Support for the Mental Maths Test Skills Test Conference Saturday April 6th 2019

Top Tips For The Mental Maths Test Complete practice tests. Found at https://practice.skillstestbooking.com/ Use a whiteboard to take notes (there will be a whiteboard provided in the test). Practice fluency of times tables. L Greenwood March 2018

Tricky Areas Money Fractions to percentages Dividing with decimals

Remember that 0.50 is the same as a half Money Tips If I worked 40hrs per week at £8.50 per hour, what would be my weekly wage? What is the calculation? 40 x £8.50 = 40 x £8 = £320 40 x half (or half of 40)= £20 £320 + £20 = 340 = £340 Remember that 0.50 is the same as a half L Greenwood March 2018

So can you work out this question out? Tickets to the cinema cost £7.50. I need to buy 5 tickets, how much will this cost? Here is how to work it out: £7 x 5 (tickets) = £35 5 x half (or Half of 5) = £2.50 Total = £37.50 £7.50 x 5 Remember you can change the order when you are multiplying

Tips when answering fractions to percentages questions: You need to remember these key equivalent fractions/decimal/percentages 1 2 = 0.5 (or 0.50) = 50% (50 x 2 = 100) 1 5 = 0.2 (or 0.20) = 20% (20 x 5 = 100) 1 10 = 0.1 (or 0.10) = 10% (10 x 10 = 100) Friendly facts Use of Cuisenaire rods to model (1/2, 1/10 and 1/5) L Greenwood March 2018

Have a go at converting these: 1 4 = 1 8 = 3 4 = 0.25 = 25% (25 x 4 = 100) 0.125 = 12.5% (12.5 x 8 = 100) 0.75 = 75%

Unfriendly fractions: Look at these fractions: Can you spot a times table that both numbers belong to? 14 56 - both numbers are multiples in the 7x table 2 8 - now both numbers are multiples of 2x table 1 4 = 25% L Greenwood March 2018

Calculating with fractions For the mental arithmetic section you need to be able to do calculations involving fractions and decimals. 3 4 of a class of 80 students when on a school trip, how many was this? We want 3 4 of 80 which is the same as 3 4 x 80 So we could find a quarter of 80 = 20 Then multiply the quarter by three = 20 x 3 So now we have 3 quarters = 60 80 1 4 40 20 Also consider the halve strategy to find a quarter L Greenwood March 2018

Calculating with fractions 2 5 of a class of 30 students went on a school trip, how many were there? To find 1 5 we need to divide 30 by 5 30 ÷ 5 = 6 Each part is 1 5 and is worth 6 2 5 = 6 + 6 = 12 30 1 5 6 L Greenwood March 2018

The words 'per cent' means 'out of one hundred’. Percentages The way a percentage works is by telling you how many out of every 100 something is. The words 'per cent' means 'out of one hundred’. ％

So our new fraction is 24 100 = 24% Q. Six out of 25 pupils scored full marks in a test. What percentage of pupils scored full marks? What is the key information? 6 25 percentage So we can write 6 out of 25 as a fraction 6 25 Remember 25 is a useful number 25 x 4 = 100. 6 25 Look at the numbers 6 x 4 = 24 25 x 4 = 100 So our new fraction is 24 100 = 24% L Greenwood March 2018

Tips when answering fractions to percentages questions Find 15% of £2800 Clue: Break up the 15% into useful numbers (factor of 100), so 10% and 5% Start by finding 10% = £ 280 Then half the 10% to find 5% = £ 140 then add 10% and 5% together to make 15% = £ 420 Answer Maybe explain factors? L Greenwood March 2018

Tips when answering fractions to percentages questions: Find 80% of £250. Clue: What is an easy percentage you can work out in your head? 10% of 250 = £25 25 x 8 (to get 80%) which is the same as 25 x 4 doubled 25 x 4 = 100 so 25 x 8 = £200

Tips when answering fractions to percentages questions A student scored 18 marks out of 20. What percentage is this? Clue: 20 is a fifth of 100 ( 20 x 5 = 100) 18 x 5 = 10 x 5 = 50 8 x 5 = 40 Total = 90% 18 20 Explain the use of the fraction to find the percentage

Any more questions?