Arithmetic
James_May
Posts: 606 Forum Member
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I was quite surprised at how many people didn't score a perfect 10 on the linked test yesterday. That was pretty basic, the kind of questions geared towards 9 year olds.
It got me wondering how well some of you would fare if pitted against a 9 year old sitting a SATs test, so here are a few sample questions. How many can you answer?
1) Chen is thinking of three numbers, he says "the range is 5, and the mode is 2". What are his three numbers?
2) 2n is greater than 30, 5n is less than 100. Write down all the values for n.
3) 2 3/4 + 3 1/2 = ?
4) 1 1/4 + ? = 2 3/4
5) Chen and Meg by a sandwich, Chen gets 5p change from £2 and Meg gets £2.25 change from £5. How much more di Meg spend than Chen?
6) The number A is twice the number D. The number B is 5 less than C. The number D is 10 more than the number B. What are the missing values?
A) 50
? C) ? D) ?
7) 200 children went on holiday. 10% went to Wales, 25% went to Scotland. How many more children went to Scotland than went to Wales?
8) Alfie has two sticks. When he puts them end to end, they measure 80cm in length. If one stick is 10cm longer than the other, how long are the two sticks?
9) Amy thought of a number. She added 0.5 to her number and doubled the result. She subtracted 0.5 and doubled the new result. Her final answer was 61. What number did Amy start with?
For the following questions, I will give you something aimed at GCSE level.
If ax + bx + c = 0 then x = -b +/- √(b^2 - 4ac) / 2a
Using this quadratic formula, solve x for the following:
x^2 -2x -8 = 0
x^2 -5x = -6x
x^2 = 2x
11) C is proportional to p and C = 16 when p = 5. Find the equation connecting C and p.
Find C when p = 8
12) A car uses 40 litres of petrol in travelling 280 miles. How much will be used on a journey of 84 miles?
13) I think of a number. I multiply it by 3, then subtract 5. The answer is 3. Using 'a' to represent the number;
Write an equation to show this information;
Solve the equation to find a
14) £1200 is invested for 4 years at 10% compound interest per annum. Find the total in the account at the end of this period.
Answers on a postcard, folks.
It got me wondering how well some of you would fare if pitted against a 9 year old sitting a SATs test, so here are a few sample questions. How many can you answer?
1) Chen is thinking of three numbers, he says "the range is 5, and the mode is 2". What are his three numbers?
2) 2n is greater than 30, 5n is less than 100. Write down all the values for n.
3) 2 3/4 + 3 1/2 = ?
4) 1 1/4 + ? = 2 3/4
5) Chen and Meg by a sandwich, Chen gets 5p change from £2 and Meg gets £2.25 change from £5. How much more di Meg spend than Chen?
6) The number A is twice the number D. The number B is 5 less than C. The number D is 10 more than the number B. What are the missing values?
A) 50
? C) ? D) ?7) 200 children went on holiday. 10% went to Wales, 25% went to Scotland. How many more children went to Scotland than went to Wales?
8) Alfie has two sticks. When he puts them end to end, they measure 80cm in length. If one stick is 10cm longer than the other, how long are the two sticks?
9) Amy thought of a number. She added 0.5 to her number and doubled the result. She subtracted 0.5 and doubled the new result. Her final answer was 61. What number did Amy start with?
For the following questions, I will give you something aimed at GCSE level.
If ax + bx + c = 0 then x = -b +/- √(b^2 - 4ac) / 2a
Using this quadratic formula, solve x for the following:
x^2 -2x -8 = 0
x^2 -5x = -6x
x^2 = 2x
11) C is proportional to p and C = 16 when p = 5. Find the equation connecting C and p.
Find C when p = 8
12) A car uses 40 litres of petrol in travelling 280 miles. How much will be used on a journey of 84 miles?
13) I think of a number. I multiply it by 3, then subtract 5. The answer is 3. Using 'a' to represent the number;
Write an equation to show this information;
Solve the equation to find a
14) £1200 is invested for 4 years at 10% compound interest per annum. Find the total in the account at the end of this period.
Answers on a postcard, folks.
0
Comments
I could do it now, apart from the algebra, but I really have to think.
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/sats/sampmath.html
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/sats/calculators.html (with calculators)
Algebra is really important in everyday life, I don't understand people who say they don't see the point. It allows you to create a set of rules, a formula, that will give you an answer when there are variables. For instance, most nurses will be familiar with the NHS formula for calculating a drug dose and nurses have to use algebra on a daily basis in order to calculate correct doses.
Do they not have computers to do that? where did you find that information, are you a nurse?
I have never seen it being used in general everyday life. And that is what my teachers used to say.:D
You mean a calculator, haha. Yes, some nurses do, most use mental arithmetic and it has to be cross checked and verified by a second nurse. But the point is, without knowing the formula, the calculator is useless as you need to know how to manipulate the terms and plug in the values.
No, I am a student nurse on deferment.
As a Chemistry student, I do an awful lot of maths, most of which is calculus.
Algebra is extremely important to science. Without a rigorous mathematical framework, much of the physical sciences are useless.
There are few things more important than calculus, IMO.
I'd use a calculator to do the basic sort of arithmetic we're taught in Primary school (adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, finding square roots etc.), but calculators are only tools to help you do arithmetic more quickly. They can't actually do calculations for you unless you buy specialised computer software.
I only say because when I was in hospital, they just seemed to tap on the computer and dished out the pills/drip.
And what is the cost in shillings and pence.
The standard unit of measurement now is 'The Football Field'
They use it in every factual TV programme: "This is the size of 10 Football Fields" - "You could get 4 Football Fields in here"
So true ... but a smaller standard unit of length is the "double-decker bus", and the unit of area for large land-masses is "Wales".
Eh? We buy petrol by the litre and measure our car journeys in miles...
Anyway, to answer the OP's question: all of them.
And if he didn't mean it literally:
1. 2, 2, 7
2. Can't be done, short of: 15<n<20. Unless you meant to specify that n is an integer, in which case: 16, 17, 18, 19
3. 6 1/4
4. 1 1/2
5. 80p
6. B=15, C=20, D=25
7. 30
8. 35cm & 45cm
9. 15
10. -2, 4; -1, 0; 0, 2 (but I didn't bother with the formula for any of them
11. C=16p/5; 128/5 or 25 3/5
12. 12 litres
13. 3a - 5 = 3; a = 8/3
14. £1756.92
TheSilentFez's question is much more interesting...
Yes, n is an integer. And you grouped terms and factorised for the quadratics? I should have given an example that can't be factorised, lol.
My point is that this is all pretty basic stuff that should be familiar with everyone who completed high school. And I did stipulate arithmetic, not calculus. I don't expect anyone to solve complex integrals with a GCSE or equivalent. But you're right, it is the more interesting question, can you solve it?
That computer was your drugs chart so they know what you've been prescribed by the doctor.
Let's say you've been prescribed 5 mg of a drug. Said drug comes in a suspension that contains 10 mg in 200 mls. How much of that drug should I give you? (Answer is obvious, it's not what I'm asking)
Let's say that you've been prescribed another drug. The recommendation for this drug is 500mcg/kg and you weigh 60kg, how does the nurse know what to give?
This is elementary arithmetic.
I could never see the point either. Other than x, /, or - (using a calculator) I have never used any of it since.
Trig & slide-rules ffs - what was all that about!:D
What would your longitude and latitude be without trig? How do you suppose a GPS triangulates your location? What is a map without mathematics? (Going by your user information)
As stated, maths is the lingua franca of science and it governs pretty much everything you do from driving a car to using a computer. How can you not observe this simple fact?
We'd best not mention the missing "^2" on the left-hand side of the quadratic formula in the unnumbered Q10, then
Yes, but this margin is too small to contain my workings...
Had no idea about 9 or 13.