Year 5 is the year maths gets wider. Numbers go into the millions and down to thousandths. Percentages turn up. Fractions are compared, ordered and added. It's a lot of new ground for one year.
Tasmanian schools teach the Australian Curriculum, Version 9.[2] In Year 5 maths that's 24 content descriptions, split across six strands.[1] Every one is listed below.
Why Year 5 matters
Year 5 sits in the middle of primary maths. What's learned here feeds Year 6 directly, and by Year 7, in a new high school with new teachers, nobody goes back over it.
It's also the NAPLAN year. The Year 5 test is sat in March, so it draws mostly on Year 4 and early Year 5 learning. And for families thinking about a scholarship at an independent school, the test for Year 7 entry usually comes in Year 6, when Year 5 maths is the foundation.[3] Our guide to scholarship tests in Tasmania has more.
Every Year 5 maths topic
The wording comes from ACARA.[1] In a code like AC9M5M01, M5 means Year 5 maths, and the second M is the Measurement strand.
Number
| Code | What your child learns |
|---|---|
| AC9M5N01 | Read, compare and order decimals with more than two decimal places, including numbers bigger than one, and place them on a number line. |
| AC9M5N02 | Write whole numbers as products of their factors, find multiples, and test whether one number divides evenly into another. |
| AC9M5N03 | Compare and order fractions with the same or related denominators, including mixed numbers, and show them on a number line. |
| AC9M5N04 | Understand 100% as the whole, and connect common percentages to fractions and decimals (50% is a half is 0.5). |
| AC9M5N05 | Add and subtract fractions with the same or related denominators. |
| AC9M5N06 | Multiply large numbers by one- and two-digit numbers, choosing an efficient method. |
| AC9M5N07 | Divide, and decide what a remainder means in the problem: round up, round down, or write it as a fraction or decimal. |
| AC9M5N08 | Use estimation to check whether an answer, including a money answer, makes sense. |
| AC9M5N09 | Use maths to model and solve real problems, including money problems, and explain the answer. |
| AC9M5N10 | Follow and write step-by-step algorithms, with decisions, to explore factors, multiples and divisibility. |
Algebra
| Code | What your child learns |
|---|---|
| AC9M5A01 | Use the fact that multiplication and division undo each other to build fact families (6 × 7 = 42, so 42 ÷ 7 = 6). |
| AC9M5A02 | Find the missing number in multiplication and division equations, such as 8 × ? = 96. |
Measurement
| Code | What your child learns |
|---|---|
| AC9M5M01 | Choose sensible metric units for length, mass and capacity, using smaller units or mixed units for accuracy. |
| AC9M5M02 | Solve practical problems about the perimeter and area of regular and irregular shapes. |
| AC9M5M03 | Compare 12-hour and 24-hour time and convert between them. |
| AC9M5M04 | Estimate, draw and measure angles in degrees with a protractor, and name angles by their size. |
Space
| Code | What your child learns |
|---|---|
| AC9M5SP01 | Match 3D objects to their nets, and build objects from nets. |
| AC9M5SP02 | Use a grid with coordinates, plus direction words, to describe where things are and how they move. |
| AC9M5SP03 | Slide, flip and turn shapes, and say what changes and what stays the same. |
Statistics
| Code | What your child learns |
|---|---|
| AC9M5ST01 | Collect, check and display data using software such as spreadsheets, and describe it by its most common value (mode) and its shape. |
| AC9M5ST02 | Read line graphs that show change over time and draw conclusions from them. |
| AC9M5ST03 | Plan and run a small statistical investigation, choose a display and report what they found. |
Probability
| Code | What your child learns |
|---|---|
| AC9M5P01 | List all possible outcomes of a chance experiment and tell equally likely outcomes from ones that aren't. |
| AC9M5P02 | Repeat chance experiments, count how often each result comes up, and use that to compare how likely each one is. |
The four slips we see most
- Decimals by length. Is 0.7 bigger than 0.65? Lots of children say no, because 65 is bigger than 7. Writing 0.7 as 0.70 usually settles it.
- Fractions that don't share a denominator. Year 5 adds fractions with related denominators, like halves and quarters. Children who add the tops and the bottoms need to see it on a number line.
- Remainders without thinking. If 30 people need tables of 8, how many tables? Four, not "3 remainder 6". The question decides what to do with the remainder.
- Area and perimeter mixed up. One is the edge, the other is the inside. It's worth checking every time.
Small things that help at home
- Use money for decimals. $4.05 and $4.50 are very different, and children know it. Money is the easiest way into hundredths.
- Read the bus or ferry timetable together. Working out how long the trip takes, in 24-hour time, covers AC9M5M03.
- Ask "what fraction is that?" while cooking. Half a cup, a quarter of the tray, three of the eight slices left.
- Check the change at the shop. Quick mental subtraction with decimals, and a real reason to get it right.
What's coming in Year 6
Year 6 adds fractions with any denominator, percentages of amounts, and the area formula in place of counting squares.[1] Those three are where a shaky Year 5 shows up first, so they're worth a look in the summer holidays.
Year 5, mapped and planned
Study Compass checks where your child is in Year 5 maths, fills the gaps first, then moves on. Every lesson carries its Australian Curriculum code.
Start freeSources
- ACARA, Australian Curriculum: Mathematics F–6, Version 9.0 (Year 5 content descriptions). https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/content/dam/en/curriculum/ac-version-9/downloads/mathematics/mathematics-curriculum-content-f-6-v9.docx (accessed 23 October 2026).
- Tasmanian Department of Education, Professional Learning Institute, Getting ready for Version 9.0: Mathematics Prep to 6. https://pli.education.tas.gov.au/program/getting-ready-for-version-9-0-mathematics-prep-6/ (accessed 23 October 2026).
- ACER, Scholarship tests. https://www.acer.org/scholarship (accessed 23 October 2026).
Curriculum documents get updated. Always check the official source before making a decision. Study Compass isn't affiliated with or endorsed by ACARA, ACER, Edutest, any school, or the Tasmanian Department for Education, Children and Young People.