraction stories within 100 at the 2nd grade level. Read the numbers as cents and have students write every answer with the ¢ sign.Grade 2Add and subtractWithin 100
Make Word Problems

Quick Check

  1. You have 3 dimes and 4 pennies. How many cents do you have?
  2. A sticker costs 45¢. Leo pays with 2 quarters. How much change does he get?
  3. Mia has a $1 bill and 3 quarters. How much money does she have? Write it with a $ sign.

2.MD.8: Other Names

2.MD.82.MD.C.8CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.C.8

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.