Month: August 2011

Resource of the Week: Written multiplication of money

money-multiplication-p1

Multiplication of money by a single digit is very much like multiplying a 3-digit number by a single digit, but, of course, the decimal point needs to be included. It would normally be expected to answer these types of question using the standard written method.

The first 8 questions are set out in the standard way but it is important that the second set of questions, from 9 to 15 should be set out in the correct way and not attempted as shown.

When marking these check that the working is shown, especially that the numbers have been carried across. It is often a good idea for children to check the answers to this type of question by using a calculator. (If they just use the calculator to find the answer this is quite obvious as there is no working shown!)

This page any many others can be found in our Four Rules section.

Multiplication of money (pg 1)

Maths Level 4 SAT results improve

The steady improvement in KS2 SAT results continued this year, according to the Department for Education figures. Last year 79% reached at least Level 4. This year the figure rose to 80%.

There are however, several points that need to be raised about these results. Originally level 4 was talked of as being an average for 11 year old children. Now everyone is expected to reach at least this ‘average’, which is unrealistic and mathematically it would mean that the average will surely rise. Some children who work really hard but don’t reach the level can feel a great sense of failure rather than a sense of achievement.

The second point is that it hides the differences between girls and boys, which is even more marked in the English results. The question why so many boys struggle has yet to be answered and until more male teachers are recruited into Primary Schools I am sure that little will change.

In a similar vein a study published today (AptiQuant) suggests that those peple who use Internet Explorer have a lower than average IQ! Those using Chrome, Firefox and Safari have higher IQs and users of Camino and Opera came out on top. What does this mean? Probably absolutely nothing!

2010 Maths SAT paper A: question 4

Question 4 on the Maths 2010 Paper A introduces the important notion that you don’t necessarily have to get a question correct to gain marks. Part 4b points out that showing the working out could gain a mark and it is very important that children realise this. Many children are very reluctant to show their working out, preferring to just jot down and answer.

Both parts of question 4 require two separate operations to reach the answer.
Part (a) can be done in several ways. The most obvious is to identify the cost of the tuna salad (£1.60) and the apple pie (50p) and add them together. £1.60 + 50p = £2.10. This is quite tricky as it involves adding pounds and pence. Then subtract £2.10 from £2.50, leaving £0.40 or 40p.
Another way of doing part (a) is to do two separate subtractions. Take 50p from £2.50 leaves £2.00. Take £1.60 away from £2.00 leaves £0.40 or 40p. I think this is probably an easier method for many children.
The most appropriate method for part (b) is to add the cost of the cheese salad (£1.20) to the yogurt (35p) which makes £1.55. Then subtract 90p from £1.55 leaving £0.65 or 65p.
Some children may well subtract 90p from £1.20, making £0.30 and then adding the cost of the yogurt (£0.35), making £0.65 in total.
Both questions involve money written in a mixture of pounds and pence which makes this harder than it might first appear.

Question 4 from Maths SATs Paper 2010

Paper A Question 4 answers and suggested method