Brighter Thinking

MATHEMATICS
GCSE for Edexcel
Teacher’s Resource
Jess Laffoley, Nathan Barker, Charmayne Bailey, Cecilia Freer, James Freeman,
Kathryn Bigg, Susanne Mallett
GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom

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© Cambridge University Press 2015

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First published 2015

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ii © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Contents

Contents
Introduction v

Changes to GCSE Mathematics 1

1F / 1H Calculations 9
2F / 2H Shapes and solids 16
3F / 3H 2D representations of 3D shapes 24
4F / 4H Properties of whole numbers 29
5F / 5H Introduction to algebra 34
6F / 6H Fractions 42
7F / 7H Decimals 48
8F / 8H Powers and roots 53
9F / 9H Rounding, estimation and accuracy 59
10F / 10H Mensuration 66
11F / 11H Perimeter 73
12F / 12H Area 79
13F / 13H Further algebra 87
14F / 15H Equations 97
14H Surds 106
15F / 16H Functions and sequences 113
16F / 17H Formulae 120
17F / 18H Volume and surface area 126
18F / 19H Percentages 133
19F /20H Ratio 138
20F / 21H Probability basics 145
21F / 22H Construction and loci 154
22F / 23H Vectors 160
23F / 24H Straight-line graphs 167
24F / 25H Graphs of functions and equations 175
25F / 26H Angles 186
26F / 28H Probability – combined events 193
27F / 29H Standard Form 200
27H Circles 206
28F / 30H Similarity 212
29F / 31H Congruence 220

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

30F / 32H Pythagoras’ theorem 226

31F / 33H Trigonometry 235
32F / 34H Growth and decay 245
33F / 35H Proportion 249
34F / 36H Algebraic inequalities 256
35F / 37H Sampling and representing data 263
36F / 38H Data analysis 271
37F / 39H Interpretation of graphs 278
38F / 40H Transformations 283
41H Transforming curves 289

Literacy in mathematics – helping your students to do their best 296

Preparing students for exams 303

Revision quizzes
Introduction 307
Foundation quizzes 309
Higher quizzes 317
Foundation mark schemes 325
Higher mark schemes 342

Time-saving sheets
Required formulae – Foundation 359
Required formulae - Higher 360
Crossword puzzle 361
Polygon diagrams 362
Angle facts 363
1 cm squared paper 364
2 mm graph paper 365
Axis grids 366
Square dotted paper 367
Isometric grid paper 368
Isometric dotted paper 369
Nets of common 3-D solids 370
Foundation exercise 31A question 1 diagram 372
Circle outlines 373

iv © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Introduction

Introduction
This book has been written to support you in delivering the Edexcel 1MA1 GCSE Mathematics specification. It
accompanies Cambridge University Press’s GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel student resources, including the Foundation
and Higher Student Books, Problem-solving Books and Homework Books. The Teacher’s Resource suggests how to use
these resources for maximum benefit, as well as providing general advice on teaching the topics in the specification.

STUDENT BOOK SUPPORT

The structure of the Teacher’s Resource closely matches the Student Books. The Student Books are divided into
chapters and sections, with each section covering a single topic. The Teacher’s Resource contains a chapter of teaching
guidance for each Student Book chapter, covering both Foundation and Higher tiers, and is divided into corresponding
sections.
An introduction details what your students need to know before covering the topics in the chapter, learning
outcomes and key vocabulary. The introduction also describes common misconceptions, suggesting how to address
them, and offers ‘hooks’ to introduce the topics in an engaging way.
For each Student Book section, prompting questions are provided to promote discussion of the topic and to help
students when working through the Student Book exercises. Also provided are suggested activities for starters,
plenaries, enrichment and assessment – these include links to Web resources as well as classroom activities.
At the end of each chapter, the Topic links section describes how the topics in the Student Book chapter link to previous
and future learning, and to A Level topics. The Links to other Cambridge GCSE Mathematics resources list details the
relevant sections in the Homework Books and Problem-solving Books, which you can set students as support, extension
or homework tasks.

GENERAL ADVICE AND SUPPORT

This book includes a number of chapters offering general advice for teaching GCSE Mathematics:
• The Changes to GCSE Mathematics chapter describes the main changes to the GCSE Mathematics qualification for
first teaching from September 2015.
• The Literacy in mathematics chapter contains ideas for helping students to become more literate in maths,
including advice on extracting information, problem solving and reasoning. It also contains suggestions you can offer
parents who are looking to support their child through the course.
• The Preparing students for exams chapter contains ideas for supporting students’ revision.

REVISION QUIZZES

There are also eight revision quizzes (four calculator and four non-calculator) included for each tier, along with
accompanying mark schemes. Each quiz covers multiple topics and is designed to take a maximum of 40 minutes to
complete so you can use it within a single lesson.
The quizzes contain the following icons:

– permitted time

– use of a calculator is permitted

– use of a calculator is not permitted

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

TIME-SAVING SHEETS

Printable time-saving sheets are provided at the end of the Teacher’s Resource. These include lists of required
formulae, 2 mm graph paper, squared and isometric paper, and other useful handouts.

SCHEMES OF WORK

To help you plan and navigate your way through the course, one-, two- and three-year schemes of work are available
to download for free from cambridge.org/ukschools/gcsemaths-schemesofwork.
The schemes of work break the course down by Student Book chapter, with suggested teaching times, key information
and details of where to find supporting material in all of the resources in our GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel series.
Each scheme of work is provided as an editable Microsoft® Word document, so you can customise it to your own
requirements.

GCSE MATHEMATICS ONLINE FOR EDEXCEL

Further resources to support you and your students through their GCSE course are available on GCSE Mathematics
Online for Edexcel, our brand new interactive teaching and learning subscription service. GCSE Mathematics Online for
Edexcel includes lesson notes, games, interactive activities and quizzes, organised in the same chapter structure as the
Student Books. It also includes a test generator, reporting and progression tracking.
Please visit cambridge.org/ukschools for full details of all our GCSE Mathematics resources, including more
information on GCSE Mathematics Online for Edexcel.

ANSWERS

Student Book answers

Answers to all Student Book questions are available online as a free PDF. You can download the answer booklet from
cambridge.org/ukschools/gcsemaths-studentbookanswers.
The answer booklet is also included in the Teacher edition of GCSE Mathematics Online for Edexcel.

Problem-solving Book answers

Worked solutions with commentary are included in the back of the Problem-solving Books.

Homework Book answers

A booklet containing answers to all homework exercises is free to download from cambridge.org/ukschools/
gcsemaths-homeworkanswers.

vi © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Changes to GCSE Mathematics

Changes to GCSE Mathematics

This chapter offers an overview of the main changes to the GCSE Mathematics qualification for first teaching from
September 2015, split to show the effect on both Foundation and Higher tiers.

GRADES

The new GCSE is significantly different from its predecessor. Students will now be graded on a 1–9 scale; students failing
to meet the standard for grade 1 will be graded ‘U’. Higher tier will assess grades 4–9 and Foundation tier grades 1–5,
hence the overlap grades are now grades 4 and 5, but these new grades do not correspond directly to the A* to G grades
previously used. If you wish to read more about grades, the latest information can usually be found on the websites of
Ofqual and the awarding bodies.

ASSESSMENT

GCSE Mathematics is now double weighted in the league tables and the Department for Education has stated that
assessment time must be a minimum of 4.5 hours. The course is linear and assessment is by written papers only, with
no controlled assessment or coursework.
Assessment Objectives have been updated for the reformed GCSE, with an increased emphasis on problem-solving and
mathematical reasoning.

Weighting
Higher Foundation
Use and apply standard techniques
Students should be able to:
• accurately recall facts, terminology and definitions
AO1 40% 50%
• use and interpret notation correctly
• accurately carry out routine procedures or set tasks requiring multi-
step solutions.
Reason, interpret and communicate mathematically
Students should be able to:
• make deductions, inferences and draw conclusions from mathematical
information
• construct chains of reasoning to achieve a given result
• interpret and communicate information accurately
AO2 30% 25%
• present arguments and proofs
• assess the validity of an argument and critically evaluate a given way
of presenting information
Where problems require candidates to ‘use and apply standard
techniques’ or to independently ‘solve problems’ a proportion of
those marks should be attributed to the corresponding Assessment
Objective.

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Solve problems within mathematics and in other contexts

Students should be able to:
• translate problems in mathematical or non-mathematical contexts
into a process or a series of mathematical processes
• make and use connections between different parts of mathematics
• interpret results in the context of the given problem
AO3 30% 25%
• evaluate methods used and results obtained
• evaluate solutions to identify how they may have been affected by
assumptions made.
Where problems require candidates to ‘use and apply standard
techniques’ or to ‘reason, interpret and communicate mathematically’
a proportion of those marks should be attributed to the corresponding
Assessment Objective.

FORMULAE

In addition, there have been significant changes to the formulae pupils receive in the exams and now the only formulae
given in the exams are:
• Perimeter, area, surface area and volume formulae
Where r is the radius of the sphere or cone, l is the slant height of a cone and h is the perpendicular height of a cone:
-- curved surface area of a cone = prl
-- surface area of a sphere = 4pr2
4
-- volume of a sphere = pr3
3
1 2
-- volume of a cone = pr h
3
• Kinematics formulae
Where a is constant acceleration, u is initial velocity, v is final velocity, s is displacement from the position when t = 0 and
t is time taken:
-- v = u + at

-- s = ut + 12 at 2

-- v 2 = u 2 + 2as
All other formulae will need to be memorised or students will need to learn how to derive it in an exam.

SUBJECT CONTENT

Changes to the subject content students will be assessed on are detailed below for each tier alongside references to
the Student Book chapters that contain relevant material. Please note that the language of specifications is open to
interpretation, so these changes are the authors’ conclusions only and you may wish to conduct your own comparison
between the specification for first teaching from 2015 and its predecessor.
Additions to Foundation tier:
The following table lists concepts that are new to the Foundation tier and indicates whether they were previously part of
the Higher tier assessment. A reference is given to the DfE’s GCSE subject content and assessment objectives published
in November 2013 alongside where you will find it in both the Foundation tier textbook and Higher tier textbook (where
applicable). As you will see, the changes to the material being assessed on Foundation tier are quite substantial and
it may be the case that more teaching time is required to cover the content. For comprehensive guidance on topics
that may appear in final assessments, centres are directed to the awarding body’s content guidance documents and
Specimen Assessment Materials (SAMs), which may be updated during the lifespan of the course.

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 Changes to GCSE Mathematics

To indicate the level of challenge each concept presents, the text has been left with the formatting used by the DfE,
despite the expectation that ‘All students will develop confidence and competence with the content identified by the
standard type. All students will be assessed on the content identified by the standard and the underlined type; more
highly attaining students will develop competence with all of this content.’ (DfE, 2013: p.4) The underlined type therefore
presents the significantly more challenging material Foundation students will now face, whereas there is an expectation
all students will master the normal type.

Concept* DfE Where you can Notes

Ref** find it
Calculate with and interpret standard form N9 27F / 29H Standard form Previously Higher only content.
A x 10n, where 1 ≤ A < 10 and n is an integer.
Calculate exactly with …multiples of π. N8 12F / 12H Area, 17F / Previously Higher only content.
18H Volume and surface
area
Round numbers and measures to an N15 9F / 9H Rounding, Previously Foundation candidates
appropriate degree of accuracy (e.g. to a estimation and were only expected to round
specified number of … significant figures). accuracy values to 1 significant figure.
Use inequality notation to specify simple N15 9F / 9H Rounding, This is new to both tiers and
error intervals due to truncation or estimation and different to upper and lower
rounding. accuracy bounds, which remains in the
Higher tier.
Simplify and manipulate algebraic A4 5F Introduction to There is no expectation that
expressions (including those involving algebra Foundation candidates do
surds…). anything other than simplify
expressions involving surds where
they treat the surd as they would
any other variable.
Expanding products of two …binomials. A4 13F / 13H Further Previously Higher only content.
Algebra
Factorising quadratic expressions of the A4 13F / 13H Further Previously Higher only content.
form x2 + bx + c, including the difference of Algebra The important thing to note here
two squares. is that the coefficient of x 2 is
always 1.

Argue mathematically to show algebraic A6 13F / 13H Further This extends previous objectives to
expressions are equivalent. Algebra knowing the difference between an
equation and identity to arguing
mathematically through solving
that two statements are always,
rather than sometimes, equal.
Use the form y = mx + c to identify A9 23F / 24H Straight- Previously Higher only content.
parallel… lines. line graphs, 24F / 25H
Graphs of functions and
equations
Find the equation of the line through two A9 23F / 24H Straight- This is new to both tiers.
given points, or through one point with a line graphs, 24F / 25H
given gradient. Graphs of functions and
equations
Identify and interpret roots, intercepts, A11 24F / 25H Graphs of Previously Higher only content.
turning points of quadratic functions functions and equations
graphically.
Deduce [quadratic] roots algebraically A11 14F / 15H Equations Previously Higher only content.

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Concept* DfE Where you can Notes

Ref** find it
Recognise, sketch and interpret graphs A12 23F / 24H Straight- Sketching quadratics, cubics and
of linear functions, quadratic functions, line graphs, 24F / 25H reciprocals is new to both tiers.
simple cubic functions, the reciprocal Graphs of functions and
1 equations
function y =
x

Plot and interpret graphs (including A14 24F / 25H Graphs of Previously plotting reciprocal
reciprocal graphs…) functions and equations graphs was Higher only content.
Solve quadratic equations … algebraically A18 13F / 13H Further Previously Higher only content.
by factorising. algebra, 14F / 15H
Equations
Find approximate solutions [to quadratics] A18 14F / 15H Equations Previously Higher only content.
using a graph.
Solve two simultaneous equations in two A19 14F / 15H Equations Previously Higher only content.
variables (linear/linear…) algebraically.
Translate simple situations or procedures A21 14F / 15H Equations The important section of this
into algebraic expressions or formulae; objective being that which
derive an equation (or two simultaneous increases the challenge of
equations), solve the equation(s) and forming and solving simultaneous
interpret the solution. equations.
Recognise and use sequences of triangular, A24 F15 / H15 Functions and These different types of sequences
square and cube numbers, simple sequences have had more emphasis placed
arithmetic progressions, Fibonacci type on them in the new specification.
sequences, quadratic sequences, and ‘Fibonacci type sequences’
simple geometric progressions (r n where implies students now may have to
n is an integer, and r is a rational number work with sequences defined by a
> 0.) recurrence relation.
Solve problems involving percentage R9 18F / 19H Percentages Previously Higher only content.
change.
Original value [percentage] problems. R9 18F / 19H Percentages Previously Higher only content.
This content covers problems
often referred to as reverse
percentage problems.
Simple interest in financial mathematics. R9 32F / 34H Growth and Previously Higher only content.
decay
Solve problems involving direct and R10 33F / 35H Proportion, Previously Higher only content.
inverse proportion, including graphical 37F / 39H Interpretation
and algebraic representations. of graphs
Use compound units such as … density R11 10F / 10H Mensuration Density is previously a compound
and pressure. measure used in Higher tier
only, however pressure is a new
compound measure to both tiers.
Understand that X is inversely proportional R13 33F / 35H Proportion Previously Higher only content.
1
to Y is equivalent to X is proportional to
Y

Interpret equations that describe direct R13 33F / 35H Proportion Previously Higher only content.
and inverse proportion.

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 Changes to GCSE Mathematics

Concept* DfE Where you can Notes

Ref** find it
Interpret the gradient of a straight-line R14 23F / 24H Straight- Previously Higher only content.
graph as a rate of change. line graphs, 37F / 39H
Interpretation of graphs
Recognise and interpret graphs that R14 33F / 35H Proportion, 37F
illustrate direct and inverse proportion. / 39H Interpretation of
graphs
Set up, solve and interpret the answers R16 32F / 34H Growth and Previously Higher only content.
in growth and decay problems, including decay
compound interest.
Derive and use the sum of angles in a G3 25F / 26H Angles The important word here being
triangle. ‘derive’ as previously there was
only an expectation students
understood a proof that the sum
of angles in a triangle is 180°.
Use the basic congruence criteria for G5 29F / 31H Congruence Previously Higher only content.
triangles (SSS, SAS, ASA, RHS).
Apply … triangle congruence, similarity G6 29F / 31H Congruence, Previously Higher only content.
… to conjecture and derive results about 28F / 30H Similarity
angles and sides…, and use known results
to obtain simple proofs.
Identify, describe and construct G7 28F / 30H Similarity Previously Higher only content.
congruent and similar shapes, including The extension to enlargements in
on coordinate axes, by considering … the previous specification is that
enlargement (including fractional … scale it now includes fractional scale
factors). factors. Negative scale factors still
only appear in Higher content.
Identify and apply circle definitions and G9 12F / 12H Area, 27H Previously Higher only content.
properties, including: … tangent, arc, Circles
sector and segment.
Know the formulae: … surface area and G17 17F / 18H Volume and Previously Higher only content.
volume of spheres, pyramids, cones and surface area
composite solids.
Calculate arc lengths, angles and areas of G18 11F / 11H Perimeter, 12F Previously Higher only content.
sectors of circles. / 12H Area
Apply the concepts of congruence and G19 28F / 30H Similarity Previously Higher only content.
similarity, including the relationships Note, Foundation students will
between lengths, … in similar figures. only deal with one dimensional
scale factors as they apply to
lengths of similar shapes.
Know the formulae for: … the G20 31F / 33H Trigonometry Previously Higher only content.
trigonometric ratios,
opposite
sinθ = ,
hypotenuse
adjacent
cosθ = and
hypotenuse
opposite
tanθ = ; apply them to find angles
adjacent
and lengths in rightangled triangles...in
two... dimensional figures

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Concept* DfE Where you can Notes

Ref** find it
know the exact values of sinθ and cosθ for G21 31F / 33H Trigonometry This content is new to both tiers.
θ = 00, 300, 450, 600 and 900; know the exact
value of tanθ for θ = 00, 300, 450 and 600.
Apply addition and subtraction of vectors, G25 22F / 23H Vectors Previously Higher only content.
multiplication of vectors by a scalar, and
diagrammatic and column representations
of vectors.
Enumerate sets and combinations of sets P6 26F / 28H Probability - Venn diagrams are new material
systematically, using … Venn diagrams combined events to both tiers.
and tree diagrams.
Calculate the probability of independent P8 26F / 28H Probability - Previously Higher only content.
and dependent combined events, combined events
including using tree diagrams and other
representations, and know the underlying
assumptions.
Infer properties of populations or S1 35F / 37H Sampling and Previously Higher only content.
distributions from a sample, whilst representing data
knowing the limitations of sampling.
Interpret, analyse and compare the S4 36F / 38H Data analysis The consideration of outliers
distributions of data sets from univariate when measuring spread is new to
empirical distributions through: both tiers.
-- Appropriate measures of central
tendency … and spread (range,
including consideration of
outliers…)
Recognise correlation and know that it S6 36F / 38H Data analysis New content to both tiers.
does not indicate causation.
Interpolate and extrapolate apparent S6 36F / 38H Data analysis Extrapolation was previously
trends whilst knowing the dangers of so Higher only content.
doing.
*Concept quoted from DfE GCSE subject content and assessment objectives where appropriate
**Reference taken from DfE GCSE subject content and assessment objectives
Additions to Higher tier:
The following section details the changes made to the objectives for Higher tier students. There are not as many
changes as there are to the Foundation tier and some of the additions are new to both and indicated as such. In the
same way that the most challenging content all students will be assessed on was indicated with underlined text, further
challenging material for students taking the Higher tier is indicated with bold font. The expectation here is that ‘only the
more highly attaining students will be assessed on the content identified by bold type. The highest attaining students
will develop confidence and competence with the bold content.’ (DfE, 2013: p.4)

Concept* DfE Where you can Notes

Ref** find it
Use inequality notation to specify N15 9F / 9H Rounding, This is new to both tiers and different to
simple error intervals due to estimation and upper and lower bounds, which remains in
truncation or rounding. accuracy the Higher tier.
Find the equation of the line A9 23F / 24H Straight- This is new to both tiers. Previously students
through two given points, or line graphs, 24F were only expected to identify the gradient of
through one point with a given / 25H Graphs of a line in the form y=mx+c.
gradient. equations and
functions

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 Changes to GCSE Mathematics

Concept* DfE Where you can Notes

Ref** find it
Recognise, sketch and interpret A12 24F / 25H Graphs Sketching quadratics, cubics and reciprocals
graphs of linear functions, quadratic of equations and is new to both tiers. Further challenge
functions, simple cubic functions, functions for Higher students includes an ability to
the reciprocal function sketch exponential functions and the three
trigonometric functions they learn about at
GCSE: sine, cosine and tangent.
Calculate or estimate gradients A15 37F / 39H There is an increased emphasis on
of graphs and areas under graphs Interpretation of interpreting the information presented
(including quadratic and other non- graphs in graphs and in addition to the new
linear graphs), and interpret results requirement for students to calculate the
in cases such as distance–time gradient of curves at given points they will
graphs, velocity–time graphs and also have to interpret this in given situations.
graphs in financial contexts.
Find the equation of a tangent to a A16 24H Straight-line This topic does not require calculus as the
circle at a given point. graphs, 25H Graphs gradient can be found by considering the
of equations and negative reciprocal of the gradient of the
functions radius connecting the centre of the circle to
a given point. It is a challenging addition and
requires strong knowledge of linear equations
and an ability to work with equations of
circles.
Solve … quadratic inequalities in A22 34F / 36H Algebraic Solving quadratic inequalities was previously
one variable; represent the solution inequalities a topic reserved for A level. In addition, Higher
set on a number line, using set students are also expected to represent their
notation and on a graph. solutions with set notation and graphically.
Recognise and use sequences A24 15F / 16H Functions These different types of sequences have had
of triangular, square and cube and sequences more emphasis placed on them in the new
numbers, simple arithmetic specification. ‘Fibonacci type sequences’
progressions, Fibonacci type implies students now may have to work with
sequences, quadratic sequences, sequences defined by a recurrence relation.
and simple geometric progressions In addition for Higher pupils the common
( rn where n is an integer, and r is a ratio of a geometric sequence may also be an
rational number > 0, or a surd) and irrational number.
other sequences.
Deduce expressions to calculate A25 15F / 16H Functions The addition here is finding an expression for
the nth term of linear and quadratic and sequences the nth term of quadratic sequences.
sequences.
Use compound units such as … R11 10F / 10H Pressure is a new compound measure to both
pressure. Mensuration tiers.
Interpret the gradient at a point on R15 37F / 39H This addition to the Higher tier introduces
a curve as the instantaneous rate Interpretation of students to the idea that a non-linear curve
of change; apply the concepts of graphs can have a different gradient at different
average and instantaneous rate of points and that these gradients can be found
change (gradients of chords and by investigating the tangent to the curve
tangents) in numerical, algebraic at that point. It is not the reintroduction of
and graphical contexts. calculus to the GCSE curriculum but does
introduce some important ideas that will be
studied for students continuing Mathematics
at A level.
Derive and use the sum of angles in G3 25F / 26H Angles The important word here being ‘derive’ as
a triangle. previously there was only an expectation
students understood a proof that the sum of
angles in a triangle is 180 degrees.
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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Concept* DfE Where you can Notes

Ref** find it
Apply and prove the standard circle G10 27H Circles There is now an expectation that students
theorems concerning angles, radii, can prove the standard results for circle
tangents and chords, and use them theorems.
to prove related results.
know the exact values of sinθ and G21 31F / 33H This content is new to both tiers.
cosθ for θ = 00, 300, 450, 600 and 900; Trigonometry
know the exact value of tanθ for θ =
00, 300, 450 and 600.
Enumerate sets and combinations P6 26F / 28H Venn diagrams are new material to both tiers.
of sets systematically, using … Venn Probability -
diagrams. combined events
Calculate and interpret conditional P9 26F / 28H The addition of Venn diagrams extends to
probabilities through representation Probability - working with conditional probability for
using expected frequencies with combined events Higher tier candidates.
two-way tables, tree diagrams and
Venn diagrams.
Interpret, analyse and compare S4 36F / 38H Data The consideration of outliers when measuring
the distributions of data sets from analysis spread is new to both tiers.
univariate empirical distributions
through:
Appropriate measures of central
tendency … and spread (range,
including consideration of
outliers…)
Recognise correlation and know S6 36F / 38H Data New content to both tiers.
that it does not indicate causation. analysis

Topics that have been removed:

As well as the large number of additions to the new GCSE, there have also been some topics removed that were present
in the previous GCSE programme of study. These are:
• conversions between metric and imperial units
• design and criticise survey questions
• identify source of bias.
In addition trial and improvement to solve algebraic equations now appears at Higher tier only.

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 1F / 1H Calculations

1F / 1H Calculations
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• The meanings of the words sum, quotient, product and difference.

• How to use formal and informal methods and algorithms, both mental and written, for the four operations of
arithmetic.
• The distributive law.
• That multiplication and addition are commutative.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To identify the correct operations required and use • To identify the correct operations required and use
written calculations to solve worded problems. written calculations to solve worded problems.
• To calculate with all four operations of arithmetic using • To calculate with all four operations of arithmetic
positive and negative integers. using positive and negative integers.
Section 2 Section 2
• To apply the hierarchy of operations to accurately work • To apply the hierarchy of operations to accurately
out calculations involving two or more operations, with work out calculations involving two or more
and without calculators. operations, with and without calculators.
Section 3 Section 3
• To identify and write the inverses for operations and • To identify and write the inverses for operations and
apply these to check the results of calculations and apply these to check the results of calculations and
develop the skills required to solve equations. develop the skills required to solve equations.

Vocabulary
Integers

Common misconceptions and other issues

• With multiplication, it is important to ensure students fully understand the distributive law, to avoid a commonly
held multiplication misconception creating errors such as 34 × 23 = 30 x 20 + 4 × 3. (Use of the ‘grid’ method, to
ensure full multiplication of all partitions, can be useful here.)
• For some Foundation students, the range of possible methods they have been shown may have confused them and
they may try to follow algorithmic procedures with no true understanding. An example of this is with the column
method for subtraction, where ‘borrowing’ would be necessary. Students often ignore this and find the difference
between the largest and smallest values in the column, irrespective of order. Use of manipulatives (Dienes blocks,
Cuisenaire rods, money) to visually represent the strategies alongside the formal written methods can help.
• Students can learn procedural rules that they do not understand, which they then incorrectly apply. For example
‘two negatives make a positive’ translates to –n – m = +(n+m). Use continuations of patterns (see Section 1,
below) and examples from real life to help (e.g. imagining travelling in a lift that includes sub-ground level floors,
considering earning and borrowing money or working out the change in temperature to a liquid after adding hot or
cold liquids can all provide useful analogies to help with the concept of adding and subtracting negatives.)

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Hooks
1. Ask students how many pairs of integers they can find with their sum equal to their product.
(2 + 2 and 2 × 2 or 0 + 0 and 0 × 0) What relationship must exist between the numbers?
m
(n + m = mn or n = for) What if we remove the restriction of specifying integers? (Obviously an infinite set of non-
m–1 4
integer solutions can be found; some examples include and 4; 1.25 and 5; −9 and 0.9; 2 and 2 + 2 )
3
2. ‘Calculation Question’ and ‘Just Add’ at mathematicalbeginnings.com. For the first, ask students to write an
explanation to the person who wrote the letter below. For the second, students will inevitably check the addition is
correct initially. Then they might begin to consider the sense of what has been done!

Q: When I was at school, 2 + 3 × 5

(no brackets) equalled 25. This
is confirmed by my calculator.
However, on my new phone, the
answer is given as 17. This is also
the answer being taught at our
local secondary school. Which
is correct?
B. Marrison, Birdwell, Barnsley

SECTION 1F / 1H: BASIC CALCULATIONS

This section introduces the use of basic calculations, choosing the appropriate operation for worded problems and how
to calculate with directed numbers.

Prompting questions
Exercise 1A(F) / 1A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Can you identify which operation is required for each question? Then work through showing full methods. Encourage
discussion and comparison of solutions. Have students used different methods and can they describe them? Which
are more efficient?
• How can you check your solutions? (Possibilities include making a sensible estimate before calculating or use inverse
operations. For example, for Ex1A Q8 (8765 – 3087) + (1206 ÷18) could be estimated as (9000 – 3000) + (1200 ÷ 20) = 6000
+ 60 = 6060.)
• What words or clues in the questions can you find to identify which operations and calculations you need to use?
(E.g. for Q4 the rate of words per minute should indicate multiplication is required to calculate the number typed in 1.5
hours.)

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• Why do the ‘rules’ given in the chapter work? Investigate these patterns to help:

4+2= 4–2=
4+1= 4–1=
4+0= 4–0=
4 + −1 = 4 − −1 =
4 + −2 = 4 − −2 =
4 + −3 = 4 − −3 =

4×2= −2 × 4 =
4×1= −2 × 3 =
4×0= −2 × 2 =
4 × −1 = −2 × 1 =
4 × −2 = −2 × 0 =
4 × −3 = −2 × −1 =
4 × −4 = −2 × −2 =

× 3 2 1 0 –1 –2 –3
3
2
1
0
–1
–2
–3

Exercise 1B(F) / 1B(H)

While working through the exercise, a good prompt for students might be:
• In 1758 the British mathematician Francis Maseres claimed that negative numbers: ‘... darken the very whole doctrines
of the equations and make dark of the things which are in their nature excessively obvious and simple.’
Maseres and his contemporary, William Friend, took the view that negative numbers did not exist.
-- Why do you think they felt like this?
Perhaps there was a lack of immediate necessity for negative numbers at this time; today we need them to show
debt, lower temperatures, etc., which could have been less relevant then. They might have felt negative numbers
over-complicated things. Students find multiplying two negative numbers surprising; at this time, such concepts
would have been thought about and proved for the first time.
-- Why do we need negative numbers? Think of examples in real life where negative numbers are useful.
E.g. temperature, money, numbering floors in buildings that have underground levels.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and plenaries
• NRICH ‘Product Sudoku’. This provides a twist on traditional Sudoku involving some restrictions where pairs of
integers must have a specified product. It could be used to develop resilience and students’ abilities to work to given
conditions and follow instructions. (nrich.maths.org)
• Cross number (crossums) puzzles are an engaging way to practise basic skills. The Teachers Resources Online
(trol) website has plenty of these in a variety of formats. (cleavebooks.co.uk)
• Number Chains. Give students a starting number and then a string of operations to perform on it to get a final value.
E.g.
10% of
106 ÷2 – –13 ×5 squared (Answer 400)
this
• Target boards. Show students a grid with a range of numbers and ask them to write calculations to make a particular
value on the grid, or give them calculations to do to find your target number.
• Magic squares involving negative numbers. A useful source for this is Instant Maths Ideas on Number and Algebra,
available from the National STEM Centre. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• To give some variation in exercise style, you could create a ‘follow-me’ loop or treasure hunt using some of the
questions from the chapter. Question 4 would lend itself well as a starter question where students could ‘race’ to
complete each question.
• NRICH ‘Connect Three’ is a good interactive game for pairs of players, testing the ability to work with positive and
negative numbers as well as to think strategically. (nrich.maths.org)
• ‘Negative Numbers Song’. Search ‘negative numbers song’ on the internet.
• Number Loving has two examples of ‘Tick or Trash’ for calculations with negative integers as well as ‘Catchphrase’
and ‘Bingo’ games. (The easiest way to find particular resources is to select KS4 and then click ‘find’ to get a full list in
alphabetical order.) (numberloving.co.uk)
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Largest Product’. This is a useful investigation that will ensure students become familiar with the terms
‘sum’ and ‘product’, which can be extended to non-integers; students could be encouraged to try to generalise their
findings. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Cinema Problem’. This is great for developing problem-solving skills and can be approached by exhaustive
listings of calculations or introduction of algebra, so offers the possibility of extension for Higher tier students.
(nrich.maths.org)
• (Foundation only) Improving Learning in Mathematics ‘Using Directed Numbers in Context N8’. This is available
from the National STEM Centre Archive. The activities here work on adding and subtracting negative numbers
through the context of temperature. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• (Foundation only) NRICH ‘Up, Down, Flying Around’ balloon game. This is suitable for students who struggle with
the concept of adding and subtracting negative integers. (nrich.maths.org)
• (Foundation only) NRICH ‘Consecutive Negative Numbers’. This investigation will ensure students have plenty
of practice at adding and subtracting negative integers, while encouraging students to look for patterns and develop
their investigation. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• Ask students to create their own ‘cross number’ puzzle and a fully worked solution, with the calculation questions
having to use at least all four arithmetic operations. Their clues could have to include a number of problems framed
in scenarios as well as straightforward calculations to perform. This could extend to using non-integer values for
extension.
• Improving Learning in Mathematics ‘Evaluating Directed Number Statements N9’ is available from the National
STEM Centre Archive. This encourages students to evaluate statements using ‘always’, ‘sometimes’, ‘never’, as well
as explore operations on negative integers using patterns in a more extended way than the suggestions given
previously. This provides plenty of opportunities for in-class assessment. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)

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 1F / 1H Calculations

SECTION 2F / 2H: ORDER OF OPERATIONS

This section focuses on the hierarchy of operations and applying them in the appropriate order.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Have a whole class discussion of the section’s ‘Work it out’ element. Identifying which solution is correct and the
mistakes made would be helpful to fully draw out any lingering misconceptions.
• To help to pick up any continuing misconceptions, using Question 1 in Exercise C to make a quick multiple choice
quiz (along the lines of a ‘Who wants to be a Maths Millionaire?’ style) could be helpful by ensuring that the incorrect
multiple choice options include the answers found simply by working from left to right, or calculating a part in the
incorrect order.
Exercise 1C(F) / 1C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Why do you think operations have a hierarchy i.e. BODMAS?
It would be good to tease out from students the notions of raising an integer to a power being a way of swiftly
increasing the size of the integer, compared to repeat multiplication or indeed addition.
• Q5 (H) If these calculations are entered into the students’ calculators, do they get the expected answer? Try with a
3 × 4.5 2 + 62
calculation such as 4.2 + 7 + . How many different solutions have the class achieved? Where should
2
they be entering brackets to ensure their calculator gives the required solution? With the range of calculators
students may be using, this is really important to ask.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• A quick starter is to ask students to write out the integers one to 20, then roll a dice to randomly generate numbers.
The students must then use these to make each integer from one to 20 using the four operations, brackets and powers
(from one of the rolled numbers) as appropriate without using any number more than once. They are not allowed to
make numbers by writing the rolled numbers as consecutive digits, e.g. making 16 by writing the rolled numbers 1, 6.
• ‘Four Fours’ is a similar idea to the one above, but with this students are asked to make the integers from one to 100
using exactly four fours each time. (Higher students can develop the use of operations further to using square roots
and factorials.) Students are allowed to write 44 or 444 with their fours if required. The Cut the Knot website has a
comprehensive list of solutions. (cut-the-knot.org)
Plenaries
• (Higher) Spot the Mistakes. Give students questions such as those below (there is a plentiful opportunity here
for differentiation through your choice of questions) to identify the errors that have been made and amend each
calculation so it becomes correct.

3 + 4 × 5 = 35 8 − 10 ÷ 2 = −1 2 × 52 = 100 (9 − 6) ÷ 3 = 7
Corrections: (3 + 4) × 5 = 35 (8 – 10) ÷ 2 = −1 (2 × 5)2 = 100 9 – (6 ÷ 3) = 7

• Make a BODMAS maze (a table with each cell filled with BODMAS appropriate calculations) where travelling from left
to right it is possible to find a route of cells with a specified target number as an answer.
• (Foundation only) Play the BODMAS dice game. Roll a die 18 times and ask students to place a number in each box,
such as the ones below, with the aim being to get the highest total at the end.
Enrichment activities
• (Foundation only) The Number Loving website has some suitable BODMAS activities for KS4 including ‘Collect a
Joke’ and ‘Top Trumps’ cards activities. (The easiest way to find particular resources is to select KS4 and then click
‘find’ to get a full list in alphabetical order.) (numberloving.co.uk)

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• ‘Priority of operations (BODMAS)’. For a range of additional BODMAS activities this chapter is available from the
National STEM Centre. (nationalstemcentre.org)
• Develop the previous prompt based on Q5 (H) with both Higher and Foundation students. Try giving students a
4 × 3.52 + 72
calculation such as 5.8 + 7 + . How many different solutions have the class achieved? Where should
3
they be entering brackets to ensure their calculator gives the required solution? With the range of calculators
students may be using, this is really important to ask.
Assessment ideas
• To help to pick up any continuing misconceptions, using Question 1 in Exercise C to make a quick multiple choice
quiz (along the lines of a ‘Who wants to be a Maths Millionaire?’ style) could be helpful by ensuring that the incorrect
multiple choice options include the answers found simply by working from left to right, or calculating a part in the
incorrect order.

SECTION 3F / 3H: INVERSE OPERATIONS

This section introduces inverse operations to ‘undo’ a previous calculation.

Prompting questions
Exercise 1D(F) / 1D(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• In addition to Q3 [F] and Q2 [H], which ask students to use inverse operations to check solutions, go back through
some of the students’ own solutions to the previous section exercises and use inverse operations to double check
solutions to reinforce the use of inverses as a method of checking work.
• Can you give examples where use of inverse operations is helpful?
Double checking calculations, solving equations, rearranging formula…
• What would the inverse of squaring or cubing a number be?
Square root or cube root respectively.
• Can you link the idea of inverses to other areas of maths? For example, what would the inverse of a 90˚ clockwise
rotation about a particular point be?
An 90˚ anticlockwise or 270˚ clockwise rotation about the same point.
• Investigate the definition of a reciprocal and consider how this links to inverse operations.
A number multiplied by its reciprocal = 1, therefore 1 ÷ the original number = the reciprocal.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and plenaries
• NRICH ‘Alphabetti Sudoku’. In addition to a traditional Sudoku this requires students to solve nine additional
problems with the use of inverse operations. (nrich.maths.org)
• Give students some ‘Think of a number’ problems to solve. You can differentiate this activity by varying the types
and numbers of operations you use. At this stage there is no need for any formal expression of this using algebra,
although those students wishing to do so could be encouraged. For some quick examples of this see the Transum
‘Starter of the Day’. (transum.org)
Enrichment activities
• Extend the ‘Think of a number’ by asking students to write their own problems and give to another student to work
through.
• NRICH ‘Twisting and Turning’. Although this is marked as a Key Stage 3 activity this is a useful way to help
students think about ‘undoing’, thus developing concepts such as inverse operations, inverse functions and in
particular reciprocals since the ‘turn’ operation is to use a reciprocal action. (nrich.maths.org)

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 1F / 1H Calculations

• Twisting and Turning has two follow-on activities: NRICH ‘More Twisting and Turning’ and NRICH ‘All Tangled
Up’, which further develop the use of reciprocals. (nrich.maths.org)

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
This topic provides a good opportunity to revisit and practise arithmetic skills using both mental and written methods
including formal algorithms. For Foundation students this may include reviewing the use of number lines and the
extended number system beyond the natural numbers for working with directed numbers. For an additional game
to practise basic use of ‘BODMAS’, try NRICH ‘The 24 Game’. For students struggling with the concept of negative
numbers, revisiting a couple of KS3 problems on the NRICH website could be useful: NRICH ‘Strange Bank Account’
and ‘Strange Bank Account Part 2’. (nrich.maths.org)

Future learning
Fluency with the calculation skills from this chapter will be required for successful problem-solving and calculations
within most GCSE topics. They are also key when working with algebraic problems, for example solving equations and
rearranging formulae require the use of inverse operations.

Gateway to A level
This is a straightforward topic at GCSE but to move successfully to KS5 confidence with calculations involving integers,
order of operations and inverse operations will be required for algebraic manipulation and equation solving. This will
be developed further to include other types of number, such as complex numbers, and modular arithmetic, which in
turn links to group theory and congruence classes.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 2 question 1 • Chapter 2 question 1
• Chapter 4 question 11 • Chapter 4 questions 4, 10
• Chapter 9 questions 1, 8, 9, 10 • Chapter 9 questions 1, 2
• Chapter 10 questions 1, 5 • Chapter 10 question 1

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1 • Chapter 1

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 11 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 13 animated widgets
• 13 interactive walkthroughs
• 5 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 5 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

2F / 2H Shapes and solids

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• Angle as a measure of turn, including the use of degrees.

• Angle sums (straight line, around a point).

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Know the names and features of common polygons. • Know the names and features of common polygons.
• Know how to describe and label common features • Know how to describe and label common features
(parallel and perpendicular lines, etc.) of plane figures. (parallel and perpendicular lines, etc.) of plane
figures.
Section 2 Section 2
• Identify and describe line and rotational symmetry in • Identify and describe line and rotational symmetry
plane figures. in plane figures.
Section 3 Section 3
• Know and use properties of triangles, including their • Know and use properties of triangles, including their
interior angle sum. interior angle sum.
Section 4 Section 4
• Know and use properties of quadrilaterals, including • Know and use properties of quadrilaterals, including
their interior angle sum. their interior angle sum.
Section 5 Section 5
• Know and use properties of three-dimensional solids • Know and use properties of three-dimensional
(polyhedra). solids (polyhedra).

Vocabulary
Plane shape, polygon, regular polygon, irregular polygon, polyhedron, reflection, line of symmetry, rotational
symmetry, adjacent, bisect, congruent

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Arithmetic errors, e.g. 42 and 58 being complements to 90. Students should be encouraged to check their answers,
for example by adding them together again.
• Not identifying shapes because they are not in ‘standard position’ (e.g. an isosceles triangle where the base angles
are not at the ‘bottom’). It is useful, when drawing figures on the board, to frequently draw them in non-standard
position.
• Confusion between ‘parallel’ and ‘perpendicular’. The two letter ‘l’s in parallel (which ARE parallel) can be a useful
mnemonic for which is which.
• A lot of the content of this chapter will have been met by students in previous years, which can lead to complacency
and/or arrogance in some. However it is vital that students realise the importance of revisiting this content and
learning all of the facts, as this will allow them to access a multitude of exam questions.

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 2F / 2H Shapes and solids

Hooks

• Use photographs, such as those in Section 4 (Quadrilaterals), as a starting point for discussion. What shapes can they
see in the photographs? It will be even more of a hook if the photographs are of somewhere they recognise easily, for
example somewhere in the school or local area.
• Show students some exam style questions that rely on understanding/recalling properties of shapes to get started.
For example, a question on setting up and solving an equation based on a diagram of an isosceles triangle (see
below). This will establish a need to revisit this topic.
Question taken from November 2013 Edexcel Linear Foundation and Higher papers
ABC is a triangle.

A
Diagram NOT
accurately drawn

3x  5 19  x

B C
2x

Angle ABC = angle BCA.

The length of side AB is (3x – 5) cm.
The length of side AC is (19 – x) cm.
The length of side BC is 2x cm.
Work out the perimeter of the triangle.
Give your answer as a number of centimetres.
 .............................................. cm
 (5 marks)

SECTION 1F / 1H: 2D SHAPES

This section should be familiar ground to most students, but it is important that their use of terminology is precise and
accurate. In particular the correct usage of the || and ⊥ symbols, and unambiguous description of angles should be a
focus. Many students struggle with the ‘three letter’ notation for angles and forget that the middle letter is the one at
the vertex. It is important to stress, too, that angles should be written with upper case letters to prepare the way for
standard notation for non-right-angled triangles in trigonometry.

Prompting questions
Exercise 2A(F) / 2A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) I take a regular hexagon and divide it into two equal parts with a single cut. Describe for me what
shape(s) might be created.
Two trapeziums.
Exercise 2B(F) / 2B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Bring up a street map of midtown Manhattan (in New York, e.g. search for ‘empire state building’ on
Google Maps). Tell me a street that is perpendicular to 5th Avenue… that is parallel to 35th Street… a road that is
neither perpendicular nor parallel to 31st Street.

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• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) In how many different ways could you describe a given angle? E.g. 47°.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) When is it ok for me to refer to angle B rather than ABC?
When it is opposite side b.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• Dan Meyer’s ‘Pick a Point’ provides students with justification of the need to label geometrical objects. In particular
extending the final slide (with letters on points) to draw on some angles shows easily that angle B may be ambiguous
but PBD is less so (see below!) (blog.mrmeyer.com)
• While naming angles, an opportunity is provided for students to estimate angles. It also provides an opportunity to
highlight that there are two angles at PBD (eg one acute, one reflex). (blog.mrmeyer.com)
Assessment ideas
• The Bowland ‘Three of a Kind’ assessment task is a good activity for getting students to think about properties of
similar shapes that form a pattern. (bowland.org.uk)

SECTION 2F / 2H: SYMMETRY

This section introduces the concepts of line symmetry and rotational symmetry. When drawing lines of symmetry
students frequently either stop at one line of symmetry, or add in too many. Changing the orientation of some shapes
into non-standard positions (e.g. a square without any of its sides horizontal or vertical) can cause students further
difficulties.
Folding paper can help students get to grips with symmetry. With good quality tracing paper and a forgiving
photocopier, you should be able to copy shapes onto tracing paper, which can be folded and held up to the light to
confirm the two ‘halves’ are ‘the same’. In pairs, with two pieces of tracing paper, students can rotate the shapes to
count how many times they look the same. Adding a reference line can be helpful for keeping track of the starting place.

Prompting questions
Exercise 2C(F) / 2C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How many lines of symmetry does this rectangle have (many students will include the diagonals)?
When are the diagonals of a rectangle lines of symmetry?
When the rectangle is square.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How many lines of symmetry does this parallelogram have?
Probably none.
When does a parallelogram have lines of symmetry?
When it’s a square or a rectangle.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How many lines of symmetry does a circle have?
An infinite number.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) How many lines of symmetry does a regular pentagon have?
Five.
A regular octagon?
Eight.
A regular dodecagon?
12.
A regular icosagon?
20.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What is the smallest/biggest order of line symmetry a shape can have?
0/∞

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 2F / 2H Shapes and solids

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• The mirror scene from the Marx Brothers’ film Duck Soup (1933) can be a good stimulus for discussing reflection,
including the situation found in mathematics that is impossible in the real world of crossing through the mirror.
Search the internet for ‘Duck Soup Mirror Scene’.
Enrichment activities
• Once students are comfortable with the two described types of symmetry, combining both within the same question
can provide good practice. For example, students could be given a selection of traffic signs that need to be classified.
These could be placed on an enlarged two-way table on A3 paper (orders of rotational symmetry as the rows; line
symmetry as the columns).
• Kim Scott’s ambigrams, for example his ‘Half Words’, have some great suggestions for classroom activities.
(scottkim.com)

SECTION 3F / 3H: TRIANGLES

This section introduces two ways of classifying triangles: (a) by the number of sides of the same length and (b) by the
size of the largest angle. Many students will find it difficult to appreciate that a particular triangle can be classified in (at
least) two different ways, e.g. a right-angled isosceles triangle.

Prompting questions
Exercise 2D(F) / 2D(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Two angles of a triangle add up to 75°. What is the size of the third angle?
105°
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Dante claims that he can construct a triangle with angles 45°, 70° and 80°. Can he do this?
No, the angles must add up to 180°.
What about if the triangle was drawn on a globe with one vertex on the North Pole and two on the Equator?
This ‘triangle’ could, for example, have three 90° angles. But point out to students that, for GCSE, we only consider
triangles on a flat plane.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Can a triangle have more than one right angle?
No.
What about more than one obtuse angle?
No.
Can a triangle have a reflex angle?
No.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) If one of the angles in a right-angled triangle is 31°, what is the other (non-RA)?
59°.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) What kind of triangle is one with two 45° angles?
A right-angled isosceles triangle.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) My triangle has its three angles being consecutive numbers. What are its angles?
59°, 60°, 61°.
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) My isosceles triangle has two vertices at (0, 0) and (10, 0). What might the third vertex be?
(5, x) where x is greater than 0.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• A starter activity could involve students re-numbering a dart board. The three darts need to hit three numbers that
could be the angles in a triangle. Alternatively, project a target board grid and students can write down possible

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combinations of angles on a mini whiteboard. As well as asking students which three numbers could be the angles in
a triangle, you can ask which three angles could be in an equilateral triangle, an isosceles triangle or a right-angled
triangle. An example target board is below.

20 110 60 15 70
35 85 90 20 60
140 45 35 15 5
45 30 60 150 90

Enrichment activities
• Students could investigate the various ‘centres’ of a triangle (circumcentre, incentre, etc.). The 1976 short film
‘Journey to the Centre of a Triangle’ demonstrates these nicely without the exact procedures being revealed.
Students could then work out how to find these centres using compass and pencil. Search the internet for ‘journey to
the centre of a triangle’.
• Triangle Properties’ activity. Ask students to arrange given triangles into a Carroll diagram or Venn diagram to illustrate
that triangles can be classified using their angles or their sides. Alternatively, present the students with a blank table
and ask students to draw an example of a triangle (if they can) in each box. This can be used as a homework activity.
• True or False. Present students with a series of diagrams of triangles and ask students to sort triangles into those
that are true triangles (angles that add up to 180°) and false triangles (angles don’t add to 180°). An extension is to
classify the true triangles. This activity could be done as a card sort or as a quick-fire starter/plenary by projecting the
pictures.
• There are many NRICH problems that you could use to support this topic. A few are listed below:
-- NRICH ‘Notes on a Triangle’ uses a beautiful René Jodoin film as a prompt for students to think about a whole
host of properties of triangles and other shapes. (nrich.maths.org)
-- NRICH ‘Terminology’. This problem involves using angle properties of an equilateral and isosceles triangle, as
well as angles along a straight line, to form some algebra. (nrich.maths.org)
-- In NRICH ‘Cyclic Quadrilaterals’, the first part of each of the questions requires students to draw isosceles
triangles on different dotty circles, and work out the angles. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 4F / 4H: QUADRILATERALS

This section focuses on properties of named quadrilaterals, in particular the nature of the sides, interior angles and
diagonals. Manipulatives (for example Geo Strips) can be helpful when looking at these properties. Students are often
uncomfortable with the idea that a given shape may have multiple names, for example that a square is also a rectangle.

Prompting questions
Exercise 2E(F) / 2E(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) With the definitions of various special quadrilaterals, get students to test a square to see whether it is
also a trapezium, a kite, a parallelogram, a rhombus and a rectangle.
Yes to all!
• Q3 (F) /Q3 (H) Draw a square shape but with no side lengths or indications that its sides are congruent. Ask what
information needs to be added to be confident it actually is a square (and not a rhombus or a rectangle).
All sides and diagonals equal, angles 90°, opposite sides parallel, diagonals bisect angles and each other, and are at
right angles.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Draw a square, rotated by 45° so that its diagonals are horizontal and vertical. What is the
mathematical name for this shape?
It is still a square, (but is also a rhombus and a rectangle and a parallelogram!). Note: Diamond would not be an
acceptable response.

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 2F / 2H Shapes and solids

• Draw an arrowhead (chevron/dart). Which (if any) of our definitions of quadrilateral does this match?
A kite, if one of the diagonals is allowed to be extended.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• The target board starter, as described in Section 3, can be adapted for use with quadrilaterals or other polygons.
Enrichment activities
• Quadrilateral Rummy, in the ATM book Geometry Games (atm.org.uk). A variation is NRICH ‘Quadrilaterals
Game’. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Quadrilaterals’ asks students to find as many different quadrilaterals as possible by joining dots on
the circumference of a circle. The problem initially starts with a circle with eight evenly spaced dots, but is easily
adapted for other numbers of dots. This problem can be used with students of all levels to revisit vocabulary,
then using the angles of isosceles triangles to work out the angles in each quadrilateral and start to explore the
properties of cyclic quadrilaterals (Higher only). A slightly more structured version of this activity is NRICH ‘Cyclic
Quadrilaterals’. (nrich.maths.org)
• The true or false activity, as described in Section 3, can also be adapted for use with angles in quadrilaterals or any
other angle facts.
• An activity where students match up the properties of special quadrilaterals with their names/pictures and
create revision cards (tes.co.uk). Another variation is a card sort from MrBartonMaths called ‘Properties of
Quadrilaterals: Group Activity’. (mrbartonmaths.com)

SECTION 5F / 5H: 3D OBJECTS

This section reviews the basic terminology associated with 3D objects, especially polyhedra. In addition, it considers
some properties and naming of prisms.

Prompting questions
Exercise 2F(F) / 2F(H)
• While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Tell me the name of a solid that has four faces.
Triangular-based pyramid.
Five faces?
Square-based pyramid.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Tell me the name of a solid that has eight vertices.
Cube.
Another?
Cuboid.
Ten vertices?
Pentagonal prism.
Fewer than eight?
Hexagonal pyramid.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Tell me a mathematical name for the container of a tube of Smarties / Toblerone / Rolos.
Hexagonal prism; Triangular prism; Cylinder.
It is helpful if you have some of these (probably empty) containers in the classroom to show.
• Q4 (F) If I held up a sphere in front of a light source, what shape would its shadow be?
A circle.
What solid could give me a square shadow?
A cube is the most obvious but there are others.
How could I hold a cube to give me a hexagonal shadow?
Hold it so one of the vertices is towards you.

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

• Q5 (F) Consider a cone. How many faces does it have?

One, the (flat) circle.
Is the curved part a face?
No.
Is the apex a vertex, even if it doesn’t connect edges?
Yes, this shows the issue of defining an edge as connecting two vertices.
Does it have any edges?
No. (Note that Euler’s polyhedron formula doesn’t help clear this up since a cone isn’t a polyhedron.)

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• Having physical polyhedra available is invaluable. As an enrichment activity, students could make these for display
in the classroom. They hang nicely from the ceiling, making an effective (and useful) display.
• (Higher only) ‘Euler’s polyhedron formula’ from plus.maths.org provides an opportunity to consider the
relationship between faces, edges and vertices of a solid. It is considered in Question 2 of Exercise 2F (Higher only).
Some students could also consider which solids do not have a Euler characteristic of 2.
• ‘Platonic Solids – Why Five?’ from mathsisfun.com can be used to consider the possible polygons that might meet
at each vertex, prompting students to justify why only five Platonic solids are possible.
• NRICH ‘Plaited Origami Polyhedra’ can be used to create decorations for classrooms as an end of term activity.
(nrich.maths.org)
• A carefully coloured great dodecahedron can provide a wonderful exercise in visualisation and description. Students
need to carefully phrase the shapes/solids that they see to other students. For example, some will see a star on a
blue background, others on a purple, etc.

• The NRICH ‘Which Solid?’ activity encourages students to identify mystery solids using as few direct questions as
possible. This is good for encouraging students’ precision with mathematical language. (nrich.maths.org)

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• This topic provides ample practice for mental methods of addition and subtraction.
• Students could also practise measuring lengths and angles by checking the precision of some hand drawn shapes: is
a shape with four sides varying between 6.9–7.1 cm and 89–91° really a square?

Future learning

• In Chapter 25F / 26H, students will develop their understanding of angles, particularly with parallel lines and exterior
angles of polygons.
• Isosceles triangles are vital in future work with circle theorems covered in Chapter 27H.

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 2F / 2H Shapes and solids

• Equations of parallel and perpendicular lines are considered in Chapter 24H.

• Calculating angles and lengths of sides of triangles is developed using Pythagoras’ theorem (Chapter 30F / 32H) and
trigonometry (Chapter 31F / 33H).
• Volume of 3D solids.
• Plane transformations (Chapters 37F / 40H) extend the symmetry work in this chapter. Students will need to set up
and solve equations involving properties of shapes. Linear examples are considered in Chapter 14F / 15H.

Gateway to A level

• In calculus students will learn to use perpendicular and parallel lines when working out the equations of tangents
and normals. Later in calculus, students will learn to calculate the volumes of solids created by revolving a curve
around an axis through 360°.
• Students will learn to classify functions as ‘odd’ or ‘even’ based on the symmetry properties of their graphs.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 3, question 1 • Chapter 6, question 11
• Chapter 8, question 9 • Chapter 8, question 1
• Chapter 9, question 11 • Chapter 9, questions 3, 9

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 2 • Chapter 2

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 12 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 13 animated widgets
• 11 interactive walkthroughs
• 5 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 5 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• Polygon diagrams

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

3F / 3H 2D representations of 3D shapes
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to identify common 3D objects.

• Basic properties of polygons and common 3D objects.
• How to accurately construct lines and angles using ruler and compasses.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Know how to calculate interior angles in polygons. (This is covered in Chapter 25F / 26H.)

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Apply what you already know about the properties of • Apply what you already know about the properties
3D objects. of 3D objects.
• Be able to recognise a 3D object from its net and vice- • Be able to recognise a 3D object from its net and
versa. vice-versa.
Sections 1 and 2 Sections 1 and 2
• Work with 2D representations of 3D objects. • Work with 2D representations of 3D objects.
Section 3 Section 3
• Construct and interpret plans and elevations of 3D • Construct and interpret plans and elevations of 3D
objects. objects.

Vocabulary
Isometric grid, plan view, elevation view

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students sometimes muddle the meanings of face, edge and vertex. Ensure the correct definitions are given at the
start of the topic, and reinforced whenever talking about 3D objects.
• The difference between a prism and a pyramid can be difficult to grasp. To tackle this, ask students to think what
would happen if you cut slices of the shape? Would they all be identical (like a stereotypical loaf of bread)? If so, the
shape is a prism. A pyramid can be identified because it has an apex (point) where all but one of the sides (the base)
meet.

Hooks

• Many optical illusions ‘work’ by exploiting the limitations of two dimensional representations of three dimensional
objects. Few maths teachers would pass up the opportunity to show students the work of MC Escher, for example the
‘impossible staircases’ in his lithograph ‘Relativity’ (wikipedia.com). Many students are fascinated by such illusions
and, even if they have seen a particular illusion before, they can sit and feel smug that they ‘know’ the answer. These
videos provide useful hooks into this topic:
-- Search for ‘Is the Rubik’s Cube real?’ on the internet.
-- Search for ‘Incredible illusions’ on the internet.
-- Search for ‘Honda Illusions advert’ and then ‘Honda Illusions making-of video’ on the internet.
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 3F / 3H 2D representations of 3D shapes

SECTION 1F / 1H: 3D OBJECTS AND THEIR NETS

This section focuses on constructing nets of 3D shapes and identifying possible nets for common 3D shapes. While many
exercise books contain squared paper, exam papers may use plain paper instead, so it is important for students to gain
experience drawing nets on both squared and plain paper.

Prompting questions
Exercise 3A(F) / 3A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H): What different shapes can you see in the net?
Rectangles and triangles.
Which of the 3D shapes can you find that involve the same shapes?
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H): What shapes make up the end faces of a cylinder?
Circles.
What would the curved surface of the cylinder look like if it were folded flat? (Think about the label on a tin of baked
beans).
Rectangle.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H): What sides will join on the face with two dots?
The faces with three and four dots.
Then where will the red face with one dot be?
Opposite the red face with six dots.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Students may find it difficult to visualise the shape created from a net, or which faces are adjacent once a net is
constructed. To help them, suggest that they use pencil crayons to draw a coloured dot in the corners that they know
meet up. They can then follow the edges from here to the next corner on each face, which will then also join up (and
can thus be marked with a different coloured dot).
Starters or plenaries
• The NRICH ‘Air Nets’ activity could be projected as a starter to introduce students to the idea of nets, or a plenary to
provide an opportunity to consider what they have learnt. There are 24 video clips of different nets, each of which is
paused at the start with the net laid out. Ask students whether they think it will construct a 3D shape (and if so, can
they name it?). Ask students to justify their answers. In particular, if they don’t think the net will work, how do they
know? (nrich.maths.org)
Plenaries
• Ask students to draw a net of a 3D object that will be 5 cm tall with a star drawn on the top face (i.e. the face they
see when they look down on the object from above) when it is constructed and then ask them to cut out the net and
construct the shape to check their assertions.
Enrichment activities
• There is much merit in students physically manipulating 3D objects. Resources such as Polydron are well regarded
in helping students understand nets and the properties of the 3D objects. (polydron.co.uk)
• Activity NRICH ‘Redblue’ looks at colouring the vertices of 3D shapes either red or blue, according to whether you
travel an even (red) or odd (blue) number of edges from the original red vertex to reach them. Students could use
their skills of constructing nets to investigate which 3D objects can have ‘redblue’ vertices, and try to identify any
common properties of these objects. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 2F / 2H: DRAWING 3D OBJECTS

This section focuses on drawings of 3D objects, both on plain and isometric paper. Having linking cubes (e.g. multilink)
available to students can be useful when introducing this topic.

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Prompting questions
Exercise 3B(F) / 3B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H): Which face/cube are you going to draw first?
Students should try to draw the horizontal faces of the shape first. They may also find it easiest to draw the front,
highest, right-most cube to begin with, as this will have three faces showing, whereas others in the shape may only have
one or two faces that need to be drawn.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H): How many cubes might the first solid be made from?
Between seven (the ones shown in the diagram) and nine (there may be hidden cubes on the base, including one
adjoining the bottom left cube).
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H): I knock over the third solid so that it falls backwards (i.e. four cubes are touching the table). Draw
what it would look like.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H): The first solid is sitting on a mirror. Draw what it would look like (both the object and image).
• Q5b (H): Draw what the black solid would look like if I remove all eight corner cubes. How many cubes would
remain?
19.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• When using isometric paper, it is vital that students have the paper in the correct orientation: portrait and landscape
will result in different drawings. Students should typically orient the paper so there are vertical lines (but no
horizontal). Many students really struggle using isometric paper: suggesting that they start by drawing a ‘Y’ shape
for the front-top vertex of a cube helps them get started. It may be necessary to remind students that they should
always draw along the grid lines.
• Give students linking cubes. How many different solids can be made from four cubes? What constitutes ‘different’?
(There are eight ‘tetracubes’.) Draw some of your tetracubes (differentiation possible here by selecting easier or
harder solids). Draw the 4 × 1 × 1 cuboid tetracube in as many different orientations as you can on isometric paper.
(The eight tetracubes fit together to form a 4 × 2 × 2 cuboid, but it is rather difficult to achieve!)
Starters or plenaries
• The topic provides good opportunities for students to practise their visualisation skills. Using the solids made of
cubes shown in the book, students could sketch the result of (a) objects being pushed over (b) cubes being removed
(c) cubes being added (d) solids sitting on, or against, mirrors.
Plenaries
• Get students to think about the effects of representing 3D objects on 2D paper. What angle is formed on each face of
a cube at the vertices? (90°, since they are squares.) On isometric paper, if you draw a cube, what angles are formed?
(120° (since three equal angles around a point) or 60° (missing angles in a quadrilateral).) So, is it still a square?
Enrichment activities
• Most students enjoy using isometric paper to draw ‘impossible’ objects such as a Penrose Triangle or Rectangle.

SECTION 3F / 3H: PLAN AND ELEVATION VIEWS

This section focuses on representing 3D objects with plan and elevation views. Students often struggle to accept that
the plan view does not show if a side is sloping, and will draw trapezia rather than rectangles. It may be useful to have
physical objects (e.g. Toblerone box or a trapezoid) that students can look down on and/or take photos of to see for
themselves. A teacher taking photos from a great height would emphasise the point more fully (e.g. from a mezzanine
floor or a first floor balcony); at this distance you are too far away to see the slope of the sides.

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 3F / 3H 2D representations of 3D shapes

Prompting questions
Exercise 3C(F) / 3C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H): Can you sketch what these objects would look like from the front?
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H): How would the left view of the toaster look different from the right view?
It would just be a rectangle, since there is usually only one lever on a toaster.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Satellite images (for example, from Google Maps or Google Earth) provide a ready source of plan views of
surroundings that should be familiar to students. Projecting satellite imagery on the board and looking around the
local neighbourhood can highlight how difficult it is to recognise even familiar landmarks from the air. For example,
find the nearest playground and try to identify the swings. (Such imagery can also stimulate fruitful discussions
about shadows.)
Starters or plenaries
• Project/display the floor plans of a property and ask students to describe the property. For example is it a house,
flat, bungalow? Does it have an extension on just one floor? What would the front of the house look like (in terms of
where are the windows, front door, etc.)? Property-selling websites have a plethora of properties for sale, with floor
plans and photos available to view (providing an opportunity to see if students were correct with their answers).
Enrichment activities
• Students could take three photographs (plan, front, side) of familiar objects. These should be shared with the rest of
the class, who have to guess what the objects are as quickly as possible. Ideally students should be encouraged to
show the least obvious one first to increase the difficulty.
Assessment ideas
• The Freudenthal Institute has many interactive applets that students can work through that assess their ability to
interpret views and elevations. Since they are written in Java, students need to work on these individually or in pairs
on desktop or laptop computers. They provide clear indicators for teachers to see how students are getting on. The
‘building houses’ and ‘colouring sides’ applets are particularly useful. (fi.uu.nl)

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
This topic provides an ideal opportunity to practise the concepts learnt in Chapter 2 Shapes and solids, in particular the
vocabulary of 2D shapes and ideas of symmetry. This could be extended to include planes of symmetry of 3D objects.

Future learning

• Students will need to use their skills in visualising in three dimensions to tackle problems that use Pythagoras’
theorem in solids in Chapter 32H.
• Considering the net of a solid is a key part of the process of calculating the surface area of a solid in Chapter 12F /
12H.

Gateway to A level

• The volumes of solids of revolution are considered at A2. These are solids formed by rotating a curve around some
straight line, for example the sorts of objects that might be produced on a lathe.
• Working with the three dimensional solid called a parallelepiped is a common source of problems when using vector
methods.

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LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 8, question 10 • N/A

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 3 • Chapter 3

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 8 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 3 animated widgets
• 4 interactive walkthroughs
• 2 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 2 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper
• Square dotted paper
• Isometric grid paper
• Isometric dotted paper

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 4F / 4H Properties of whole numbers

4F / 4H Properties of whole numbers

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• Listing the factors and multiples of a number.

• Recognising square, cube and prime numbers.
• Expressing a number as a product of its prime factors.
• (Higher only) Writing a series of numbers that have been multiplied together in power notation.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To recall and understand key definitions. • To recall and understand key definitions.
• To consolidate understanding of basic place value. • To consolidate understanding of basic place value
Section 2 Section 2
• To apply knowledge of factors and primes to express a • To apply their knowledge of factors and primes to
number as a product of its prime factors. express a number as a product of its prime factors.
• To simplify a collection of numbers that have been • To simplify a collection of numbers that have been
multiplied together by writing them in power notation. multiplied together by writing them in power
notation.
Section 3 Section 3
• To use the ‘listing method’ to find the highest common • To use the ‘listing method’ to find the highest
factor and lowest common multiple of a set of common factor and lowest common multiple of a
numbers. set of numbers.
• To use prime factor tree to find the highest common • To use prime factor tree to find the highest common
factor and lowest common multiple of a set of factor and lowest common multiple of a set of
numbers. numbers.

Vocabulary
Consecutive, prime factor

Common misconceptions and other issues

• That one is a prime number. Emphasise that a prime number has exactly two different factors, itself and one.
• That there is no even prime number. Because all even numbers are divisible by two, some students forget that two,
itself, is a prime number.
• That all odd numbers are prime. Since, with the exception of two, all other prime numbers are odd, some students
then twist this statement to think that all odd numbers are prime. This can quickly be checked by listing the first few
prime numbers and asking the students why some of the odd numbers (like nine) are missing from the list.
• Students use other operations other than the correct multiplication symbol.
• Students may confuse 34 as 3 × 4 rather than 3 × 3 × 3 × 3.

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Hooks
Kim’s game. This topic requires students to recognise and understand various types of number. A great way to introduce
or recap this knowledge is through a quick activity called Kim’s game. Ten mathematic facts are displayed on the
screen. Students get the opportunity to study the facts but cannot write anything down. Every 30 seconds or so a fact is
removed. Students need to record this fact. An example can be seen below:

A prime number All numbers can

be expressed as a The only even
has exactly two
product of their prime number is 2.
factors.
prime factors.

The LCM is the smallest

number that is a The prime numbers HCF stands for
34 means
below 10 are: highest common
multiple of two or 3 × 3 × 3 × 3.
more numbers. 2, 3, 5 and 7. factor.

The factors of 60 The factors of a The first five

are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, prime number are multipliers of 13
10, 12, 15, 20, 30, itself and 1. are 13, 26, 39, 52
and 60. and 65.

SECTION 1F / 1H: REVIEWING NUMBER PROPERTIES

This section recaps basic number properties.

Prompting questions
Exercise 4A(F) / 4A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) /Q1 (H) What is the difference between a factor and a multiple?
Factors fit into a number without leaving a remainder.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What is the only even prime number and why?
Two, all other even numbers are multiples of two.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) As an extension, can you use algebra to prove why the sum of two odd numbers is even (and so on
with other questions)?
Let n = a number, therefore we can say the first odd number is 2n –1 and the second 2n + 1. If we find the sum of these
two numbers, (2n – 1) + (2n + 1) = 4n. Since 4n = 2(2n) then all values of n are even.
Exercise 4B(F) / 4B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) Which place value column is 100 times bigger than the units column?
Hundreds, e.g. 4 × 100 = 400.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) Explain why you cannot place the number 11 into the units column.
The number 11 consists of one ten and one unit.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Give each student a hundred square. Identify a number on the grid and create a series of clues based on its
properties (this needs to be unique). Read the clues aloud. The students can use their grid to identify the number.
After this, students can create their own clues for a selected number.

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Starters or plenaries
• NRICH ‘Factors and Multiples Game’. A game that can be played as a class vs a teacher or boy vs girl etc. Each
player in turn chooses a number between 1 and 100 that is a multiple or factor of the previous number. This can also
be used as a challenge instead where students attempt to get the longest string of numbers. (nrich.maths.org)
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Factors and Multiples Puzzle’. A challenging puzzle that asks students to arrange numbers in a table based
on different headings, e.g. multiples of three. To differentiate this activity the teacher could place the headings on
the table before giving to the students. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Sieve of Eratosthenes’. This is an excellent way of students identifying prime numbers. This activity also
helps students to understand what a prime number is. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘How Much Can We Spend?’ An activity based on lower common multiples. (nrich.maths.org)
• ‘Number Activities’ on the National Stem Centre website offers a selection of number based activities.
(nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• ‘Factors, Multiples and Primes’ on the National Stem Centre website features a factors, multiples and primes
‘whodunnit’. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• NRICH ‘Take Three from Five’ is an investigation that challenges students to find a set of five numbers, from which
it is not possible to select a set of 3 numbers that sum to a multiple of 3. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 2F / 2H: PRIME FACTORS

This section focuses on prime factors. Foundation students may have difficulty with the power notation of a product of
prime numbers and may need frequent reminders that, say, 23 is 2 × 2 × 2 not 2 × 3.

Prompting questions (answers / possible student responses given in italics)

Exercise 4C(F) / 4C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Why would it not be a good idea to divide the number by one when creating a factor tree?
This would just duplicate the previous branch of the tree.
• When creating a factor tree, does it matter which factor pair you start with as the first ‘branches’?
No.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Can every number be made using products of primes?
Yes, any integer greater than one.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Could any two numbers have the same prime number decomposition?
No.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What is the difference between 33 and 3 × 3?
33 = 3 × 3 × 3 = 27 but 3 × 3 = 9.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) How many unique prime factor trees can you create for the number you identified in part a? Do they
all result in the same product of primes?
Yes, they do. It doesn’t matter which factors are chosen at first.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Prime factor trees. See any of the prime factor trees songs on the internet.
Enrichment activities
• Students get pieces of ‘incorrect homework’. They need to identify the mistakes and correct the homework.

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

• Show students how to apply prime decomposition to be able to easily simplify fractions and hence use this as a
‘trick’ for division. Ask them to create ‘difficult’ division questions for each other to solve (such as 1512 ÷ 54) where,
thanks to prime decomposition, they know there must be an integer solution.
• Investigate how many ways the number 1 000 000 can be expressed as the product of three positive integers in
NRICH ‘Factoring a Million’. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Gaxinta’. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 3F / 3H: MULTIPLES AND FACTORS

This section focuses on lowest common multiples (LCM) and highest common factors (HCF).

Prompting questions
Exercise 4D(F) / 4D(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts or questions for students might be:
• Q5 (F) / Q4 (H) Why is it useful to find the LCM for this question?
This is the most efficient way of recording the information.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Visualisation of prime numbers. (datapointed.net)
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Got it’. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Counting Cogs’. (nrich.maths.org)
• ‘The Prime Cicada’ at teachMathematics is a cicada multiples investigation. (teachmathematics.net)
• A video introducing periodical cicadas is available on the BBC Nature pages. (bbc.co.uk)
• Students might like to use a Venn diagram to find the HCF and LCM of a pair of numbers. For example:
HFC and LCM of 36 and 48.

36 36 = 2 × 2 × 3 × 3
48 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3
6 6

2 3 2 3
48 36 48
2
3 2 2
4 12 3
2
2 2 2 6

2 3
HCF = 2 × 2 × 3 = 12
LCM = 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 × 2 × 2

• Students might like to investigate the fact that the HCF of two numbers must be a factor of the difference between
them. Students might like to investigate and try to explain why this is the case.

TOPIC LINKS
• Indices: Students will need to express the product of primes in power notation.
• Fractions: Writing fractions in their simplest form.
• Algebraic expressions: Factorising expressions.

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 4F / 4H Properties of whole numbers

Previous learning

• Students should be able to multiply and divide integers.

• Indices: Students should understand index notation and be able to express a series of repeated multiplications in
this way.

Future learning

• Indices: Properties of indices are used to simplify terms, see Chapter 7 Decimals for further information.

Gateway to A level

• Indices.
• The fundamental theorem of arithmetic.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 9, question 12 • Chapter 9, question 10
• Chapter 10, question 6 • Chapter 10, question 2

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 4 • Chapter 4

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 6 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 9 animated widgets
• 15 interactive walkthroughs
• 5 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 5 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• Crossword puzzle (for use with Chapter review question 1)

33 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

5F / 5H Introduction to algebra
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to add, subtract, multiply and divide directed numbers.

• What a power is and does, e.g. squaring and cubing.
• (Higher only) Laws of indices.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• How the commutative, associative and distributive laws apply to numerical operations, e.g. that addition is
commutative but that subtraction isn’t so while 3 + 5 = 5 + 3 the same does not hold for subtraction. The language of
these laws is used in the chapter and while it would be beneficial for students to know the formal language of these
laws, understanding what they mean for each operation will be enough for Foundation students.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Interpret and work with algebraic notation including • Interpret and work with algebraic notation including
an understanding of correct, formal language and an understanding of correct, formal language and
notation. notation.
• Form algebraic expressions from worded instructions • Simplify products and quotients and apply the index
and geometric problems. laws to simplify.
• Substitute to evaluate algebraic expressions for a given • Form algebraic expressions from worded
value. instructions and geometric problems.
Section 2 Section 2
• Simplify algebraic expressions by collecting like terms. • Simplify algebraic expressions by collecting like
terms.
• Simplify products and quotients.
• Simplify products and quotients.
Section 3 Section 3
• Expand the product of a single term and binomial. • Expand the product of a single term and binomial.
Section 4 Section 4
• Factorise out common factors and recognise that the • Factorise out common factors and recognise that
HCF must be factored out for an expression to be fully the HCF must be factored out for an expression to
factorised. be fully factorised.
Section 5 Section 5
• Form expressions from word problems and use algebra • Form expressions from word problems and use
to solve problems in different contexts including algebra to solve problems in different contexts
number problems. including number problems.

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 5F / 5H Introduction to algebra

Vocabulary
Variable, expression, term, product, expanding

Common misconceptions and other issues

There are a huge number of misconceptions that students encounter in understanding why letters are used in
mathematics. Research into this issue was published in detail and it is worth reading Küchermann’s chapter in detail for
background knowledge of students’ use of letters in mathematics (Küchermann, D (1981) Algebra. In K. Hart. Children’s
Understanding of Mathematics: 11−16. London: Alden Press). The most common misconceptions are listed below:
• Using a letter as shorthand in place of an object rather than to represent the number of those objects. For example,
3b = 3 bananas rather than 3 times the number of bananas. Avoiding introducing simplifying as shorthand for
collecting objects e.g. 3 apples + 2 bananas + 2 apples = 5 apples and 2 bananas will help with this.
• Confusing like terms with terms with the same letter so wanting to simplify terms that contain the same letter
regardless of its power. Asking students to substitute in a number for the letter e.g. 3 can help them identify why x
and x2 are not like terms and consequently their simplified expression is not equivalent to their starting point.
• Students don’t realise that 3b represents the product of 3 and the value of b so when substituting, for example when
b = 2, students replace b with 2 and get 32 rather than 6. Avoid discussing substitution as replacing the letter with the
value given and instead introduce it as an extension to work on function machines where discussions are connected
to the work on forming expressions and the meaning of the algebra in the expressions is explicit.
• Students may not understand that surds can be manipulated the same way as other variables. This is new content
for Foundation students: take the time at the beginning of this topic to introduce surds as a different kind of variable
that students do not need to fear!

Hooks

• A member of one maths department likes to start by telling students she uses algebra to cook a chicken, moving on
to showing them a cooking label and the weight of the chicken and deriving a formula from the image. Foundation
year 11 students are often heard explaining how algebra is needed to cook a chicken.
• Playing games where the points are awarded for being as quick as possible and students sum the same value several
times e.g. 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 and identify that those answering the problem quickest are counting how
many of the value they have and multiplying e.g. 10 × 3 = 30. You may find this a useful way to introduce simplifying
and the use of a letter as a variable by repeating the same type of sum e.g. 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 6 × 5 or 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 +
7 + 7 = 6 × 7 to conclude that any number summed 6 times is the same as 6 times that number i.e. n + n + n + n + n + n
= 6n.

SECTION 1F / 1H: USING ALGEBRAIC NOTATION

This section introduces the basics of the language and conventions of algebra. Students are introduced to a lot of key
vocabulary in this section and learn to formulate expressions using formal conventions. We have found that students
find it easier to grasp the concept that, say, 5a means 5 × a, when they learn it as a generalisation of number, e.g. 2 + 2 +
2 + 2 + 2 = 5 × 2 and 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 5 × 6 so any number summed 5 times, e.g. a + a + a + a + a = 5a. In addition students
are required to simplify products and quotients using formal conventions in Exercise A.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Why do we use letters in mathematics?
To represent an unknown or any number. Students may suggest that we use it like a code, e.g. n=number, a=apple, etc.
or that it stands for an unknown number.
• Why do we need conventions in how we write things down
Like spellings and grammar in English, conventions and rules exist so that mathematical statements can be understood
universally.

35 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Exercise 5A(F) / 5A(H)

While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q1 (H) Are we trying to find the value of the letters in these questions?
No, the value is unimportant.
• Q5 (F) / Q4 (H) Why can we use fractions to represent divisions?
One explanation is: because a fraction is a ‘lazy way’ of writing a division. We are sharing the numerator into the
denominator but because we won’t have an integer solution we prefer it written in this form.
• Q5 (F) / Q4 (H) If we multiply by 4 and then divide by 2 what have we done to the original number?
Multiplied by 2 only. Students may struggle to identify what is happening here. Suggest they try it with more than one
value and perhaps then suggest they look at multiplying by 5 followed by multiplying by 2.
• Q4−6 (F) / Q3−4 (H) Why might we want to write these multiplications and divisions more concisely and uniformly?
To reduce the number of operations applied to a number and the amount of work when simplifying.
• Q4 (F) / Q3 (H) What will happen when we multiply a negative by a negative (or any other combination involving
directed numbers)? Can you demonstrate the rules using a diagram? Giving students a multiplication grid from −5 to 5
multiplied by −5 to 5 and asking them to fill out what they know can be useful for highlighting these rules.

× +ve −ve
+ve + −
−ve − +

• Q5 (F) / Q4 (H) Repeat the above question for division. Why is it the same rules for multiplying and dividing?
Because division is multiplying by the reciprocal of the multiplier, i.e. they are the same thing.

• Q4 (F) What would happen if you replaced the variable with a surd, e.g. 2x 3 5? What about 5 x 5 ? Can you
demonstrate the rules using specific examples?
Show students that surds behave the same way as variables like x or y. For the second example, use an example with a
square number inside the root, e.g. 9 x 9 , to show the process, before using numbers that need to be left as surds.
• Q5 (H) Why can we add the powers when multiplying? Can you give me an algebraic example of why this is true?
e.g. a × a × a × a × a = a5.
• Q5 (H) Why are these laws useful in simplifying?
To reduce the number of operations we have to apply to the value of the letter.
• Q7 (F) / Q6 (H) How do we find the area of a rectangle? How can we represent this given we don’t know the length of
the rectangle?
Multiply the base by height.
• Q7 (F) / Q6 (H) How can we write the length of the rectangle in part a using the unknown?
Add the two lengths to get x + 6.
How else could you find the area of this rectangle?
Find the area of the two individual rectangles and add them.
What does this tell you about 2(x + 6) and 2x + 12?
They are equal, note these last few questions can be replicated for parts b and c
• Q7 (F) / Q6 (H) What makes the shape in part d different? Can we form two equal expressions for this shape?
No, it is compound so we can just find base times height.
• Q7 (F) / Q6 (H) Are there any squares in these diagrams? How do you know?
In parts b and d we have x × x = x2. The side lengths are equal so it is a square.
Exercise 5B(F) / 5B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1−2 (F) / Q1−2 (H) What word do we use to remember the order in which operations should be completed?
BODMAS. Importantly, all indices should be dealt with first, and all products should be found before sums are
calculated.

36 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 5F / 5H Introduction to algebra

• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What do we mean by evaluate?

I am interested in the value of the letter(s) and given it (them), I want to know the value of the expression.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• The matching task (Exercise 5A(F) Q3) could be made into cards to create an appropriate starter or plenary.
Removing one or more of the cards could increase the challenge of this problem and also provide appropriate
differentiation with the addition or subtraction of pairs.
• NRICH ‘How Many Eggs?’ This is another ‘quick’ problem that encourages the use of forming expressions to solve a
problem, which may be faster than students’ trial and improvement methods. (nrich.maths.org)
Enrichment activities
• The area problems in Exercise 3A Q7 (F) / Q6 (H) make an excellent introduction to expanding brackets and forming
identities (Sections 3 and 4). Investigating these shapes and starting with some where the length isn’t a variable e.g.
5 2

3 15 6

• Where we can deduce that 3(5 + 2) = 15 + 6 and hence 3(x + 2) = 3x + 6 if we then change the problem to give one of
the lengths as an unknown or variable x e.g.
x 2

3 3x 6

• Students could work on several problems with the same structure, where the value of x is the only change, to
support the idea of a letter representing a variable.
• NRICH ‘Crossed Ends’. There are many investigations that can support students’ development in forming
appropriate expressions to generalise their findings. This one is effective because it uses only a 100-square grid.
When students have worked on expanding two brackets they can also look at a similar problem using a 100-square
grid where they compare the product of the opposite corners of a square drawn on the grid. There are many shapes
that make interesting number problems on a 100-square grid. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 2F / 2H: SIMPLIFYING EXPRESSIONS

This section focuses on like terms and simplifying expressions by collecting these like terms. There is also practice with
simplifying products and quotients.

Prompting questions
Exercise 5C(F) / 5C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 What do we mean by like terms? Can you give me any examples of like terms?
E.g. 2a and 5a whereas 3x and x2 are not like terms.
• Q2 Why are x and x2 not like terms? Can you give any examples where they would be equal?
Because 2x is 2 lots of x whereas 2x2 is 2 lots of x2 and x and x2 are different values.

• Q2 Can you use the same method to work out 2 + 2 2 + 3 2 ? What about 2 x 5 2 x 3 2 ? Write some of your own
questions using simple surds as the variable.
Treat 2 the same as you would treat x. This gives you an answer of 6 2 for the first question. The second question
needs a little more care as 2 x 2 = 4 = 2, giving an answer of 30 2. Encourage students to write 2 or 3 more
questions of each type, and make sure they can simplify them. 2 the same as you would treat x. This gives you an
answer of 6 2 for the first question. The second question needs a little more care as 2 x 2 = 4 = 2, giving an
answer of 30 2. Encourage students to write 2 or 3 more questions of each type, and make sure they can simplify
them.
37 © Cambridge University Press, 2015
GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

• Q2 What do we mean by simplify?

I like the informal definition of writing things in the shortest way possible to make it easier to read.
Are we interested in the value of the letter when simplifying?
No, it can take any value.
• Q2 What term does the positive or negative sign apply to in the expression?
The one immediately after it.
• Q2 How could you identify different terms when simplifying expressions?
Using different colours or symbols to categorise them in the original expression. Please note that the use of colours
should not be employed in an exam due to scanning reasons. You could get students to draw different shapes around
the like terms instead, e.g. squares and triangles.
3a + 2b + 2a – b = 5a + b

5a + b

• Q5 What are ‘like’ terms to be simplified in products?

We can simplify using index laws and find the products of numbers.
• Q5–6 How do I simplify fractions?
I cancel common factors.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• The first question in Exercise 5C could be turned into a card sort and used as a starter or plenary categorising task
where students sort the cards into like terms and non-like terms.
Enrichment activities
• Toy train sets can be used to introduce the idea of simplifying where the variable is the length of the track piece.
Given that there are only a few different types of track pieces, a track can be made up using two or more pieces and
its total length represented by an algebraic expression. (Note: you only need pictures of toy train tracks to do this
task; having an actual set only enhances this task for weaker students.)
• NRICH ‘Perimeter Expressions’. A similar, far more challenging NRICH task based on lengths of proportional sizes
of paper (having only used cuts that cut a piece exactly in half). (nrich.maths.org)
• It is very useful for developing students’ awareness of a variable as all paper sizes are proportional and students
completing this task with different sizes of A paper can bring out some generality.

SECTION 3F / 3H: MULTIPLYING OUT BRACKETS

This section focuses on expanding single brackets and applying the laws of BODMAS to collect like terms. An effective
method for teaching students to expand brackets is using the ‘box method’, which demonstrates the expansion as
finding an area (see examples of this in Exercise 5A). This method creates a solid foundation from which students can
extend these ideas to the expansion of two binomials.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Why is the identity sign useful in algebra? Why might we have less need for it in number? Because in algebra we
use letters to generalise number. In number we can tell if something is always true, e.g. 3 + 7 = 10, because it is one
case. However, we would have to test an infinite set of numbers to be sure with algebraic expressions, so we use our
knowledge of the associative, commutative and distributive laws to form identities.
Exercise 5D(F) / 5D(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2–3 Can you use diagrams to represent the bracket being expanded?
Use the area problems in Exercise 5A to demonstrate this.

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 5F / 5H Introduction to algebra

• Q5 Why can substitution help show equations are not identities?

Because identities are true for all values so we only need to find one it doesn’t work for.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• There are many tasks, such as NRICH ‘Your Number Is...’, that are good for giving students a purpose for algebra
and make an appropriate starter. If you want to really challenge your students, asking them to invent their own
‘think of a number’ problems will stretch their manipulation skills and their understanding of inverse operations.
(nrich.maths.org)
Starters or plenaries
• The questions in Exercise 5D Q1 could be produced as cards and used as a starter or plenary in which students sort
them into two piles (correct and not) or turned into a ‘Tick or Trash’ PowerPoint.
Assessment ideas
• Expanding brackets offers many opportunities for matching exercises and there are many examples of tarsia puzzles
(and other similar tasks) available on the internet.

SECTION 4F / 4H: FACTORISING EXPRESSIONS

This section introduces students to factorising, to produce the product of a term and a binomial, by finding the HCF of
the terms in the expression.

Prompting questions
Exercise 5E(F) / 5E(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 What is the HCF of both terms in the expression?
E.g. for part e, the HCF is 5xy.
• Q2 What is the HCF of all the terms of the expression?
Is x − 2 a factor of the expression in part d?
Yes. This leads us into further ideas of factorising in Chapter 13 Further Algebra.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment ideas
• Setting up a worksheet that consists of three columns where the first column contains a series of single bracket
expansions to be found and the other two are blank. Students fold over the paper to hide the right-hand column
and students write the expansion of the factorised expressions in the middle column. The students unfold the last
column and fold over the left hand column. Students are required to then factorise the expanded form in the centre
column. This task is very good for helping students identify the difference between factorised and fully factorised
form and they definitely remember fewer of the original questions than you’d think.

SECTION 5F: USING ALGEBRA TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

At Foundation tier, this section is a consolidation of all the material covered in the chapter and offers a selection of
‘typical’ algebraic problems, including magic squares and multiplication pyramids, as well as links to geometry with
area and perimeter problems. It also introduces the simple idea of expressing numbers (consecutive numbers) as a
series of algebraic expressions.

Prompting questions
Exercise 5F(F) / 5F(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:

39 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

• Q7 (F) / Q8 (H) Can you create another problem whose answer you can predict?
Following the same technique but with the number being ‘added’ as double the final answer they want.

SECTION 5H: SOLVING PROBLEMS AND ALGEBRAIC PROOF

At Higher tier, this section provides more formal statements for demonstrating some simple proofs.
Exercise 5F(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q13 (H) Why can you not use just the letter n to represent an odd number?
n could be odd or even. Doubling n makes it even and then adding or subtracting one makes it odd.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• A nice extension to the pyramid task is to tell students you can work out the top number in their pyramid, given their
starting number, where the base of the pyramid is four consecutive numbers:
?

3 4 5 6

Ask students to find the rule that allows you to calculate the solution so quickly.
You can use this as an addition or a multiplication pyramid.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
There are a few prior connections for this topic:
• The order in which operations are completed (BODMAS). Opportunities for revising these rules come through
substitution and remembering that for 2x2, x is squared before it is multiplied by 2.

Future learning
Extensions to this topic are the later algebraic manipulation chapters (13F / 13H Further algebra, 14F / 15H Equations
and 16F / 17H Formulae). Students will continue to simplify and substitute into more complex expressions as well as
expand more than one bracket.
Students will also need strong foundations in this chapter in order to successfully solve algebraic equations and
understand how many (if any) solutions exist.
In addition to the above, understanding the place of a letter as a variable will be instrumental in later sequence and
functions chapters.

Gateway to A level
At A level, the demand on students’ algebraic manipulation skills is high, particularly when working with fractions and
solving equations. Their knowledge is extended beyond laws of indices to include laws of logarithms and students are
expected to be able to manipulate expressions with ease. You may observe that students with weak conceptual
understanding of the use of algebra and functions in mathematics struggle greatly with the A level course and will happily
sinθ sin
cancel a variety of things when simplifying or expanding brackets incorrectly, e.g. = or x + 3 = 3 or 2x(5 – x) =
cosθ cos x - 5 -5
10x – x and so on. This prevents them working with a variety of new material as they can’t start the problem correctly and
limits their ability to be successful in the course. Having a strong conceptual understanding regarding variables and the
difference between an identity and an equation will be important when students prove identities in trigonometry.

40 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 5F / 5H Introduction to algebra

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 4, question 1 • Chapter 5, question 6
• Chapter 7, question 9 • Chapter 8, questions 3, 12, 13
• Chapter 9, question 4

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 5 • Chapter 5

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 11 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 12 animated widgets
• 16 (F) / 18 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 5 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 5 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• Polygon diagrams

41 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

6F / 6H Fractions
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• The meanings of the words denominator, numerator, common denominator, multiple, factor, equivalent and
reciprocal.
• To be able to use formal and informal methods, and algorithms, both mental and written, for the four operations.
• To be able to find the lowest common multiple and highest common factor of a set of numbers.
• To know and be able to apply the order of operations (BODMAS).
• To know that ‘of’ refers to the operation ‘multiply’.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To apply knowledge of factors and multiples to simplify • To apply knowledge of factors and multiples to
fractions and identify equivalent fractions and mixed simplify fractions and identify equivalent fractions
numbers. and mixed numbers.
• To apply and explain an algorithm to find the
median fraction.
Section 2 Section 2
• To apply the four operations to fractions and mixed • To apply the four operations to fractions and mixed
numbers. numbers.
• To apply knowledge of completing the four operations • To apply knowledge of completing the four
with fractions and mixed numbers to solve problems. operations with fractions and mixed numbers to
solve problems.
Section 3 Section 3
• To calculate fractions of amounts. • To calculate fractions of amounts.
• To express one number as a fraction of another. • To express one number as a fraction of another.

Vocabulary
Common denominator, reciprocal

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students often make the mistake of adding the denominators when adding two fractions. Using the following
1 1 2
example to show them why this is incorrect will help them to understand why this doesn’t work: + ≠ . Students
2 2 4
2 1
should be able to recognise that is equivalent to so they cannot end up with one half when they added two
4 2
halves together! This misconception is also applied when adding two fractions with different numerators. Students
2 1 3
may think that + = .
5 3 8

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 6F / 6H Fractions

• When multiplying two mixed numbers, students might think that they can multiply the integers and multiply the
1 1 1 1 1
fractions together then find the sum of the result. For example 2 × 3 ≠ (2 × 3)+ × = 6 . Instead, students could
3 2 3 2 6
think about how they could apply their knowledge of expanding double brackets to assist or convert their fractions
to improper fractions before they begin.

Hooks

• NRICH ‘Countdown Fractions’. This is a great way of assessing what students know and, if played throughout the
topic, students can see the progress they are making as they become better at it. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 1F / 1H: EQUIVALENT FRACTIONS

This section introduces equivalent fractions and then builds on this to introduce simplifying fractions.
The first part of the explanation introduces the idea of equivalent fractions by thinking about pieces of pizza. For
students that might struggle with the concept of equivalent fractions it would be useful to have pizzas (or cardboard
equivalents) cut into different sized pieces to demonstrate this. Students can then physically work out how many sixths
make a third etc.

Prompting questions
Whilst working through the exercises, a good prompt for promoting discussion might be:
• What types of numbers would lead to a fraction that is impossible to simplify?
An example answer could be those with prime numbers in the numerator and denominator.
Exercise 6A(F) / 6A(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q6 (F) / Q4 (H) All of the fractions in the question simplify. What properties of the numerators or denominators make
this possible?
They are in the same times table.

Prompting questions
Exercise 6B(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q4 (H) If students are struggling to explain why it works or understand the concept of median fractions then direct
them to investigate with fractions that have a numerator of 1. This will help them to generalise much more easily. A
proof is offered here: mathforum.org.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• For students that may struggle with visualising equivalent fractions, a fraction wall can be very useful. Students can
create their own (using squared paper) or there is an interactive version available from visnos.com.
Enrichment activities
• Odd one out. Give students a collection of fractions where all but one of them are equivalent. Students should justify
their answer and explain it mathematically.
• Fractions and music. Students can use the link between music and fractions to contextualise equivalent fractions.
They can use the facts below to create their own clapping rhythm. For example, students could be given four bars to
fill with notes. They can create their clapping rhythm using this idea ensuring that they have used all four bars.

43 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Musical fractions

Whole

Half

Quarter

Eighth

Sixteenth

SECTION 2F / 2H: OPERATIONS WITH FRACTIONS

This section introduces adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions.

Prompting questions
Whilst working through the exercises, good prompts for promoting discussion might be:
1 2 1 2 2 2
• What is wrong and what is right about the following calculation? 3 × 9 = (3 × 9 )+ × = 27 + = 12
3 5 3 5 5 15
1
Half of the required calculations have been completed. However, the following two calculations are needed: × 9 and
3
2 2 6 1
3 × . So final answer is 27 + + 3 + = 21 .
5 15 5 3
• When dividing fractions, why is it possible to multiply the first fraction by the reciprocal of the second?
For a helpful explanation of this concept, search the internet for ‘Dividing fractions – why does “Keep Change Flip”
work?’
Exercise 6B(F) / 6C(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Why might it be better to convert mixed numbers to improper fractions before multiplying or dividing
them?
There are fewer calculations to do. For example, just multiply the numerators and then denominators.
• Q8 (F) / Q7 (H) In what order should you do the calculations? Why is it important to apply the laws of BODMAS?
Students should apply the laws of BODMAS so that they get the correct answer.
Exercise 6C(F) / 6D(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) What arithmetic is needed here?
Multiplication and subtraction. Some students may just find out how many raisins there are.
• Q5 (H) Instead of cutting up the cakes into (24) equal parts, how could the sharing of the cake be done?
Each person could get a full quarter, the last quarter is then cut into six equal parts.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• (Foundation only) This section starts with a useful activity that provides a visual way of demonstrating how to
multiply fractions. This idea can be turned into a kinaesthetic activity with the use of some paper and colouring
pens. There is a pdf resource that explains the activity very well at schoolonwheels.org.

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Starters or Plenaries
• The Number Loving website features ‘Number Loving Adding’ and ‘Comparing Fractions Top Trumps’ as games for
students to play. Most students know how to play top trumps. This particular activity instructs students to compare
and add fractions. (The easiest way to find particular resources is to select KS4 and then click ‘find’ to get a full list in
alphabetical order.) (numberloving.co.uk)
Enrichment activities
• The ‘Mostly Shape and Space Materials’ activity titled ‘Dissecting a Square S S3’ in Improving Learning in
Mathematics is available from the National STEM Centre Archive. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• NRICH ‘Fractions Jigsaw’. This activity is an alternative way to practise the four rules with fractions rather than use
a traditional textbook exercise. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Peaches Today, Peaches Tomorrow…’. An excellent activity to practise finding fractions of amounts.
(nrich.maths.org)
• Music and fractions. Students can create their own musical instruments and practise multiplying fractions at the
same time. Students will need eight glass containers that are the same size. Students will need to calculate how
much liquid to put into each container based on the fractions below. Students could then play simple music with
their creations!
8 4 3 2 3 8 1
1 9 5 4 3 5 15 2

C D E F G A B C

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do

• The Number Loving website activity ‘Adding Fraction Mystery’ is an activity where the answer is not as easy as
just adding two fractions together. Students will need to sort through the clues and work out how much money a
person has after paying for bills etc. This is also a nice link to financial education. (The easiest way to find particular
resources is to select KS4 and then click ‘find’ to get a full list in alphabetical order.) (numberloving.co.uk)

SECTION 3F / 3H: FRACTIONS OF QUANTITIES / FINDING FRACTIONS OF A QUANTITY

This section focuses on calculating fractions of quantities and writing one quantity as a fraction of another.
Exercise 6D(F) / 6E(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Which operation should you choose when you see the word ‘of’?
Multiply.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) Why is it important to have both parts of a question expressed in the same unit?
Fractions compare proportions. These proportions must be the same in order to compare correctly.

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Exercise 6F(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• A great interactivity for this activity is NRICH ‘Egyptian Fractions’. There are also accompanying teacher notes and
solutions that might serve as a prompt or an extension for the textbook questions. (nrich.maths.org)

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• The first explanation introduces four statements to students that involve fractions. To build on this idea, students
could be shown a range of images from supermarkets where the calculations are incorrect. Students can then
discuss why they are incorrect. Here is a simple example:

Clensa natural
Face cream
£2.58 £1.93

Enrichment activities
• ‘Would you rather’ activities. Pose questions such as: ‘Would you rather two thirds of three quarters or five sixths of
four fifths?’ etc.
• Make a card matching or a Tarsia puzzle (this can be done using free software available from mmlsoft.com) (There
are many ready-made examples available on the internet and the TES website has a good collection to choose from).
• NRICH ‘Ben’s Game’ is an excellent fractions based activity that requires student to record their working effectively.
It also covers factors and multiples as well as calculating with fractions. (nrich.maths.org)

TOPIC LINKS

This topic links with almost every topic at GCSE and beyond. Examples include:
• Algebraic fractions: completing the four rules.
• Vectors: solving vector problems.
• Probability.

Previous learning

• This topic provides many opportunities to practise the four rules with integers.
• The order of performing operations, BODMAS, applies all the time, not just with integer values.

Future learning

• Confidence with the techniques of the four rules for fractions will be very helpful for improving speed and accuracy
with general calculations in most topics and for problem-solving.
• Vector notation, Chapter 22F / 23H Vectors often involve a fraction of a vector.
• Algebraic fractions, Chapter 13H Further Algebra will employ the four rules and simplifying of expressions.
• Probability is expressed in fractions and use of the four rules for fractions is especially useful for finding the
probability of combined events. Chapter 26F / 28H Probability – combined events.

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 6F / 6H Fractions

Gateway to A level

• Vectors are a core and an applied topic at A level and often involve the use of fractions. Algebraic fractions come
early in the A level course and are used frequently throughout, especially with some of the integration techniques.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 2, question 17 • Chapter 2, question 12
• Chapter 3, question 10 • Chapter 3, question 1
• Chapter 5, questions 1, 2, 3 • Chapter 5, question 1
• Chapter 7, questions 1, 18 • Chapter 7, question 7
• Chapter 9, question 5

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 6 • Chapter 6

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 6 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 5 animated widgets
• 8 interactive walkthroughs
• 3 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 3 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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7F / 7H Decimals
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• A concrete understanding of place value.

• How to multiply and divide by powers of 10.
• How to compare decimals and arrange them in order of size.
• The fractional equivalents of common decimals.
• How to use formal or informal methods to divide numbers that lead to decimals.
• How to round numbers to various significant figures or decimal places.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• How to compare and order integers.

• How to complete the four rules with integers.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To apply knowledge of place value to convert decimals • To apply knowledge of place value to convert
to fractions and order fractions. decimals to fractions and order fractions.
Section 2 Section 2
• To apply knowledge of rounding to estimate • To be able to add, subtract multiply and divide
calculations that involve decimals. decimals.
• To be able to add, subtract multiply and divide • To use a calculator to complete more complicated
decimals. calculations that involve decimals.
• To use a calculator to complete more complicated
calculations that involve decimals.
Section 3
• To convert recurring decimals to fractions.

Vocabulary
Rounding, degree of accuracy

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students may believe that when multiplying by ten you simply add a zero (similarly taking away a zero for dividing).
This may lead to some problems when multiplying and dividing decimals, e.g. 1.56 × 10 becomes 1.560.
• Students might find it challenging to divide a number by a decimal less than one. They may not understand the
reason why it makes the number larger. It might be useful to ask the student to convert the decimal to a fraction and
then complete the calculation so that they see why the number gets larger.
• When estimating calculations students might round decimals that are less than one to 1. For example, if a student
was estimating the calculation 345 ÷ 0.79 to 300 ÷ 1 instead of 300 ÷ 0.8.

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Hooks

• Search the internet for ‘The Decimal Song’ as a fun way of introducing what a decimal is while emphasising the
importance of place value.

SECTION 1F / 1H: REVIEW/REVISION OF DECIMALS AND FRACTIONS

This section reviews students’ understanding of decimals and fractions.

Prompting questions
Exercise 7A(F) / 7A(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
1 . 1
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) How could you use your prior knowledge of = 0.3 to work out what would be as a decimal?
3 9
1 1
Since is ÷ 3, you can just divide the decimal version by 3.
9 3
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) Why it is useful to make all decimals the same length (that is, have the same number of digits after
the decimal point)?
This reduces the error of thinking that 0.07 is larger than, say, 0.3.
Which column should be compared first?
After anything before the decimal point has been compared, compare the tenths column first.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• To help students to visualise the decimals when comparing them in Exercise A, the ‘Zoomable number line’ is very
useful. (mathsisfun.com)
Enrichment activities
• Improving Learning in Mathematics ‘Ordering Fractions and Decimals N1’ available from the National STEM
Centre Archive. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• The ‘Converting fractions to decimals’ game allows students to play against other students online.
(mathplayground.com)

SECTION 2F / 2H: CALCULATING WITH DECIMALS

This introduces adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals.

Prompting questions
Exercise 7B(F)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1/2/3 (F) Whilst working through the exercise ask students how they decided on how many significant figures to
round their numbers to and why.
• Q3 (F) Which estimates are easier to calculate?
Those which use only one or two significant figures.
For the purpose of checking the accuracy of an answer which is better?
Each is valid as you are looking to see that the ‘size’ of the answer is about right (so you have not put the decimal point
in the wrong position). ‘Better’ is probably the one that is quickest to work out without needing to use a calculator.
Exercise 7C(F) / 7B(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Students should round their values to one significant figure to estimate.

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• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) This method assumes that students use the bus stop method. Students may struggle to line their
work up and lack the basic understanding to know where the decimal place should be. Instead, they might like to
24
think of the questions as fractions, e.g. 24 ÷ 0.6 as . Students will be able to find an equivalent fraction where the
0.6
10 24 10 240
denominator is an integer by multiplying by , e.g. × = = 40 .
10 0.6 10 6
If you have 69.44 ÷ 3.2 and you change the 3.2 to 32, why do you not change the 69.44 to 6944?
If you think of division as a fraction, then to have an equivalent, you must do the same to numerator and denominator.
3.2 to 32 is a multiplication by ten but 69.44 to 6944 is a multiplication by 100.
Exercise 7D(F) / 7C(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) The chapter focuses on the long method for addition and subtraction. Some students might use the
number line method for both of these. For subtraction, this is called the difference method and can be seen below:
7 14
0.98 0.45

12.02 13.00 20.00 34.00 34.45

• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) For part c, how do you find the average?

Divide the total time for the race by four.
Exercise 7E(F) / 7D(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Explain how to use your fraction button on your calculator to complete this calculation. If you aren’t
2
using a calculator why might it not be best to convert into a decimal?
15
This will lead to a recurring decimal. It will be easier to multiply by 2 first and then divide by 15.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• The book describes multiplying and dividing decimals by ‘moving the decimal place’ or placing it back in. If students
are struggling to comprehend this they may find it useful to use a place value grid to exemplify why the numbers
move, e.g. If a number becomes 100 times bigger each digit moves two columns to the left.

Multiplication

Th H T u t h th
thousands hundreds tens units tenths hundreths thousanths
2 8 3 4 10

2 8 3 4
3 1 0 6 9 100

3 1 0 6 9

The decimal point does

NOT move. The numbers
move to the left in
multiplication.

Enrichment activities
• Exercise 7B (Higher) / 7C (Foundation) asks students to provide examples of how Andy’s method could work.
Students could use technology to record an informative video exemplifying this.
• The Gelosia method of multiplying decimals can be used as a procedure or students can begin to explain why it
works. Search the internet for ‘Gelosia method’.

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• NRICH ‘Does This Sound about Right?’ introduces a series of statements for students to investigate by estimating
the calculations. (nrich.maths.org)
• ‘Stick on the Maths’ at Kangaroo Maths aids understanding of the effect of multiplying and dividing by numbers
between 0 and 1 (Level 7, CALC 2). (kangaroomaths.com)
Plenaries
• Take away menu maths. Give students a local takeaway menu (preferably ones with set menus). Students can work
out whether or not the set menus offer good value for money. They can then create their own and describe the
savings.

SECTION 3H: CONVERTING RECURRING DECIMALS TO EXACT FRACTIONS

This section focuses on converting recurring decimals to fractions.

Prompting questions
Exercise 7E(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
3
• Q2 (H) What do you notice about the fraction ? What might you need to do to this fraction in order to make
6
Nazeem’s theory correct?
3
is not simplified. All fractions must be written in their simplest form.
6
Exercise 7F(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (H) All of the examples use decimals where all of the digits after the decimal place recur. In that case it is easy to
see how the decimal relates to the fraction. What about if not all of the digits recur? E.g. 0.56 , how does it relate to
the fraction now?
If all of the digits recur then the denominator will be 9 if one digit recurs, 99 if two digits recur and so on. If the second
digit recurs then the denominator will be 90 and so on.
• Q3 (H) What is the difference between the decimals 0.21   and 0.21 ? How is the procedure different for converting
these decimals to fractions? Why?
  is 0.212121212121… and 0.21 is 0.211111111111111…. Students will have to find a different multiple of x for each
0.21
  it’ll be 100x – x and for 0.21 it’ll be 100x – 10x.
question. For 0.21
Exercise 7G(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What is the difference between 0.3 and 0.3?
1
30
3
Why should you not write 0.3 as in calculations?
10
Introduces rounding errors.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Students might be asked to prove that a recurring decimal converts to an exact fraction. It is important to point out
some algebraic conventions, e.g. that x is a variable and that is important to state ‘let x =’ etc.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Repetitiously’. This task will introduce converting recurring decimals to fractions. (nrich.maths.org)
• ‘Stick on the Maths’ at Kangaroo Maths helps students to understand the equivalence between recurring decimals
and fractions (Level 8, NNS1). (kangaroomaths.com)

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TOPIC LINKS

Decimals fractions are part of almost all topics at GCSE and beyond. There is obviously a strong link between fractions,
percentages and ratio.

Previous learning

• This topic puts into practise the techniques developed using the four rules with integers.
• Ordering integers.
• Place value. Identifying that the position of a digit in a number determines its ‘size’ is as important for digits to the
right of the decimal point as well as for digits to the left.

Future learning

• Estimating to find ‘reasonable’ approximations will be developed more in Chapter 9 Rounding, estimation and
accuracy.
• General use of decimal arithmetic in calculations as well as whole number arithmetic is used in most topics.

Gateway to A level

• In integration, the techniques can sometimes reproduce the original function being integrated, as if it is recurring.
There are methods for dealing with this type of function.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 6, question 1 • Chapter 2, question 13
• Chapter 8, question 11 • Chapter 5, question 15
• Chapter 10, question 13 • Chapter 8, question 14
• Chapter 9, question15
• Chapter 10, question 10

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 7 • Chapter 7

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 5 (F) / 6 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 9 (F) / 10 (H) animated widgets
• 9 (F) / 15 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 2 (F) / 3 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 2 (F) / 3 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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 8F / 8H Powers and roots

8F / 8H Powers and roots

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to add and subtract integers mentally.

• How to find the squares, square roots, cubes and cube roots of numbers.
• How to find the reciprocal of a number.
• How to use the power, root and reciprocal buttons on a calculator.
• The difference between the words ‘evaluate’ and ‘simplify.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To write a series of numbers multiplied together in • To write a series of numbers multiplied together in
index form. index form.
• To write an exponent on a calculator. • To find the roots of numbers and know how to use
a calculator to find roots other than the square and
• To understand zero and negative indices.
cube roots.
• To write an exponent on a calculator.
• To understand zero and negative indices.
Section 2 Section 2
• To apply the laws of indices for multiplying and • To apply the laws of indices for multiplying and
dividing, and for powers of indices. dividing, and for powers of indices.
• To work with fractional indices and understand the
link to surds.
Section 3 Section 3
• To calculate roots of a number. • To estimate powers and roots of a number.
• To solve problems involving powers and roots. • To solve problems involving powers and roots.

Vocabulary
Index, index notation

Common misconceptions and other issues

• When squaring a number students might double the number rather than multiplying it by itself, e.g. 72 = 14. To
address this you could pose two calculations to the students: one that calculates 7 × 7 and the other 7 × 2. Students
can discuss which they think is correct and why.
• If students are taught rules such as an × am = an+m then they may incorrectly believe that an × bm = a + bn+m or abn+m.
Asking students to evaluate the questions as well as simplify can overcome this. Students could be provided with all
of the possible misconceptions and after they evaluate them using a calculator they will understand why they are
not correct.
1
• When students are dealing with negative indices they might write the number 5–1 as −5 rather than . If this is the
5
case it would be helpful to recap their understanding of reciprocals.

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Hooks

• Indices song: Search online for ‘indices song’. This is a light-hearted way of introducing or reinforcing the topic. It also
highlights some of the common misconceptions.
• NRICH ‘Power Countdown’ is a twist on the popular numbers game. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 1F / 1H: INDEX NOTATION

This section focuses on how to write a number in index form and how to input a number in index form into a calculator.
It also explains what negative indices are.

Prompting questions
Exercise 8A(F)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) Can you think of any different ways to ask these questions?
The same sort of question is asked in different ways; students could suggest alternatives depending on which question
part they are considering.
• Q3 (F) Why is part n easier than part o?
The numbers being raised to a power are the same base number, so the laws of indices can be applied.
What can you do first to make part n even easier?
Simplify first.
• Q3q (F) Explain how you should apply the order of operations to this question.
Calculate the powers first, then multiply then add the two values together.
Exercise 8A(H)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1a (H) What patterns can you identify in the powers of two? Can you use this to fill in the gaps?
Student should notice that from zero that when the power increases it doubles the previous value. When the power
decreases then the answer halves.
• Q1b (H) What is the mathematical name for what you have noticed?
The negative and positive values of the same number are reciprocals of each other.
Exercise 8B(F) / 8B(H)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) Why is part n easier than part o?
The numbers being raised to a power are the same base number, so the laws of indices can be applied.
What can you do first to make part n even easier?
Simplify first.
• Q1q (H) Explain how you should apply the order of operations to this question.
Calculate the powers first, then multiply then add the two values together.
• Q2d (F) / Q3d (H) Explain why it would be incorrect to simplify this question to 316 before evaluating the answer.
Because you can only simplify like this when multiplying terms with like bases.
Exercise 8C(F) / 8C(H)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1d (F) / Q1d (H) 3−2 is the reciprocal of what?
3–2 is the reciprocal of 32.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• ‘Exponential Error’. Can you spot the mistake? A great quick starter that consolidates the students understanding
of powers. The mistake is actually in the text! (transum.org)
• ‘Indices’. A set of thought-provoking indices resources by Susan Wall are available from the National STEM Centre
website. These include true or false, odd one out and matching type activities and encourage student collaboration.
(nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
Enrichment activities
• The problem ‘Power Mad’ from NRICH gets students to investigate a range of patterns in powers. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘A Biggy’. A problem that will stretch students to think more deeply about the properties of numbers that
have been raised to powers. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 2F / 2H: THE LAWS OF INDICES

This section focuses on the following index laws:

• Multiplying numbers in index form.
• Dividing numbers in index form.
• Powers of indices.
• (Higher only) Fractional indices.
This section introduces all of the index laws students are required to know. Although the summaries are helpful to
students it is important that they understand why the laws work so they do not use them incorrectly.

Prompting questions
Exercise 8D(F) / 8D(H)
• Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1d (F) / Q1d (H) What is the power of 5 when it is written on its own?
5 = 51
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Why do you think other students might make a mistake with parts i, j and k of this question? What
wrong answer do you think they might give?
Students might apply their knowledge of negative numbers incorrectly. E.g. for Q2j they might get an answer of 102 by
simply subtracting the powers. Since subtracting a negative is the same as adding a positive then they should get 1010.
Exercise 8E(H)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2e (H) Why is it useful to write 3 3 as an index before simplifying?

( ) 1
Students can then simply multiply the indices when they are written in index form, e.g. 3 3 = 3 3
4

• Q3g (H) What three steps should you complete to answer this question?
First find the reciprocal of 125. Then find the cube root, then find the 4th power of the result.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and plenaries
• The Number Loving website activity ‘Indices starter – True of False Worksheet’ is a quick way to check students’
understanding of use of powers and the basic index laws. ‘Simplifying Indices Catchphrase’, also on the Number
Loving website, makes a nice plenary where the whole class can contribute to solving questions and reveal a picture
representing a known phrase. (The easiest way to find particular resources is to select KS4 and then click ‘find’ to get
a full list in alphabetical order.) (numberloving.co.uk)

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• The ‘Powers of y eliminator’ from Teach It Maths is a good exercise to practise using the first three laws of indices
to find a coded message. Registration to be able to download the pdf files is free. (teachitmaths.co.uk)
• ‘Collecting Like Terms / Simplifying’ has a ready-made Tarsia, matching cards and bingo activities for simplifying
indices. (mrbartonmaths.com)
Enrichment activities
• ‘Using Indices N12’ from the National STEM Centre archive contains a range of activities to develop the students’
understanding of the index laws. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• NRICH ‘Negative Power’ is an interesting investigative problem involving negative indices and raising a power to a
power. (nrich.maths.org)
• ‘Powers and Roots pack two’ from the National STEM Centre archive is a pack of SMILE activities exploring powers
and indices and applying these in standard form. This could provide opportunities for additional practice and
making connections to applications of indices. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)

SECTION 3F / 3H: WORKING WITH POWERS AND ROOTS

The Foundation version of Section 3 focuses on finding the root of a number and recognising that finding the roots and
working out powers are inverse operations. The section then goes on to look at problems in context.
The Higher version of Section 3 focuses on estimating the value of powers and roots and then on answering problems in
context.

Prompting questions
Exercise 8E(F)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Can you complete the table without using a calculator? What patterns do you notice?
• The powers increase by one as they move to the right. For base two the values for each increased power are doubling.
• What happens in each consecutive cell as you move to the right or left?
Base 2 is × 2 moving to right, ÷ 2 moving left. For base 3, base 4, etc. moving right means multiplying by the base,
moving left means dividing.
1 1 1
• How could , , be written involving powers of 2?
2 4 8

( )( )( )
1 1 1 2 1 3
This should elicit 2 , 2 , 2 , etc., which would bring out discussion about the negative powers being
reciprocals.
Exercise 8F(F)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Why doesn’t this exercise ask you to find any sixth roots of numbers? How could you extend your table to be able to
do this?
The table only goes up to raising to the power of 5. You can extend the table by an extra column and use the rules
discussed above to fill in the values. Then it would be possible to answer questions such as what is 6 64 ?
Exercise 8F(H)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What square, cube etc. numbers do you know that are close to the values in the question?
For example, for part a, students know that 64 is 8 and 81 is 9. Therefore, they know the answer will lie between 8
and 9.
• Q4 (H) If m is 1, then what is a? Now, find a as m increases.
If m is 1, a is 81. Students can use this as a useful starting point.

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 8F / 8H Powers and roots

Exercise 8G(F) / 8G(H)

Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• List as many examples of formulae you can think of in maths or science that use indices (e.g. pr2). This could lead to
an interesting discussion about which formula are more complicated to use and why, which leads in nicely to the
types of problem covered in Exercise G.
• Q1 (F) Which button on your calculator will work out the side lengths of a square if you know the area?
Square root button.
• Q8 (F) / Q1 (H) What effect does changing the interest rate for the five years to 2.5% or 10% have on the final total
from the investment of £2500? Does this surprise you? Now try changing the investment term from ten years to five
or fifteen. Use these investigations to write some financial advice on wise investments.

5% 2.5% 10%
5 years £3190.70 £2828.52 £4026.28
10 years £4072.24 £3200.21 £6484.36
15 years £5197.32 £3620.75 £10443.12

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and plenaries
• ‘Algebra Questions’ at Aplus Click Maths contains a wide variety of multiple choice questions on algebra, many of
which involve indices and powers. To give you a sample of what you will find, two examples are: a) 278 = 81n, find n;
and b) the last digit of 333 =? (aplusclick.com)
Enrichment activities
• (Higher only) The ‘RISPs Task 35 Index Triples’ is a challenge that extends toward A level that investigates the effect
of the order when writing numbers to the power of each other. To access this task, go to the RISPs homepage and
then select ‘Risps 1 – 40’. (risps.co.uk)
• Explore past functional maths paper questions (from exam board websites) for questions involving use of formulae
where indices play a part, possibly in connection to area, volume, percentage calculations and units.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
From Key Stage 3 students should be confident with square and cube numbers, and know the first 15 squares, six cubes
and their corresponding roots.
Geometrically students should recognise the link between squaring a number and finding the area of a square from its
length. Similarly they should make the link between the volume of a cube and its edge lengths.

Future learning
At GCSE the laws of indices will be required for successful calculations in standard form (Chapter 27F / 29H Standard
Form).
(Higher only) Indices link closely with surds (Chapter 14H Surds) since these are fractional indices and the laws can be
used to justify statements such as a × a = a .
Indices are also applied in various formulae, such as volumes of cubes and spheres, direct and indirect proportion and
calculations of compound interest.

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Gateway to A level
Students will learn to differentiate and integrate terms that involve indices and they will develop the laws of indices
to work with logarithms, which are used extensively at A level and beyond, for example linking to e, infinite series and
solving differential equations. Indices are present in topics such as geometric series and binomial distribution, and the
ability to manipulate expressions involving indices is an important algebraic technique.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 4, question 4 • Chapter 4, question 5
• Chapter 7, question 10 • Chapter 8, question 15
• Chapter 8, question 19 • Chapter 9, question 11
• Chapter 9, question 21

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 8 • Chapter 8

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 8 (F) / 12 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 2 (F) / 3 (H) animated widgets
• 10 (F) / 17 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 3 (F) / 4 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 3 (F) / 4 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

58 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 9F / 9H Rounding, estimation and accuracy

9F / 9H Rounding, estimation and accuracy

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your pupils need to know

• Have a strong understanding of place value.

• Be confident with using decimals, particularly involving division.
• Be able to make estimates for calculations to decide if a solution is reasonable.
• To have an understanding of inequality notation (in order to help understanding of bounds).

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To be able to round to the nearest positive integer • To be able to round to the nearest positive integer
power of ten and apply this to some real life examples. power of ten and apply this to some real life
examples.
• To round values to a specified number of decimal
places. • To round values to a specified number of decimal
places.
• To round values to a specified number of significant
figures. • To round values to a specified number of significant
figures.
• To truncate values and understand when this is useful
to apply in context. • To truncate values and understand when this is
useful to apply in context.
Section 2 Section 2
• To apply the ability to round to one significant • To apply the ability to round to one significant
figure in order to estimate answers to more complex figure in order to estimate answers to more complex
calculations without using a calculator. calculations without using a calculator.
Section 3 Section 3
• To use inequalities and identify the lower and upper • To use inequalities and identify the lower and
bounds for measurements and use these within upper bounds for measurements and use these
calculations to find maximum and minimum solutions. within calculations to find maximum and minimum
solutions.
• Calculate the upper and lower bounds of a
calculation (for discrete and continuous quantities).
(Higher Only)

Vocabulary
Rounding, degree of accuracy, significant figure, round to significant figures, truncation, estimate, lower bound, upper
bound, error interval
(Higher Only) discrete values, continuous values

Common misconceptions and other issues

• That estimation just means writing a ‘rough guess’ that doesn’t involve any calculation.
• That rounding is an arbitrary process that simply follows the rule of ‘5 or more round up’, as opposed to
understanding the reason for this.
To help resolve ask students to consider the two possible answers from rounding up or down on a number line and
identify their halfway point to make the decision about rounding.

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• That multiplication always gives a larger answer.

Include examples of multiplication with numbers less than one to challenge this perception.
• That division always gives a smaller answer.
Again, provide examples of division with numbers less than one to counter this.
• That rounding to decimal places means the same as truncation.
Activities from Section 1 will clarify this.
• That 24 673 to two significant figures is 25 rather than 25 000, i.e. rounding to significant figures ‘loses’ the
unnecessary digits so that place value is not maintained.
Encourage students to say the number out loud before rounding, to hear the place value expressed, e.g. ‘Twenty four
thousand, six hundred and seventy three rounded is twenty five to two significant figures’. This helps prompt them to
realise their answer is not reasonable where place value has been lost.
• That when a solution is required to a specified degree of accuracy all answers obtained partway through the
calculation should be rounded to this degree.
• Encourage use of fractions, surds and irrational numbers through calculations, or use of a calculator memory button, to
minimise rounding until the final answer.
• That when rounding to decimal places some students erroneously think that each digit is rounded in turn with a
compounding effect. E.g. round 3.4547 to two decimal places becomes 3.455 then 3.46 instead of the correct answer
of 3.45 (two decimal places).
Again representing numbers on a number line can help provide a visual stimulus, with the halfway value clearly
identified to avoid this type of error.

Hooks
The Estimate180 website has a different estimation, using an image as a prompt, for 200 different days. It provides an
excellent way of developing number sense in students and would provide a suitable introduction to ground this topic.
(estimation180.com)

SECTION 1F / 1H: APPROXIMATE VALUES

This section has four sub-sections, covering: rounding to the nearest positive integer power of ten; rounding to a
given number of decimal places; the terminology of significant figures and how to apply rounding to these; truncating
numbers at specific levels of accuracy, rather than using formal rounding techniques, and exploring when this might be
applicable.
This section recaps much content that should have been covered in previous years therefore establishing the areas
your students are confident with is particularly important as it is easy to assume they should already understand, but
in fact may have gaps or misconceptions. Equally, more able students could become quickly disengaged revisiting
material they understood some years ago. Since the book provides for a wide range through Exercises A to D, using the
Launchpad questions and then allowing students to select their starting points for some individual work would seem
particularly relevant for this topic. Drawing special attention to the truncation method and its relevance is important,
since this may not have been formally taught previously yet can be incorrectly used by students thinking they are
rounding to a given number of decimal places.

Prompting questions
Exercise 9A(F) / 9A(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Can you suggest possible real life examples for the figures you are rounding?
Obviously there is a multitude of possible answers here, but it could be good to use items in the classroom, for example
they might be measurements of length, for example objects around the classroom such as mini whiteboards, pencils
etc.

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 9F / 9H Rounding, estimation and accuracy

• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Can you draw number lines to demonstrate why your rounding is correct?
e.g.
£27.60

£27.00 £27.50 £28.00

• How might the media use rounding to persuade the public? For example, which sounds more dramatic: The UK
national deficit was £107.7 billion or £108 billion in March 2014? What is the increase in pounds if I round this to £108
billion?
£108 billion sounds more dramatic, being an increase of 300 million.
My original figure was presumably rounded anyway. What is the maximum possible increase that this rounding
could have added on to the actual figure?
The lowest value that could have been rounded to 107.7 billion would be 107 650 000 000 so the maximum increase if
rounded to £108 billion is 350 million! An additional point to make here is that in real life numbers do tend to be rounded
up, and not necessarily by mathematicians, so they may not stringently be following the rules!
Exercise 9B(F) / 9B(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What examples can you think of where amounts might be rounded to one or two decimal places?
Often seen in measurements such as weight and distance.
• When might rounding to decimal places be more or less appropriate?
A less appropriate example might be rounding certain measurements that are hard to measure a decimal part e.g.
angles or where very large numbers are involved and the decimal part is insignificant. Also these can be confusing in
measurements not based on a base ten system, e.g. 0.25 hours might be better converted to 15 minutes.
• If I were drawing a scale map, where 1 cm = 1 km, what effect would rounding to the nearest centimetre have?
The real life measurements could be smaller or greater by up to 500 metres. Questions like this are useful to help
students begin to think about bounds, which come in a later section.
• What is 1.899 rounded to two decimal places? What about 1.999? Why do examples like these make us think more?
1.90 and 2.00: as a result of the nines we need to show the zeros to be clear we have rounded to the required number of
decimal places.
• What is −2.75 rounded to one decimal place?
This should raise questions since the answer depends on the method being used and it would be a good opportunity for
students to research into different rounding methods such as half away from zero and half towards zero.
Which method do you prefer and why?
If we agree on a ‘half round up’ method, which is applied with the positive numbers, we would get −2.7 (one decimal
place) although rounded to the nearest integer we’d get −3. There are different systems and applications that might
advocate rounding towards zero, so rounding away from zero this is −2.8 to one decimal place.
Exercise 9C(F) / 9C(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• When would using rounding to significant figures be useful?
This can be helpful with very large and very small numbers, when specifying a number of decimal places is irrelevant. In
general, rounding to three or four significant figures should always give a reasonable answer, whereas rounding to four
decimal places may not.
• If 25 000 is the answer to a ‘Round this number to’ question, what might the question have been?
A range of possible answers, depending on levels of accuracy used. Ask students to state their rounding accuracy to
each answer they give to help check their understanding. This thought process leads nicely to the topics of bounds
covered in Section 3, so does not need much detail at this stage but having exposed students to this thought process will
help them later on.
• Ask students to give examples of numbers that they find more difficult to round, e.g. 1.0005 to two significant figures
or 0.000873 to one significant figure. Discuss their queries to bring out any common misconceptions.
• Thinking challenge: Write down two different numbers that are the same when rounded to:
-- the nearest thousand and 1 significant figure (e.g. 2580 and 3100)

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-- the nearest hundred and 2 significant figures (e.g. 190 and 203)
-- 2 decimal places and 2 significant figures (e.g. 0.345 and 0.353)
-- 3 decimal places and 5 significant figures (e.g. 0.00123)
Exercise 9D(F) / 9D(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Provide some functional examples where truncating has taken place, for the students to decide if they are or are not
appropriate. For example the number of tiles required for a kitchen wall (depending on the number of calculations
involved they are likely to be short of tiles), number of glasses that can be filled from a bottle (This is appropriate as
truncation will give the number of whole glasses), the sample size for a stratified sample (again this is an appropriate
use since you cannot have a decimal part of a person), number of degrees needed for a category in a pie chart
(truncation throughout could leave you a few degrees short of 360° so rounding to the nearest integer is more useful).
• When I fill in my tax return each year, the software uses truncation for all the values I enter, so for example an annual
bank interest income of £25.83 is recorded as £25 and then tax is calculated. What do you think of this system? Who
benefits: me or the tax office?
Me, perhaps surprisingly!

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and Plenaries
• (Foundation) A quick starter: Can we afford our shopping? Give students a budget and then read out a range of items
to buy and their prices. Ask students to keep an approximate running total in their head to decide approximately
how much they should pay. Will any items need to be put back on the shelf?
• (Foundation) For students who still struggle with the concept of place value and decimal intervals, the Interactive
Teaching Programs from the old Primary Numeracy Strategy can be very helpful, particularly ‘Place Value’ and
‘Decimal Number Line’. The full collection of these can be found at taw.org.uk.
Another good visual tool is the ‘Zoomable Number Line’ available at mathsisfun.com.
• Make a card matching or a Tarsia puzzle to match amounts rounded to specific levels of accuracy. (This can be done
using free software available from mmlsoft.com.)
(There are many ready-made examples available on the internet and the TES website has a good collection to
choose from at tes.co.uk).
• Create a ‘follow me’ loop where students read out a number and a rounding level of accuracy and the student with
the answer on their card replies and gives the next question.
• The Number Loving website has a selection of card sorts and games, ‘treasure hunt’ and ‘tick or trash’ activities
that could be used for group and class activities to consolidate and practise techniques beyond the textbook
exercises. (The easiest way to find particular resources is to select KS4 and then click ‘find’ to get a full list in
alphabetical order.) (numberloving.co.uk)
Enrichment activities
• How many potential examples of rounding can students find in today’s news headlines?
• (Foundation) Improving Learning in Mathematics ‘Rounding Numbers N3’, available from the National STEM
Centre Archive, will help students who find rounding to integers difficult to consolidate rounding to the nearest
power of ten. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• NRICH ‘Does This Sound about Right?’. A good activity to ensure students are able to identify realistic estimations
in context. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 2F / 2H: APPROXIMATION AND ESTIMATION

This section covers estimation techniques using a calculator.

‘Work it out’ shows three different possible estimations and their calculations. It would be useful for students to make
connections with this type of problem and the number based ones that are predominant in the exercise, so asking

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 9F / 9H Rounding, estimation and accuracy

students to write a possible scenario for the estimations, with sensible alternate calculations could be a good way to
develop higher order thinking around this topic.

Prompting questions
Exercise 9E(F) / 9E(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Are your answers to the estimations over or underestimates?
Since this is not always easy to predict, you could ask students to work out the precise answers to the calculations to
double check.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What are the percentage errors for each calculation?
Part a), percentage errors are: A +9.4%, B −6.5% and C +3.9%, all to one decimal place. Part b) A +3.3%, B −3.6% and C
+10.2%, all to one decimal place.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Why do you think rounding each number to one significant figure is suggested?
It’s good for a general rounding level when estimating since it is not affected by the magnitude of numbers involved; it
will always take into account place value, unlike if decimal places are specified.
What are the limitations of this?
Can make estimations very inaccurate, especially for large numbers as shown previously.
Can you give me an example when the actual answer is very different from the estimated answer? Can you give me
an example where they are very similar?
Ask students to calculate the actual answers and compare to their rounded ones to see this. When figures given are very
close to the upper or lower bound for rounding this will create larger differences. This could link nicely to Section 3.
• Given the students’ observations from the above, what are the potential issues of rounding partway through a
calculation?
They should see from checking the over and underestimates and percentage errors that premature rounding can
greatly affect the answer in some cases.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and plenaries
• MARS Assessments ‘Division’. A quick task that will help to ensure students read worded problems carefully before
applying estimation techniques. (map.mathshell.org)
• Marking other students’ work. Provide some questions and written solutions, based on real student errors, where
some answers are perfect, but others contain errors or inconsistencies such as a change to the rounding accuracy
level. Ask students to mark the work and identify these.

SECTION 3F / 3H: LIMITS OF ACCURACY

This section introduces bounds of accuracy and error intervals and in the Higher textbook leads into associated
calculations from these. This section in the Higher textbook also considers working with discrete and continuous
quantities.
Before moving onto this section ensure students are confident with using inequalities. Connect their understanding by
considering the previous sections, where they obtained overestimates and underestimates through their calculations,
since using bounds will enable them to find the maximum and minimums of such calculations.

Prompting questions
Exercise 9F(F) / 9F(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• If a student’s height is 1.7m, what might their exact height be?
Any height in the error interval 1.65 ≤ h < 1.75 i.e. lower and upper bounds 1.65 and 1.75 m.
• Why is using the π button on the calculator better than assuming a value of 3.14?
Because it is not rounded to two decimal places therefore will ensure accuracy during calculations that is lost by
premature rounding.
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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Exercise 9G(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 & 4 (H) How would rounding figures up or down affect calculations involving subtraction?
To maximise the answer to A – B, work out (upper of A – lower of B); to minimise the answer use (lower of A – upper of B).
• Q2 & 3 (H) How would rounding figures up or down affect calculations involving multiplication?
For numbers greater than one, to maximise multiply all the upper bounds, for numbers less than one then using the
lower bounds will give the maximum. To minimise use the reverse of this.
• Q1 & 4 (H) How would rounding figures up or down affect calculations involving addition?
To maximise the answer use all upper bounds, to minimise answer use all lower bounds.
• Q7 (H) How would rounding figures up or down affect calculations involving division?
Again this depends on the magnitude of the numbers involved in the calculation. For numbers A and B where both are
greater than one, for the maximum value of A ÷ B, work out (upper of A ÷ lower of B); for the minimum value, work out
(lower of A ÷ upper of B).
• Q6 (H) Why do modern calculators give answers in terms of π or in surd form?
To show the precise answer, although this can quickly be changed to a decimal answer but at this point the calculator
will have performed some rounding or truncation. The precise form is very useful to then use in a subsequent part of the
calculation, to avoid introduction of rounding errors partway through a calculation.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• A newspaper that has attendance figures at various sports events, or comments on company profits, could be useful
for students to see how rounding has been used in an everyday context. Get them to work out what the limits of
these figures could have been.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Time to Evolve’. This encourages students to make sensible estimates through their calculations. (nrich.
maths.org)
• (Higher Only) NRICH ‘More or Less?’. This asks students to consider a range of scenarios whether a particular
estimation would be over, under or exact. (nrich.maths.org)
• (Higher Only) Nuffield Foundation ‘Errors’. This uses examples in the context of shape and space to help students
understand how big errors may be. Students are required to find the upper and lower bounds of measurements,
given the level of accuracy used, and consider how possible errors accumulate. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)

TOPIC LINKS

Future learning

• Approximation and estimation are skills that are used regularly during GCSE. They are particularly useful for a
simple check that solutions are of a correct magnitude, and for ensuring accuracy during calculations by avoiding
premature rounding.
• Calculations using standard form notation (since the number part may be rounded to two or three significant
figures), see Chapter 27F / 29H Standard form.
• Trial and improvement (since this requires finding approximate solutions to a specified degree of accuracy), see
Chapter 15H Equations.
• Handling continuous data (where writing intervals is required, so summary results are an estimate), see Chapter 36F
/ 38H Data analysis.

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 9F / 9H Rounding, estimation and accuracy

Gateway to A level
Estimations and approximation will continue to have general applications within a range of calculation types through
A level, both in Mathematics and any subjects where calculations are required. There are many cross-curricular links
where accuracy is important e.g. calculating concentrations in Chemistry, or use of formula within Business Studies
or Economics. Within the Mathematics content, they have specific application in the Taylor and MacLaurin series and
solutions by iteration.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 5, question 4 • Chapter 2, question 2
• Chapter 6, question 7 • Chapter 5, question 7
• Chapter 7, question 2 • Chapter 6, questions 12, 22

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 9 • Chapter 9

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 6 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 3 animated widgets
• 12 interactive walkthroughs
• 5 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 5 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

10F / 10H Mensuration

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to multiply and divide by powers of 10.

• Index notation, e.g. 102 = 10 × 10.
• (Higher only) How to use inequalities appropriately in mathematical statements.
• How to find the volume of a cuboid.
• How to measure accurately using a ruler and protractor.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Non-calculator methods for multiplying decimals.

• Calculations involving related sums.
• Knowledge of rounding to one or two significant figures.
• Rounding to estimate solutions to problems.
• Work with equivalent fractions including cancelling to simplest form.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Convert metric units for capacity, mass and length. • Convert metric units for capacity, mass and length.
• Convert metric units of area and volume. • Convert metric units of area and volume.
• Understand that units of time are not metric. • Understand that units of time are not metric.
• Covert units of time and use to solve related problems. • Covert units of time and use to solve related
problems.
• Convert currencies using conversion factors.
• Convert currencies using conversion factors.
Section 2 Section 2
• Convert compound measurements. • Convert compound measurements.
Dis tance Mass Dis tance Mass
• Use formulae: Speed = , Density = and • Use formulae: Speed = , Density = and
Time Volume Time Volume
Force Force
Pressure = to find any one of the variables given Pressure = to find any one of the variables
Area Area
values for the other two. given values for the other two.

Section 3 Section 3
• Read and use scales on maps including both line/bar • Read and use scales on maps including both line/
scales and ratio scales. bar scales and ratio scales.
• Form their own scales to construct their own scale • Form their own scales to construct their own scale
drawings to fit a given dimension. drawings to fit a given dimension.
• Read and use bearings in scale drawings. • Read and use bearings in scale drawings.
• Understand the connection between a bearing of B
from A and A from B on a given line segment.

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 10F / 10H Mensuration

Vocabulary
Conversion factor, exchange rate, scale factor

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students have problems multiplying and dividing decimals by powers of 10. This is due to the misconception that ×
10 means you add a zero onto the end of the number (and other similar products with powers of 10). For students
who have this issue it would be useful to revisit multiplying and dividing by powers of 10 with a place value grid.
• Students perform calculations with values in different units. To combat this remind students that all units must be
the same and try to establish good practice with estimation and a check to see whether their answer seems sensible.
• Using 1D scale factors and misunderstanding that they need to be working with scale factors squared and cubed for
area and volume. Ask students to revisit the original values in their calculations and convert the lengths involved,
e.g.
2m 12 m2 200 cm 120000 cm2

6m 600 cm

to force the acknowledgement of an error in their solution. When introducing this topic you could use overlays of grids
to turn 1 cm2 into 100 mm2 and consider the related sums as used in the section notes of the textbook, e.g.
2 cm  6 cm  12 cm2
10 10 102  100
20 mm  60 mm  1200 mm2

• You can also use the following table when making notes with students on this topic:
Length Area Volume
mm mm2 mm3
10 10 102 102 103 103
cm cm 2
cm 3

100 100 1002 1002 1003 1003

m m
2
m 3

1000 1000 10002 10002 10003 10003

km km2 km3

• Students multiply when they should divide or vice versa when converting units. To encourage the correct decision,
focus on the size of the units and whether you would expect there to be more or fewer of them e.g. centimetres are
smaller than metres so you would expect there to be more of them, so 5 m → cm needs × 100 not ÷ 100. → cm
needs × 100 not ÷ 100.
• Students struggle to remember which power of 10 they need to use. This is because they confuse how many
centimetres there are in a metre and how many millimetres there are in a centimetre and so on for the most common
conversions. Try to give students a point of reference for measurements of length, e.g. using their ruler to check
centimetres to millimetres, knowing that a metre is roughly the length of an exam desk so must be more than 10 cm
and so on. You could also focus on the meaning of the prefixes, e.g. kilo is linked to the Greek word for 1000, centi is
connected to the Greek word for 100, and connect to other language students are familiar with, such as century, to
support this. Asking students to make a poster or A5 revision card that can be laminated for them to keep could also
be successful.
• Students treat time like they would the rest of the metric system and hence write 3.5 hours = 3 hours 50 mins or
similarly 3 hours 30 mins as 3.3 hours. Returning to basics and asking students to convert 0.5 hours or ‘half an hour’
into minutes can help them identify this as well as considering simple fractions of an hour e.g. 1/10, 1/3, 1/6.
• Students struggle to convert currencies where they are working ‘backwards’ i.e. where they are told £1 = $1.70 and
are asked to convert $500 into pounds. Combat this using converting ratio notation to remind them which way
they are going, not always formally writing the division underneath but always reinforcing the question: What am I
multiplying by? E.g.
x? £1  $1.70 300

£300  $510
£300  £1  300
so x  300

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294.18 £1  $1.70 x?
$294.18  $500
$500  $1.70  294.1176

D
• Students struggle to work with rearranged forms of S = (and similar formulae for density and pressure). A good way
T
to deal with this is to work with the formula triangle, in which students cover up the variable they are looking for (see
Section 2 notes for more details).
• Students confuse the units when working with compound measures and don’t know what the units of their value
are. Persistently reinforcing that the units for the compound measurement are the units given in the values being
used helps with this.
• Students confuse multiplication and division of the scale factor when working with scale drawings. For advice on
how to deal with this see the point above on converting currencies.
• Students forget what a bearing is and how it compares to a given angle. Reminding students that bearings always
start from north and must always contain three digits (perhaps as a fill in the gaps definitions starter e.g. ‘Angles that
are always measured from north are called _____ ’) is often enough to deal with this issue.

Hooks
For all the material covered in this chapter students are often most engaged when it is personal to them or topical. For
example, when looking at scale drawings you could focus on maps of the area where they live, or when considering
compound measures you could look at the formula for speed, distance and time by focusing on recent sporting footage
or reminisce on the London 2012 games.

SECTION 1F / 1H: STANDARD UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

This section covers various units of measurement including length, capacity, mass and time. The first part considers
the different metric units of measurement for length, capacity and mass and connections in the names used before
considering the most common conversions required. Having looked at one-dimensional units the section then goes
on to consider how these conversion rates are applied to area and volume problems through the use of related
calculations, which could be supported with specific examples. Students could investigate to deduce their own rules for
these conversions.
The second part first covers time and the various forms it can be written in (decimalised and using standard units).
There is another list of conversion facts for students to learn and it is worth considering how they are all connected e.g.
1 hour = 1 × 602 = 3600 secs as you go via minutes rather than straight to seconds. There are also opportunities to explore
informal non-calculator methods for converting decimalised hours to hours and minutes using fractions of amounts
(tenths). The penultimate part of this section considers the differences between the 12-hour clock and 24-hour clock. In
the final section of the second part, unitary conversion methods for money are looked at when using exchange rates.

Prompting questions
Exercise 10A(F) / 10A(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3−4 (F) / Q3−4 (H) What has to be the same for you to perform calculations with the measurements?
The units.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) Why might a sketch be helpful?
Because then I am holding fewer facts in my head.
• Q5 (F) / Q5−6 (H) What do you have to remember to do to the length conversion factor if you are dealing with area?
Square the conversion factor.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) What do you have to remember to do to the length conversion factor if you are dealing with volume?
Cube the conversion factor.
• Q7 (H) What needs to be the same for me to compare the values?
The units.

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 10F / 10H Mensuration

• Q8 (H) Which part of the diagram would be 170 mm deep?

The sink only, not the draining board as well.
Exercise 10B(F) / 10B(H)
Whilst working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Use the questions from the problem-solving framework in the Student Book:
-- What have you got to do?
-- What information do you need?
-- What information don’t you need? (This is a hard question for weaker students as they often think everything
they are told is relevant and may not be able to generalise to deal with the wider problem).
-- What maths can you do? (Worth elaborating on this question to ask what information they can use first).
-- Have you used all the information? (This could be a tough question for those incapable of identifying what
information is irrelevant).
-- Is it correct? (Worth changing to: is it in the range of answers you were expecting? / Is it close to your estimate?)
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What time facts do you need? (For example, days in week.)
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) What do you need to ensure is the same when working with measurements?
The units.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) Which exchange rate do you need?
The one for the currency in the question.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) Are you converting using the rate given or working backwards to convert? How does this make a
difference?
It changes whether you are multiplying or dividing.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• An appropriate starter or plenary for this topic would be a series of short questions based on something personal to
the students such as their bus timetable or school day timings.
Enrichment activities
• The skills in this section can be combined with measuring and accuracy with a series of tasks related to measuring
objects in the classroom and converting to the units required in the question e.g. length of the desk, mass of pencil
case.
• Card sorts can be used effectively with this topic to support weaker students and identify common misconceptions.
Additional challenge can be added by removing some of the pairs and giving students blank cards to fill in.
• There is a series of ‘We can work it out’ tasks that are appropriate for the material on time available from ATM. The
tasks could be replicated easily as they are a series of information and question cards for students to work through
where some information is useful and some is irrelevant. Most centre on trips and included transport times and costs
within the calculations.

SECTION 2F / 2H: COMPOUND UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

This section introduces students to compound measures and considers a range of scenarios in which compound
measures would be used for money. After this speed, density and pressure are considered in detail with examples on
converting these compound measures given at each stage.

Prompting questions
Exercise 10C(F) / 10C(H)
Whilst working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What information is required to solve this problem? What do I know? What do I need?

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• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Is there any information that is irrelevant to this problem?

Joe’s age.
• What compound measure can I form from the information given in the question? How can I convert it to the one
required for the answer?
• Q4−6 (F) / Q4−8 (H) Which variable are you looking for, speed, distance or time? How can my formula triangle assist
in working out what calculation I need to do?
• Q9 (H) What do you think the different parts of the time stamp are in units?
It’s a marathon so hours, minutes and seconds.
• Q10 (H) What do the units have to be for you to work with the measurements?
The same units so if the compound measure relates to hours the times the car travelled for must be converted to parts of
an hour.
Exercise 10D(F) / 10D(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What is the volume of each block?
1 cm3, in opening line of the question.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Do I have the volume of the cube?
No, just the side length measurement so I need to find the volume first.
• Q2−4 (F) / Q2−4 (H) What do you need to ensure is the same when working with measurements?
The units.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Escalator’ is a challenging problem that will require students to set up and solve equations based on
proportional speeds (or if they can spot a trick a simple idea based on proportion). (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘All in a Jumble’ is a card sort (electronic version included) that explores appropriate measurements
for different scenarios. There are a few imperial units involved but these could either be removed or used as an
extension. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Olympic Measures’ is a very similar idea with an Olympics theme. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Triathlon and Fitness’ is a simple exercise using compound measures that requires simple conversions of
time and distance. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 3F / 3H: MAPS, SCALE DRAWINGS AND BEARINGS

This section covers reading and using scale drawings as well as bearings. Students are required to read and use scales
given in both bar and ratio form as well as form appropriate scales for their own drawings. As in the previous sections,
students will be required to convert metric units. The final part of this section introduces students to bearings and uses
them in scale drawings. (Higher only) Students will be expected to apply the fact that given any line segment AB the
bearing of B from A is connected to the bearing of A from B by +180º.

Prompting questions
Exercise 10E(F) / 10E(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What type of scale are you dealing with, bar or ratio? How does this change how you deal with the
question?
Bar will require measuring.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What units should your final answer be in? Do you need to compute any conversions to achieve this?
All answers should be given in kilometres so some conversion may be required.

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• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) If you are unsure which will be the larger map what could you do to test it?
Test a length and convert to see.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) What formula is needed here to find the average speed?
S=D/T.
• Q7−8 (F) / Q7−8 (H) Lay out your conversions as a ratio with an unknown (see example above in misconceptions
section). Do you need to multiply or divide by the scale factor?
Exercise 10F(F) / 10F(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2−3 (F) / Q2−3 (H) How could we describe a ‘clumsy’ scale?
One with large numbers that are hard to multiply/divide by or numbers that are not whole.
• Q2−3 (F) / Q2−3 (H) How do we ‘correct’ a clumsy scale?
Round up to one or two significant figures.
• Q2−3 (F) / Q2−3 (H) What do you need to include in all scale drawings?
A scale.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) To produce a new scale drawing to fit the dimensions of your exercise book what do you need to
know?
The actual dimensions of the classroom block: suggest students draw a sketch in their books first to notate any
dimensions needed.
Exercise 10G(F) / 10G(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1−3 (F) / Q1−3 (H) Where is a bearing always read from?
North.
• Q1−3 (F) / Q1−3 (H) How many digits should a bearing always have?
Three.
• Q4 (H) Can you sketch the bearings given and see if you can identify how the second bearing you are looking for is
connected to the first?
Suggest students extend the lines to see the parallel lines.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Students could be given a starting point on a blank sheet of paper and asked to apply a series of movements given
by instructions using bearings. The students can then ‘connect the dots’ to form a picture that could be self-checked
using a transparent overlay.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Where am I?’ uses a simple locus property (this will be covered in detail in Chapter 21F / 22H Construction
and loci) that all points equidistant from a given fixed point lie on the circumference of a circle. Students have to find
out where in the UK the market square is given the clues. You could give students a variety of maps to work with to
give them practice of different scales; you may even wish to give them a map with no scale and a single distance for
them to calculate the scale from. (nrich.maths.org)
• (Main activity) Students are given a plan on an A4 sheet of paper and are required to create this plan on a field with
the correct dimensions using cones as markers. Alternatively, students are required to make scale drawings of the
classroom or rooms in their own homes. Students can then share their plans and compare with their own to assess
if the correct scales have been used, i.e., one student has a table that takes up twice as much space as another
student’s table. Why is that? Are they using different scales or has something gone wrong?
• Another personalised way for students to work with scale drawings is to supply them with a series of maps of
their local area with different scales. They can then compare the scales given for an area they know and gain an
understanding of why scale drawings are needed.

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TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• Conversion factors for area and volume link to using index notation in properties of numbers (Chapter 4 Properties of
numbers).
• Students will already have had practice drawing shapes accurately from Chapter 2 Shapes and solids and Chapter 3
2D representations of 3D shapes.

Future learning

• Conversion of metric units will be required in Chapters 11F / 11H Perimeter, 12F / 12H Area and 17F / 18H Volume and
surface area where students will work on perimeter, area and volume.
• (Higher only) Students will use what they have learnt about average speed again in Chapter 39H Interpretation of
graphs.
• Scale factors will come up again in Chapter 28F / 30H Similarity.

Gateway to A level

• There are few direct links to this topic in the core part of the A level course but manipulation of formulae, as used in
changing the subject for compound units, is a skill that will be used a lot.
• In Mechanics, students continue to work with compound measures and build upon their knowledge of speed,
velocity and pressure.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 2, question 7 • Chapter 5, question 2
• Chapter 5, questions 5, 7 • Chapter 7, question 8
• Chapter 7, questions 3, 11, 12 • Chapter 8, questions 1, 16
• Chapter 8, question 20
• Chapter 10, questions 2, 3, 14

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 10 • Chapter 10

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 10 (F) / 11 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 4 (F) / 13 (H) animated widgets
• 13 interactive walkthroughs
• 5 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 5 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

72 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 11F / 11H Perimeter

11F / 11H Perimeter

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• Properties of shapes.
• Properties and labels associated with circles.
• How to convert metric units.
• How to form algebraic expressions and formulae from geometric problems.
• How to change the subject of a formula.
• Simplifying by collecting like terms.
• Angles around a point sum to 360°.
• How to round to a given or appropriate accuracy.
• How to find a fraction of a quantity.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• (Higher) Using formula for average speed.

• Simplifying and expanding single brackets.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Calculate the perimeter of a given simple shape, • Calculate the perimeter of a given simple
including using properties of triangles, quadrilaterals shape, including using properties of triangles,
and regular polygons. quadrilaterals and regular polygons.
• Understand that the perimeter of a shape is its • Understand that the perimeter of a shape is its
boundary and what a boundary is for a composite boundary and what a boundary is for a composite
shape where a smaller shape has been removed from shape where a smaller shape has been removed
the centre of a larger shape. from the centre of a larger shape.
• Calculate the perimeter of composite shapes. • Calculate the perimeter of composite shapes.
• Form expressions and equations for the perimeter of a • Form expressions and equations for the perimeter
given shape and solve the equations to find unknown of a given shape and solve the equations to find
lengths. unknown lengths.
Section 2 Section 2
• Know and use a formula (either C = pD or C = 2pr) for • Know and use a formula (either C = pD or
the circumference of a circle to find the value of one C = 2pr ) for the circumference of a circle to find the
variable given any other, e.g. D given C. value of one variable given any other, e.g. D given C.
• How find the arc length of a given sector and hence the • How find the arc length of a given sector and hence
perimeter of this shape. the perimeter of this shape.
Section 3 Section 3
• Use known perimeter formulae from Sections 1 and 2 to • Use known perimeter formulae from Sections 1 and
solve contextual problems. 2 to solve contextual problems.

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Vocabulary
Perimeter

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students struggle to work with formulae involving p, particularly where rearranging is required. This is because
students treat p as an unknown rather than an irrational number. Suggesting students replace p with 3.142 should
not affect the accuracy of their solutions too much when working with length and can help some students whose
solving/rearranging skills are weak.
• Students struggle to find p when working with different equipment and don’t realise they can use an approximation
on most calculators. If you do not have class sets of calculators for students to use you tend to be reliant on students
bringing in their own equipment and often this is borrowed from a friend or shared in class, which means students
struggle with the different options to use p on different calculators. Students should be encouraged to invest in and
bring their own calculator. Ask them to write down the steps for getting p on their calculator in their books at the
beginning of a series of lessons on circles.
• Students miss lengths when calculating the perimeter of a given shape; this is a more prominent problem when
students are working with composite shapes. Encourage students to sketch the shape they are finding the perimeter
of to combat this and label every length. In addition, encourage students to write out the sum they are calculating so
that missed lengths can be more easily identified.
• Students don’t include all boundaries in the perimeter. This tends to happen when working with composite shapes
where a section has been cut out of the middle of a larger shape or when working with circle sectors. Reminding
students that the perimeter is the boundary of the shape and using analogies such as: ‘Imagine the shape is a fish
tank, where would the glass have to go to keep the water in?’ In addition, asking students to shade in the composite
shape they are finding the perimeter of can help with this.
• Students confuse area with perimeter. This is a common problem when students just learn a series of formulae
for different shapes. Reinforcing the idea of perimeter as a boundary and in most cases a sum (even though the
circumference of a circle is the sum of a length an irrational number of times, students don’t often seem to see it this
way) can help some students. It is also important that students spend some time working on a series of problems
requiring both area and perimeter to solve them.
• Students confuse diameter and radius or don’t see the solution through when there are multiple steps to the
problem. Sometimes this can be perpetuated by having two formulae for the circumference of a circle; at other times
having two formulae can prevent it. Encourage them to always work with sketches of the circle they are working with
and keep track of their working by laying it out as a column and annotating each step as they solve the problem e.g.

• Students confuse perimeter with arc length and either miss the two radii when finding the perimeter or include
them when they are given the task of calculating the arc length only. You could try working on a series of problems
that require both and having starters that ask students to identify the difference between the arc length of a sector
and the perimeter either through a matching exercise or a filling in the gaps task. In addition, students could have a
simple highlighting task given a series of sectors where they highlight either the arc length or perimeter as directed.

Hooks

• In Section 2 the notes introduce p as the ratio that connects the diameter and circumference of a circle. You might
like to give students time to investigate this for themselves and have a collection of cylinders for students to
measure. Paper measuring tapes can be very helpful as a resource when students conduct this investigation but a
piece of string and a ruler can also be used.

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• When working with sectors you may prefer to start with area, considering the area of a slice of pizza, for example,
where the circle has been cut into equally sized sectors. You can use this to deduce the idea of fractions of the whole
to find the area of a sector and from this connect to arc length.

SECTION 1F / 1H: PERIMETER OF SIMPLE AND COMPOSITE SHAPES

In this section, students focus on a variety of perimeter problems of simple polygon shapes, including simple composite
shapes. Students find the perimeter of these shapes using properties and given information through notation (e.g.
equal sides marked) to find unknown lengths. An emphasis on viewing the perimeter as the boundary of the shape is
used to support students when working with composite shapes. Students also form expressions given relationships
between the sides of a shape and use these expressions to form equations that they can then solve to find unknowns.

Prompting questions
Exercise 11A(F) / 11A(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What do the units of the measurements have to be in order to calculate with them?
The same, so some metric conversions may have to take place first.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Sketch the shapes first and label all lengths you know.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What properties of the shape are useful to use in forming an expression for the area?
Look out for words like ‘regular’ and think about what lengths are the same.
• Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) Which side lengths are often unknown on a trapezium?
The sloped edges.
What mathematics do we need to find the length of these edges?
Pythagoras’ theorem or Trig if given an angle. (Pythagoras may be familiar to some students so they may recognise this
as a potential method. Trig comes later (Chapter 31F / 33H Trigonometry) but some of the Higher students may have
met this.)
Can we always find the perimeter of a trapezium?
No, not if we don’t have enough information. We need more than just the height; we need to have either an angle or
additional information relating to how the length of the base is split into the base of the triangle(s). This problem is
useful for highlighting to students that not all trapeziums are isosceles trapeziums.
• Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) Is there any information in the question that is unnecessary?
The diagram gives a maximum distance for the fence posts but the question is setting them 2.8 m apart.
Exercise 11B(F) / 11B(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What information do you need to find the perimeter?
The unmarked sides.
What can you do to find the values of the unknown sides?
Use properties of the shapes, such that some sides are equal.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Try highlighting all boundary lines to calculate the total perimeter.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Do lines drawn inside the shape count as boundary lines?
No, they just indicate properties, which can help us find additional sides.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• (Foundation only) Students are given a square that is cut up into smaller rectangles of varying sizes and asked
to form a shape that has the largest perimeter. This task may seem simple but some students will not rotate their
rectangles so that the longer side is part of the perimeter of the final shape.
• A series of flash cards where shapes are presented and they must name the shape and any properties they know
about their side lengths, i.e. a square has all sides the same length while an isosceles triangle has only two sides the
same length; how do we denote this on each shape?

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Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Can They Be Equal?’ is a simple task that focuses on rectangles only but helps reinforce the concept that
area and perimeter aren’t connected. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Changing Areas, Changing Perimeters’ is another simple perimeter task that gets students to consider
what increases the perimeter of a shape and how this connects to similar ideas of area is here. For stronger classes
this is a nice starter task that could reintroduce the topic: Perimeter. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 2F / 2H: CIRCUMFERENCE OF A CIRCLE

This section focuses on circles and sectors of circles. The first subsection looks at the two formulae for the
circumference of a circle (using either the radius or the diameter) and how they are related to each other. In addition to
this, students use their solving/rearranging skills with the formulae to find either the radius or diameter given the length
of a circumference. The second subsection considers sectors of a circle and connects the formulae for the circumference
with fractions of a whole given in terms of the angle formed between both radii to form an additional formula for the
perimeter of a sector.

Prompting questions
Exercise 11C(F) / 11C(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What variables have you been given the value of in the question?
Some have the diameter and some have the radius.
Which formula connects the variables you have and what you are looking for?
Either C = pD or C = 2pr.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What can you say about the length given in terms of x?
It is a variable length, so an expression for the perimeter will need to be given (instead of a numerical value) and the
expression should be in simplified form.
Sketch the problem being described to help support your workings.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) What boundaries are involved in the perimeter the disc has been cut out of?
The boundaries include both the edges of the square and the circumference of the circle.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H), Q6 (F) / Q6 (H), Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) Start by filling out the information you have into the circumference
formula. What do you need to do to find your unknown length?
Solve the equation.
What is p ?
A number, so we can treat it the same way we would any other value.
• Q8 (F) / Q8 (H) How far does the end of a minute hand on a clock travel in one hour? What maths can you do to find
the distance it travels?
A full circle so find the circumference.
Have you rounded your solution to an appropriate number of decimal places?
Students should round to the same accuracy as the values given or to one more degree accuracy but state what they
have rounded to.
Exercise 11D(F) / 11D(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Have you been given the angle inside the sector or outside? How might you find the angle required?
Students need the angle inside the sector and can use complement to 360° to find it.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What is the difference between the perimeter and arc length of a sector?
The perimeter includes both the arc length and the radii.
• Q2 (H) What parts of shapes do you have in parts g−j of the question? Can you split the shapes up and label all
lengths you know?
Encourage students to deal with each part of the shape separately to prevent confusion between the radius and
diameter, which in some diagrams are represented by the same length for different parts of the composite shape.

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• Q2 (H) Which lengths form the boundary of the shape? Which ones will be unnecessary?
If students use the advice given in the point above they may include more than the boundary lines, suggest they use a
highlighter to keep track of the lengths they need.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Arclets’ is a nice way to explore the mathematics students have been working on in this chapter and revisit
some of the angles facts they know, as well as further develop their generalising skills. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’’ is nice for showing students that their initial ideas may not always be correct and
links into some other work students have done on loci if they map the path the centre of the moving circle makes as
it rolls around the static circle. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Triangles and Petals’. This is a task in a similar vein to the one in the previous point that considers the
path a shape makes when rolled around one that is equal to it. It gives students opportunities to recap their work on
regular polygons and angles and makes a lovely investigation assessment task. (nrich.maths.org)
• To increase confidence in using the arc length and perimeter formulae to find any unknown variable, a card sort can
help support students and offer appropriate differentiation as they can work in their preferred method to match the
cards. By removing half of a pair you can force the use of solving when finding the radius or angle.

SECTION 3F / 3H: PROBLEMS INVOLVING PERIMETER AND CIRCUMFERENCE

This section places a greater emphasis on perimeter problems for composite shapes, drawing on the new material in
Section 2 and the revision material in Section 1. These problems are often longer with more parts and students will have
to identify what information they need from a series of diagrams.

Prompting questions
Whilst working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What information do you need to solve the problem? Can you identify it in the problem?
Encourage students to sketch the problems and label information required. The use of highlighters may be advisable
here.
Exercise 11E(F) / 11E(H)
Whilst working through the exercise good prompts for students might be:
• Q5 (F) / Q6 (H) Can you sketch the problem in 2D and label all known values?
• Q9 (H) What information do you need to find the circular portion of the perimeter?
The angle of the sector.
How can you find the angle?
Use the symmetry of the shape and the fact that angles on a straight line sum to 180°.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• The questions used in the review exercise would work well as starters (of one or two questions) to future lessons to
keep the ideas of this chapter fresh.
• NRICH ‘Weekly Problem 18, 2014’ is a similar starter problem based on the London Eye, which could be a simpler
introduction to the series of questions at the end of the exercise. (nrich.maths.org)

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TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• Students are required to use their knowledge of properties of shapes and angle facts to solve many problems in this
chapter; particularly the more complicated the problems get.
• Students are expected to sketch simple and complex 2D shapes to help visualise some problems.

Future learning
Perimeter is directly extended in another chapter in this book but students will continue to use and revisit the ideas
covered in this chapter, gaining new skills to find the perimeter of shapes such as Chapter 30F / 32H Pythagoras’
theorem, and Chapter 31F / 33H Trigonometry. In addition, sectors will be revisited again in Chapter 12 Area, where the
same principles will be applied to the area of a sector and (Higher only) further investigation into properties of circles
will be covered in Chapter 27H Circles.

Gateway to A level
Arc lengths of curves are an abstract extension to the GCSE topic of perimeter and appear in the Further Mathematics
curriculum. Students will also revisit arc length of a circle by combining the mathematics of Section 2 with new
knowledge of radians.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, questions 1, 7 • Chapter 3, questions 2, 17
• Chapter 2, questions 2, 3, 18 • Chapter 5, question 9
• Chapter 3, question 4 • Chapter 6, question 23
• Chapter 4, question 2 • Chapter 10, question 20
• Chapter 9, question 4
• Chapter 10, question 4

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 11 • Chapter 11

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 3 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 2 animated widgets
• 7 interactive walkthroughs
• 2 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 2 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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 12F / 12H Area

12F / 12H Area

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• Properties and definitions of polygons, particularly triangles and quadrilaterals.

• Properties of circles.
• Convert metric units of length.
• Convert metric units of area.
• Substitute into algebraic formulae and expressions.
• Solve equations formed from area formulae to calculate the value of the unknown (and recognise that where lengths
of shapes are involved the value of the unknown must be positive).
• (Higher only) Simplify algebraic expressions including expanding the products of binomials and cancelling common
factors in fractions.
• (Higher only) Knowledge and use of Pythagoras’ theorem to find the length of the hypotenuse.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Know that finding the square root gives the initial value that had been squared.
• Rearrange a formula to change the subject (some students prefer this option to substitution followed by solving,
particularly where there is a repetition in the calculation).
• Know that multiplication is commutative and hence products can be calculated in any order (e.g. area of a triangle)
but that the distributive law must hold true, hence the sum of the two parallel sides must be found first when
calculating the area of a trapezium.
• Appreciate that dividing by a value is the same as multiplying by the reciprocal of the value e.g. multiplying by a half
is equal to dividing by two.
• Calculate fractions of amounts.
• How to calculate the perimeter of a shape.
• Know and use formula for circumference of a circle.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Know and use the formulae for calculating the area of • Know and use the formulae for calculating the
rectangles, triangles, parallelograms and trapeziums. area of rectangles, triangles, parallelograms and
trapeziums.
• Form algebraic expressions for the area of a shape
given expressions for lengths of the shape.
Section 2 Section 2
• Know and use the formula for calculating the area of a • Know and use the formula for calculating the area of
circle. a circle.
• Adapt this formula to find the area of a sector given • Adapt this formula to find the area of a sector given
the angle formed at the centre between the radii using the angle formed at the centre between the radii
fractions of the whole. using fractions of the whole.

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Section 3 Section 3
• Split composite shapes into the sum of known shapes • Split composite shapes into the sum of known
from Sections 1 and 2. shapes from Sections 1 and 2.
• Recognise that the area of some composite shapes • Recognise that the area of some composite shapes
can be found by subtracting known areas from a larger can be found by subtracting known areas from a
shape. larger shape.

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students do not state the units when finding the length of an unknown. In some cases this is due to a lapse in
accuracy but in others this is because they do not understand that the units must be the same for all measurements
when calculating with them, and hence they can deduce the unit of the length they are finding given the square
units used for the shape’s area. To combat this, often the most successful idea is to constantly reinforce good
practice; always state the units of every measurement used, even when it takes longer to go through an example,
and penalise those who do not follow this by circling their work. You could even introduce a short-hand like common
literacy marking abbreviations for spelling and grammar.
• Students don’t use the perpendicular height when calculating the area of a triangle or parallelogram; they use the
length given for the sloped side. This may be due to one of the following reasons: either the orientation of the shape
confuses students and they use the sloped length as the value of the base or the shape given has its perpendicular
height labelled outside of the shape due to the side chosen as base (like the third example of a perpendicular height
given in the section notes where we have an obtuse angled triangle and the chosen base is not the longest side). We
encourage students who suffer from this to rotate the page so that the base (identified from the given right angle) is
always horizontal and hence the height is the vertical distance given.
• Students don’t recognise right-angled trapezia as a trapezium, instead thinking that all trapezia have two sloping
sides. When giving notes on trapezia you can give two diagrams, one the more traditional isosceles trapezium and
the other a right-angled one. Encourage students to highlight the parallel lines to spot them. Appropriate starters
based on properties of shapes can also be used to reinforce this e.g. ‘Who am I?’ or ‘Guess who?’ with different
shapes in different colours. Another method is revealing part of a concealed shape to show different properties one
at a time so that students are reminded through an indirect method that a right-angled quadrilateral with a pair of
parallel lines is still a trapezium.
• Students struggle to remember the different formulae for finding area. This may be due to the different labels given
lengths in each formula e.g. length and width vs base and height. There are several videos available online to assist
in memorising the formulae, including ‘The circle song’ and ‘The trapezium song’. Having one ‘Area formulae’ page
in their books or their own handmade revision card that can be laminated using bright colours and highlighters with
supportive diagrams is useful for future lessons as a time saver.
• Students confuse the order of operations when calculating the area of a circle i.e. they calculate (p r2) rather than
pr2. For students who struggle with this we have found they prefer the formula A = p × r × r or A = p × r2. The addition
of the multiplication sign seems to prevent confusion with the order of operations here.
• Students struggle to identify the known shapes that make the composite shapes and miss parts of the shapes out of
their calculations. Encourage students to sketch the composite shapes in their books and label the known shapes
that make it up (as seen in the first example in the notes section of the chapter). Ask them to state what they intend
to do symbolically to prevent the error of adding when subtraction is required and vice versa e.g.
Find the shaded area

circle

3 cm shaded area  square  circle

 

square  12  12    32
12 cm  144  9
 115.7 cm2 to 1 dp

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Hooks

• Area is a topic students have often seen several times before they reach their GCSE course, however weaker students,
in particular, frequently have a poor grasp of what it means to measure area. Reintroducing this topic therefore has
opportunities to be creative in terms of the units used to measure a 2D space. For example, the space a student’s
hand measures on an A4 page could be measured in terms of dots, the workspace on the table could be measured
in terms of pencil cases. These ideas could then be extended to set measurements e.g. 10 cm × 10 cm squares or a
metre square before focusing on the formal formulae for finding the area of triangles, quadrilaterals and circles in
this chapter.

SECTION 1F / 1H: AREA OF POLYGONS

This section focuses on the area of rectangles (squares), triangles, parallelograms and trapeziums. Each formula is
considered and its links to the other formulae stated e.g. area of a parallelogram coming from the sum of two identical
triangle areas and hence 2 × 12 × b × h = b × h. The first subsection focuses on rectangles and triangles only (and extends
students to consider composite shapes formed using these two types of shapes, such as a kite). Students may struggle
to identify the perpendicular height in some of the diagrams and should be encouraged to reorient the page by
identifying the right angle so that the perpendicular height is always vertical. The second subsection extends these two
formulae to include the formula for the area of a parallelogram and from this the formula for the area of a trapezium.
Interspersed throughout the section’s exercises are also problems that focus on contextual area problems that require
additional skills, including conversion of metric units.

Prompting questions
Exercise 12A(F) / 12A(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q1 (H) How do we identify which length is the height?
We look for the right angle.
Try rotating the page so that the base is horizontal. Which of the given lengths is the base of your triangle? Which is
the height?
• Q3 (F) / Q2 (H) What formula are you using?
Area of a triangle so A = 12 bh .
Write down the formula you are going to use and fill in the value of the variables you know. What can you do to find
the length of the unknown?
Solve an equation.
• Q4 (F) / Q3 (H) What shape(s) is a kite made up of?
Two triangles or four right-angled triangles.
Can you sketch these triangles separately and label their dimensions?
• Q4 (F) / Q3 (H) What property do kites have that can help you?
Kites have a line of symmetry so two identical triangles.
Can you sketch the single triangle you need to find the area of?
Should be a triangle with base 10 cm and height 2.5 cm.
Can you form a formula for a kite given what you have discovered in this question?
Half the product of the diagonals.
• Q5−6 (F) / Q4−5 (H) What has to be the same when working with lengths and areas?
The units.
• Q7 (F) / Q6 (H) How can I find two-thirds of 2.7 m?
Find one third by dividing by three and then multiply by two to find two-thirds.
• Q7 (H) For part e, can you sketch the flag and notate your assumed proportions? To find the area of the golden arrow
is challenging, think instead about what you can do to the area of the whole flag using the previous parts.
Students can subtract the earlier parts of the question from the total area of the flag to leave the arrow)

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Prompting questions
Exercise 12B(F) / 12B(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How do we identify which measurement is the height?
We look for the right angle.
Try rotating the page so that the base is horizontal. Which of the given lengths is the base of your parallelogram?
Which is the height?
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) What formulae are you using?
Area of a parallelogram or rectangle, so A = bh, area of a triangle, so A = 12 bh , or area of a trapezium, so A = 12 (a + b)h .
Write down the formula you are going to use and fill in the value of the variables you know. What can you do to find
the length of the unknown?
Solve.
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) What piece of information do I need to calculate the amount of fencing needed?
The perimeter.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Ask students to find as many triangles as possible with an area of 2. This task can be completed on square dotted
paper (perhaps as a preparatory task for Pick’s Theorem, see below) and hence deduce that there are an infinite
number of triangles that can be drawn on square dotted paper. This is a nice task for students who struggle to
calculate the area of triangles when the slope requires the perpendicular height to be labelled outside of the shape.
Starters and plenaries
• (Foundation only) The first question in Exercise A is a nice discussion point for a class at either the beginning or
the end of a lesson. Students could then be invited to offer their own suggestions of careers that may involve area
calculations.
Plenaries
• Matching shapes to their area formula or true and false quick fire area problems given a diagram of a simple polygon
and its area.
Enrichment activities
• The flags in Exercise A could be printed to A4 hand out sheets and given a scale so that students can find the areas
of the flags using their measurements and converting the lengths using the given scale (see Chapter 10F / 10H
Mensuration) rather than using the measurements given in Exercise A. This also means this task could be extended to
Foundation students too.
• NRICH ‘Pick’s Theorem’ is an excellent task for exploring the area of simple shapes and building students’
confidence with areas involving part squares given the supporting grid. If you give students a series of areas to find
and set them tasks based on finding as many shapes as possible with 12 perimeter dots students will get purposeful
practise in using the polygon formulae from this section and work on composite shapes. In addition this is a good
task for developing students’ pattern spotting and justification skills. (nrich.maths.org)
• Some parallelograms cannot have a triangle cut off the end and joined at the other to form a rectangle, these
parallelograms need to be cut along the diagonal and the two triangles joined along the original sloping sides and
then this method repeated until a right-angled triangle can be removed and added to the other sloped side to form a
rectangle.

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It is fairly simple to create an animation to show this using PowerPoint and students often can deduce their own
formula based on seeing the animation first.

Assessment ideas

• Getting students to mark and correct another fictitious student’s work with obvious common errors such as using
the sloped edge rather than the perpendicular height when calculating the area, not giving the units with their
answer, and so on. Students then have to make a list of the errors they found and how common they were. If
students have recently had a homework task you could create this worksheet from their work or introduce peer
assessment following the task.

SECTION 2F / 2H: AREA OF CIRCLES AND SECTORS

This section focuses on area of circles and sectors. The formula for area of a circle is given alongside a recap of the
connection between the radius and diameter. Sectors are treated as fractions of the whole circle (in a similar way to arc
lengths in Chapter 11F / 11H Perimeter), using the angle formed at the centre of the circle between the two radii.

Prompting questions
Exercise 12C(F) / 12C(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Have you been given the radius or the diameter. How does this affect your calculations?
If given the diameter, students need to divide by 2 first.
• Q2−3 (F) / Q2−3 (H) What is the area of the whole circle? What fraction of the circle do I have? How do I find that
fraction?
By finding the angle at the centre out of the whole 360°.
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) Which circle are you using to find the area of the landing zone? What do you know about it?
The one given by the sector with the radius 80 m.
• Which circle are you using to find the area of the starting circle? What do you know about it?
That the diameter is 2.5 m.
• Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) What other formula related to a circle can you use given the piece of information you have been
given?
The formula for the circumference: C = πD
How can this help you find the area?
It can help you find the radius, which is needed to find the area.
• Q8 (H) Can you sketch a plan of the tube to identify what information you know about the circle formed at the top of
the tube? Which value is going to be easier to find first, the diameter or the circumference?
The circumference is the larger of the two arcs shown in the diagram. Once students have identified this they should
realise the circumference is needed first. You may wish to suggest students attempt to construct the tube out of paper to
help them spot this themselves. These questions can be repeated for the base of the tube.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Simple starters based on circle sectors where the circle has been cut into equal sections (e.g. a pizza or clock) so
that students are finding a quarter or sixth of a whole can be appropriate when wishing to recap the formula for the
sector of an area because most students are not reliant on a formula when simple fractions are involved.

Plenaries

• ‘Spot the error’ plenaries work very well in circles work where examples involving common errors such as
multiplying by π before squaring are given for students to spot and correct.

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Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Curvy Areas’ is particularly good for exploring compound shapes involving circles and parts of circles. It
also has opportunities to revise constructions at the same time. You may find that students are surprised when the
areas are all equal. Students can then get experience in generalising these types of problems based on the number
of sections the diameter is split into. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Bull’s Eye’ is a simple investigation for students who have recently learned to calculate the area of a circle.
The problem could be simplified for weaker pupils by just asking pupils for the area of each ring first. (nrich.maths.
org)
• NRICH ‘Blue and White’ is a suitable follow up problem in a similar vein. To simplify the problem for weaker
students you could give the square dimensions e.g. 12 cm × 12 cm. (nrich.maths.org)

Assessment ideas

• Matching activity based on being given different pieces of information about three or four circles and cards with
spaces to fill in for missing information. A group could include: diagram, radius, diameter, circumference, area.
Additional challenge could be given by repeating this task with circle sectors included too where cards could include:
diagram, radius, arc length, perimeter, area, angle formed at centre between both radii.

SECTION 3F / 3H: AREA OF COMPOSITE SHAPES

This section focuses on different ways in which students can find the area of a composite shape by either summing
the area of recognisable shapes that form the shape or by subtracting known shapes from a larger known shape. By
encouraging students to sketch the composite shape and label the parts of the shape they know, in addition tracking
their working with clear labels, students can have a lot of success with this section, even with the most challenging
composite shapes. The second exercise in the section places a deeper focus on contextual area problems and extends
the challenge with additional arithmetic and money calculations.

Prompting questions
Exercise 12D(F) / 12D(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1−2 (F) / Q1−3 (H) What shapes can you see in the diagram? Draw on the boundary lines of each shape and
consider the dimensions of each shape you are using. What are you doing in each case, summing the individual parts
or subtracting one shape from another?
Encouraging each student to draw each shape they are calculating the area of separately and labelling the dimensions
of each shape can be supportive in helping students make the correct calculations. Since some shapes can be split in
several ways, this is a good opportunity to emphasise clear labelling of the parts (and reference to the labels in the
working).
• Q1g (F) / Q1g (H) Two semicircles have been placed together to create this composite shape, what can you tell me
about the radius and diameter of each one?
The radius of the larger semicircle is 4.3 cm, which is the diameter of the smaller semicircle. Hence this value needs to be
doubled and halved to find the other lengths.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) If I have two equal semicircles or four equal quarters of a circle what do I have overall?
A whole circle.
• Q3 (H) What is the perimeter of a composite shape?
The total boundary.
• Q3 (H) What do the marks on the triangle in the centre of the semicircles mean?
That the triangle is an isosceles triangle and hence the angle formed by the centre line and the base of the triangle is a
right angle.

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Why is this useful to us?

Because we have right-angled triangles and we can use Pythagoras to find the length of the hypotenuse, which is the
diameter of the other two semicircles.
Exercise 12E(F) / 12E(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1−9 (F) / Q1−10 (H) What information have you been given? What do you need to do?
Following the problem solving structure in Section 3 of the textbook will support students who don’t know where to
start. Repeated exposure to these longer more challenging problems will improve students’ ability to tackle these
problems long term.
• Q1−9 (F) / Q1−10 (H) Can you use estimation skills to find an estimate value for the solution to check your working?
What is the value of π roughly?
π is roughly three so estimations can be formed based on this value.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Giving students a selection of composite shapes and asking them to list the known shapes that are used to form
it without any workings or calculations can be quite a fun game at the beginning of the lesson and students can
become very competitive.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Floored’ can be used to promote thinking about the shapes that are involved in a design and how they
can be made using shapes we all know about. You could try this activity as it stands or change the floor pattern
depending on the class you wish to use it with. You may even consider using measurements in the first instance for
those students who have less confidence when looking at proportion. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Dividing the Field’ looks at dividing a trapezium into two parts that have equal area and each piece is also
a trapezium. This is a nice activity to reinforce the formula for calculating the area of a trapezium and thinking about
composite shapes. (nrich.maths.org)

Assessment ideas

• Ask students, either individually or in small groups, to create model solutions to the longer contextual problems
on large paper. These solutions can then be peer assessed by other groups/individuals in the class or shared for
display and class feedback. Asking students to explain another’s work can help them identify challenges in marking
another’s work when they give very little explanation to what they are doing in the multi-step problem and their
calculations are jumbled.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• Units of measurement can be revisited alongside the use of measurement conversions from this chapter.
• There are also many opportunities to work with the perimeter of shapes (Chapter 11F / 11H Perimeter) as well as the
area and explore the connections (or lack of it) between them.
• There are many opportunities to substitute into given formulae and follow the correct order of operations for
calculations.

Future learning
The formulae learned and used in this chapter will be used again in Chapter 17F / 18H Volume and surface area
calculations to find the area of surfaces of a 3D shape.

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Gateway to A level
Students will start to study calculus at A level and will learn how to use integration to calculate the area under a curve. It
is here that many will first consider area to actually be the sum of infinitely thin strips rather than the number of square
units that fill the space.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 2, questions 8, 9 • Chapter 2, questions 14, 23
• Chapter 3, question 11 • Chapter 4, question 1
• Chapter 4, question 12 • Chapter 6, question 1
• Chapter 5, question 8 • Chapter 9, questions 6, 12
• Chapter 6, question 3
• Chapter 7, questions 4, 5
• Chapter 8, question 12
• Chapter 9, question 13

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 12 • Chapter 12

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 7 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 5 animated widgets
• 12 interactive walkthroughs
• 4 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 4 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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 13F / 13H Further algebra

13F / 13H Further algebra

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to simplify expressions by collecting like terms including those with different powers.
• How to simplify products of expressions.
• (Higher only) How to find the HCF of one or more expressions.
• (Higher only) How to simplify fractions by cancelling common factors.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Area formulae.
• (Higher only) Volume formulae.
• Pythagoras’ theorem.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Know what a quadratic expression is. • Know what a quadratic expression is.
• Expand the product of two binomials. • Expand the product of two binomials.
Section 2 Section 2
• Factorise expressions in the form x2 + bx + c. • Factorise expressions in the form ax2 + bx + c.
• Recognise and use the factorised form for the difference • Recognise and use the factorised form for the
of two squares. difference of two squares.
Section 3 Section 3
• Form algebraic expressions to solve problems. • Complete the square on a quadratic expression.
Section 4
• Simplify and manipulate algebraic fractions.
Section 5
• Form algebraic expressions to solve problems.

Vocabulary
Binomial, binomial product, quadratic expression
(Foundation only) coefficient, constant

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Common algebraic misconceptions related to finding the product of expressions follow through to this chapter,
e.g. x × x = 2x. In cases like this substitution to offer a counter example may work best to help students identify this
mistake.
• Missing the product of one or more pairs of terms when expanding the product of two or more polynomials. The use
of arcs to track their product pairs, e.g. ‘smiley face method’ or ‘moon method’, is a method students may use when
suffering from this issue. Working with products as areas of rectangles and filling in the area of each sub-rectangle
can be more time consuming to use but can help students who often miss product pairs in their calculations. (Higher
only) This is often a more pressing issue when the product of two polynomials is being found, one of which has more
than two terms.
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• Confusing product with sum, particularly when negatives are involved. This is a misconception that may come
through using the box method to expand products. You could advise students to write down the polarity of the
second term when setting up their grids e.g.

× x +4
x
–2
• This can sometimes result in students writing 2 in the bottom right hand corner because they have found the sum of
4 and −2 rather than the product. To combat this encourage the use of a multiplication cross in the top left corner; as
well as the use of smaller superscript polarity signs e.g. –2 and +4.
• Squaring both terms in a perfect square rather than expanding the binomial product. Encouraging students not
to work mentally and write down all steps of their working helps prevent this and students should always be
encouraged to start with the following: (x + 3)2 = (x + 3) (x + 3)
• Factorising quadratics is a concept more procedural students may struggle with. This is because there is not a
formula or procedure that provides the factorisation without conscious thought. These students are often reluctant
to write down any working other than that which leads them to the correct answer so encourage the use of a factor
pairs sum table alongside their working e.g.

Factors of 12 Sum
1, 12 13
2, 6 8
3, 4 7
• The polarities of the constant terms of the linear factors also cause students problems. Rather than encourage
students to learn a series of rules, you could focus on the polarity of the factors so that when students have
identified a negative coefficient in the given quadratic they then test more factor pairs e.g.

Factors of –12 Sum or when the coefficient of x is negative: Factors of 12 Sum

−1, 12 11 1, 12 13
1, −12 −11 −1, −12 −13
−2, 6 4 2, 6 8
2, −6 –4 −2, −6 −8
−3, 4 1 3, 4 7
3, −4 −1 −3, −4 −7

• (Higher only) Students often forget to factor out the coefficient of x2 when completing the square. There are different
approaches to factoring out a including those that factor a out of all three terms and those that just focus on
factoring it out of the x2 and x terms and dealing with the constant in the final stages of manipulation. So students
b c b
either do a( x 2 + x + ) or a( x 2 + x ) + c . You may find the second method to be better for students who are less
a a a
successful at dealing with fractions as it often reduces the amount of manipulation they have to do. However, neither
method particularly increases the success rate at dealing with factoring out a. The most successful method may be
to encourage students to check their work by expanding their expressions once done.

Hooks

• Introduce the expansion of brackets by connecting the ideas to multiplying two 2-digit numbers. Start with the
example 14 × 27 and connect it to long multiplication methods that make use of a grid to connect the product to an
area. Generalising the problem to a variable length can help students make the connection between these ideas and
identify how binomial products can be expanded.

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SECTION 1F / 1H: MULTIPLYING TWO BINOMIALS

This section introduces and focuses on the expansion of double brackets. Students are introduced to some new
terminology relating to polynomials and opportunities for creating conceptual links to long multiplication and areas of
rectangles are offered. Students are also introduced to special cases of quadratics: perfect squares and the difference of
two squares. (Higher only) This conceptual idea extends to the product of three or more binomials and consequently
an ability to extend their method of expansion to expand the product of a binomial and trinomial is required.
As well as defining binomials to students it is also worth at this point considering what a polynomial is as later
expansions will produce quadratics and for Higher tier students, cubics. (Higher only) It is important that students
understand that a quadratic is not just an expression where the highest power is two but also one where all powers are
positive integers.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Why do I have to find the product of all possible pairs of terms?
Use a diagram and compare to finding the total area of the rectangle.
• What do I mean by expand the binomial product?
Multiply out the brackets to find the product of both binomials.
• What do we mean by a perfect square?
A number or expression found by multiplying the same expression by itself.
• Do we need to remember the generalised patterns for perfect squares?
No, because we can always expand the binomial product but it is useful to recognise the expanded form of a perfect
square in the next section.
Exercise 13A(F) / 13A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1−2 (F) / Q1−2 (H) Why does it not matter what letter is used?
Because we can use any letter to represent a variable.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What will happen when I multiply a negative by a negative (or any other combination involving
directed numbers)? Can you demonstrate the rules using a diagram?
Giving students a multiplication grid from –5 to 5 multiplied by −5 to 5 and asking them to fill out what they know can be
useful for highlighting these rules.

× +ve –ve
+ve + –
–ve – +
• Q4−5 (F) / Q4 (H) What do you have to remember when you are given a binomial squared e.g. (x + 3)2?
That it is the product of the binomial multiplied by itself. By remembering BODMAS we know that brackets come first so
we can’t just bring the power in to act on every term within the bracket.
Exercise 13B(F) / 13B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q4 (F) / Q2 (H) How have you arrived at the shortcut rule for the difference of two squares?
Hopefully by identifying patterns in what has been expanded.
• Q4 (F) / Q2 (H) Can you draw a diagram to explain what is going on? (For Foundation students you may wish to
suggest an example case first.)
• Q6c (F) / Q3 (H) What is squared when you apply the rule? What if I had the binomial product (2x – 4y) (2x + 4y)?
Everything, not just the variable so 4x2 not 2x2.

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Exercise 13C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What could the product of three binomials represent?
The volume of a cuboid.
• Q1 (H) Could you use a grid in 3D to show the product pairs required for this expansion? Why might this not be a
sensible way of expanding the polynomial product?
Because it is hard to fill in a 3D grid, multiplying a quadratic by a linear expression is far easier.
• Q1 (H) Why is the order I expand in unimportant?
Because multiplication is commutative.
• Q1 (H) Why would it be easiest to start with expansions that form perfect squares or the difference of two squares?
Because, if you can spot patterns it could make your work quicker and reduce the number of product pairs in the next
part of the expansion.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• By considering the problems in Exercise A as areas of rectangles students can spend time working on forming
equivalent expressions to represent the total area both as a product and a sum. Structured support sheets can be
used for weaker students with the rectangles pre-drawn and gaps to fill in to guide them. Use of the identity symbol
to form appropriate statements about both the area represented as a product and as a sum will further consolidate
these concepts from Chapter 3F / 3H 2D representations of 3D shapes.
• The diagram given to support the explanation of an expansion relating to the difference of two squares could be
assigned as an investigation in which students find the area of the shape formed between two perfect square
numbers and attempt to generalise their findings. Asking them to form an appropriate diagram to explain a perfect
square would be appropriate useful extension and plenary to this task.
Starter
• The parts of Q6 (13F) / Q4 (13H) could be used as a starter to a lesson that is moving on to factorising by giving
students different statements to fill in the gaps on and share their findings with the class.
Plenary
• The ‘Work it out’ problem in Section 1 is a lovely plenary for students and you could ask them to make a list as a
class of common errors students make when expanding. (Foundation only)
Starter or plenary
• Having a series of binomials or binomial products on cards and asking students to categorise them can help
students identify their own patterns and rules regarding positives and negatives and assist them in making the
correct choices regarding negatives when factorising in the next section.
Assessment ideas
• Matching tasks are good assessment and investigation tools for this topic. By removing some pairs you can
encourage students to start factorising through logical guesswork and pattern spotting and differentiate
appropriately for students in your class. The scale of the task (how many pairs are involved) could make this an
appropriate starter or plenary as well as a main task in a lesson.

SECTION 2F / 2H: FACTORISING QUADRATIC EXPRESSIONS

This section begins with a brief recap of the factorising covered in Chapter 5F / 5H Introduction to algebra. There are
then ‘how to’ guides for factorising quadratics in the form ax2 + bx + c where the value of a is one. When introducing
factorising to students it is worth offering them some practice with just positive coefficients initially to prevent
confusion with the added complexity. What follows is then an explanation of the short cut for factorising the difference
of two squares by spotting that the identity can be used.
(Higher only) The section continues by looking at factorising quadratics where the coefficient of x2 is not 1, first through
factorising out the coefficient where it is a common factor of all terms and then by considering the extension to the step

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by step guide introduced earlier in the chapter by considering this time what the product of the two constant terms in
the binomials must now be. In addition to this, students are also encouraged to look for the special case where they
have a perfect square, in some cases disguised by an additional factor.
It is also worth considering the use of the multiplication grid when factorising. A useful visual tool is using the
‘Battenberg grid’. For example, for x2 + 8x + 12, the yellow parts of the grid were filled in and the challenge became
about finding the values for the pink cells and consequently the two factors. This helps support students who struggle
to understand why we are looking at the product and sum. It also offers additional support for those who struggle with
negatives and which way around they go as well as how to deal with a coefficient of x2 that isn’t 1 through trial and
improvement methods.

× x
x x2
12
When students start looking at factorising quadratics where a ≠ 1 (but is still positive in this section) it is worth
considering the general case with students and why it is more complex this time. In the textbook, students are merely
told that the product is now ac, which although a quick, sufficient method it does rely on them remembering which
two letters are involved and is not necessary for success if students just learn to play with factors of the numbers (and
most quadratics they work with have a prime coefficient of x2 or one with very few factors e.g. 4). An explanation of why
follows:
When we consider the expansion of (x + d)(x + e) ≡ x2 + (d + e) x + de we can conclude that by comparing to the general
form ax2 + bx + c that a = 1 and b is the sum and c is the product of two unknowns. These two clues are enough for us
to work out logically what those two numbers must be. When we have the following expansion things are much more
complex: (fx + d) = (gx + e) =fgx2 + (dg + ef)x + de. This is because we now have four unknowns: d, e, f and g, which makes
it harder to find the unknowns now f,g ≠ 1. In this case to form two statements about our four unknowns that are most
useful we consider that the sum of the coefficients of x gives us dg + ef = b but that the product of these two numbers is
no longer the constant term c. If we find the product of the two values we are summing to find the coefficient b we get
fgde = ac the product of the coefficient of x2 and the constant term of the quadratic. By considering the general case and
comparing to when f,g = 1 more able students should be able to identify that actually they are always doing this but ac
in the first case is just 1 × c = c. (Higher only)

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What is a quadratic expression?
A polynomial where the largest power is 2 (and there are no negative powers).
• What do we mean by factorise?
Undo the expansion of brackets to write the quadratic as a product of two linear expressions.
• What happens when you expand the product (x + α) (x + β)? If we always get a quadratic in the form x2 + bx + c what
can you tell me about b and c?
b = α + β and c = αβ.
• What are possible pairs of numbers you could multiply to make −12?
Confirm to students that they need to consider two pairs instead of 1 now e.g. 3 × −4 and −3 × 4.
Exercise 13C(F) / 13D(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2−4 (F) / Q1−3 (H) Can you write down what the sum and product is for each of the quadratics in the exercise?
Exercise 13D(F) / 13E(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1−2 (H) Is an expression in the form x2 – c still a quadratic?
Yes, it just means the coefficient of x is 0.

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• Q1 (F) / Q1−2 (H) What do you know about the numbers of the factorised expression when we have a quadratic in
the form x2 – c?
The same number but one positive and one negative.
• Q2 (F) / Q3 (H) Can you think of a mathematical technique where factorising the difference of two squares could
make your calculation easier?
Pythagoras’ theorem.

• Q1 (H) What two numbers can I multiply together to make –7? 7 and – 7 .
Exercise 13F(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What is the product and sum of the two values you are looking for?
Sum must equal the coefficient of x and the product will be the product of the coefficient of x2 with the constant term.
• Q4 (H) What part of the expression is making the factorising hard?
The repeating linear expression.
Replace (x – 3) with another letter, A, say, to make the quadratic easier to identify.
Question 4 in Exercise 13F(F) is a type of problem many A level students struggle with. You might call them
quadratics in disguise and advise students to use a substitution to make the expression more recognisable as a
quadratic before replacing their substitution in the last line. This is a concept that often requires a lot of practice and
exposure to applying similar techniques, even to the most able students.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Product/sum diamonds (10 ticks has a series of them) in which students fill in various gaps of the diamonds finishing
with identifying the pair of numbers required to form the correct product and sum.

Product
5 8
Sum

Product 60
6
Sum

Product 12

Sum 7

Plenaries
• A suitable plenary might be to ask students whether they think all quadratics can be factorised. Asking them then to
provide you with their own combination of coefficients, which cannot be factorised, can facilitate further discussions
of rules and patterns and work to come on this concept. This can be easily differentiated for Higher and Foundation
students: Foundation students may suggest one where the coefficient of x2 is not 1 whereas Higher students may
suggest one with fractional or irrational roots or even one with imaginary parts.
• Another possible plenary could be: Can you give me three different quadratics to factorise? One where the constants
of both linear factors are positive, one where both are negative and one where they are different polarity.

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Enrichment ideas
• An investigation in which students are given four linear factors and asked to find all possible quadratics from them
e.g. (x + 3), (x – 2), (x – 3), (x + 5) to encourage them to find their own rules about the values of a, b and c for ax2 + bx +
c.
• ‘Finding Factors’ from NRICH is a nice problem that could be used as an introduction to factorising quadratic
expressions or to develop fluency in this skill. Once the pupils have played with this idea, they may want to create
their own grids to give to another student to try. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH has a collection of short problems that make use of expanding and factorising quadratics. They could be
used individually or made into a race for pairs of students to solve. (nrich.maths.org) (Higher only.)
Assessment ideas
• A series of matching task competitions in which students identify common patterns (product and sum) to assist
them in speed.
• An assessment task you could use to both assess students’ understanding and create appropriate revision material
is to set students the task of writing a ‘how to’ guide similar to the one given in the textbook.
• ‘Factorisable Quadratics’ from NRICH encourages students to think about whether all quadratics can be factorised
and to develop a better understanding of the effect that changing the coefficients has on the factorised form. A
selection of the questions can be used with Foundation students (where the coefficient of x2 is 1) or with Higher
students (for any coefficient of x2). The students can try some of the suggested examples and then swap to assess if
each has found all possibilities. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 3F: APPLY YOUR SKILLS

This section offers a series of problems for Foundation students to apply their new manipulation skills to.

Prompting questions
Exercise 13E(F)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (F) Can you draw a diagram to support your workings?

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Exercise 13E Q1 makes a suitable starter for assessing what students have learnt in this chapter.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH has a collection of short problems that make use of forming algebraic expressions. They could be used
individually or made into a race for pairs of students to solve.(nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 3H: COMPLETING THE SQUARE

This section focuses on manipulating quadratics by using the completed square form. Although solving quadratics is
mentioned briefly it is not covered in detail until Chapter 14F / 15H Equations.

Prompting questions
Exercise 13G(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What do we call a binomial squared?
A perfect square.

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• Q1 (H) Why is the sum of both terms squared not equivalent to the binomial squared? i.e. (x + a)2 ≠ x2 + a2?
Any example that is not a solution could help here, e.g. x = 3 and a = 4.
• Q4 (H) What does a quadratic need to look like to be a completed square?
Talk about the general form of square rooting the constant and seeing if the coefficient of x is twice this value. Q4 is a
good set of questions to introduce this idea.
Exercise 13H(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) How do we square a fraction?
Square both the numerator and denominator, think of multiplying fractions.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• Drawing the perfect squares and showing the addition/subtraction we need to form the expression. These areas can
then be manipulated to give the factorised form (for those that can be factorised simply or as an extension using the
difference of two squares method found above).
• Matching exercises can be used for students who lack confidence in completing the square. Removing cards so that
not all cards have a pair to match to can help challenge students to move between both expanding and completing
the square.
• A supportive task for weaker students is to give them a card sort that requires them to order the steps of writing a
quadratic in completed square form e.g.

5 x 2 +13 x + 3

13 2 109
5( x + 10 ) − 20

13 2 169
5[( x + 10 ) − 100 ] + 3

5( x 2 + 135 x ) + 3

13 2 169
5( x + 10 ) − 20 + 3

Additional steps could also be added for students to go from completed square form to factorised too.
An interesting extension for more able students is to consider why (x – y)2 is the same as (y – x)2.

SECTION 4H: ALGEBRAIC FRACTIONS

This section revisits some of the manipulation skills students worked on in Chapter 5F /5H Introduction to Algebra for
working with and simplifying fractions with the addition of simplifying problems involving quadratics. Many conceptual
problems students face have been covered in the teacher notes for Chapter 5F /5H Introduction to Algebra.

Prompting questions
Exercise 13I(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What can we cancel when simplifying?
Factors not terms.
• Q1 (H) How can I simplify a fraction that has a quadratic expression?
Factorise the quadratic expression.
• Q2 (H) What do I need to be able to add and subtract fractions?
A common denominator.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Assessment ideas
• Asking students to write incorrect solutions (or using their incorrect solutions scanned from a homework task) and
peer marking is good for getting students to identify common errors such as the ones highlighted in the textbook.

SECTION 5H: APPLY YOUR SKILLS

This final section offers a series of problems for Higher students to apply their new manipulation skills to. Encourage
students to write down all working and use diagrams to support their working where possible as mistakes are often
related to problems with negatives and lost terms.

Prompting questions
Exercise 13J(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q5 (H) Can you draw a diagram to support your workings?
• Q7 (H) Can you add or subtract something to make the values nicer to work with? Hint: think about what is needed
to round it to the nearest whole number.
• Q8 (H) What can you tell me about any number that is squared?
It is positive.
What is therefore the smallest value that the perfect square part of the expression can have?
Zero.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• NRICH has a collection of short problems that make use of forming algebraic expressions. They could be used
individually or made into a race for pairs of students to solve. (nrich.maths.org)

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
The connections back to Chapter 5F /5H Introduction to Algebra, are obvious as these ideas are just extended to
quadratics in this chapter. However, more opportunities for generalising students’ long multiplication methods are
offered here and students are better equipped to consider more challenging ‘I think of a number…’ problems.
There are several problems in this chapter that use the knowledge of properties of shapes and formulae for calculating
area that students will have met in Chapter 12F /12H Area.

Future learning
Students will need to use the manipulation skills they have learnt in this chapter to solve quadratics in Chapter 14F
/ 15H Equations. Students will learn how the completed square form and the factorised form can be used to solve
quadratics. In addition, for the Higher students, an ability to understand how the completed square form helps to derive
the quadratic formula would be appropriate.

Gateway to A level
At A level these manipulation skills are essential. Students will be required to manipulate quadratics with ease between
various forms and understand how these different forms connect to features of a quadratic’s graph and their knowledge
of transformations. They will also learn how to long divide polynomials in order to factorise expressions of higher
degree than two.

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Students who work with grid expansion methods can adapt their grids to divide. Those that don’t have a conceptual
understanding of how the grids support multiplication, and hence division, often struggle to learn a long new algorithm,
both in traditional format and employing the use of a grid. A fluency of expansion of two or more binomials, trinomials
and larger expressions will be required.
A level students often struggle with simple expansions, concluding for example that (x + 5)2 = x2 + 25 or (x + 3)(x2 + 4x + 2)
= x3 + 3x2 + 12x + 6. The second example is the reason that students should use grids to multiply rather than arcs to show
the products when expanding brackets. Once students have automaticity with expansions and have grasped that they
find the product of all possible pairs of terms and sum them, then the use of grids can be stopped.
Students who use a method of tracking their products through the use of arcs often miss one or more products,
particularly when there are more than two terms in one of the brackets, as in the example above. Many students,
particularly weaker candidates, continue to use this method for the duration of the A level course.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, question 8 • Chapter 2, question 3
• Chapter 2, question 10 • Chapter 8, questions 17, 28

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 13 • Chapter 13

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 9 (F) / 13 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 5 (F) / 8 (H) animated widgets
• 11 (F) / 19 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 4 (F) / 7 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 4 (F) / 7 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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14F / 15H Equations

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• Use variables correctly to form algebraic expressions.

• How to factorise quadratics in the form: x2 + bx + c
• (Higher only) How to factorise quadratics in the form: ax2 + bx + c
• (Higher only) How to complete the square of a quadratic in the form: ax2 + bx + c
• Inverse operations.
• How to graph linear functions.
• How to graph quadratic functions.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Angle facts including sums of angles in polygons.

• Properties of shapes.
• Area and perimeter formulae.
• Speed, distance, time formulae.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
• Ability to form equations from a variety of problems • Ability to form equations from a variety of problems
including geometric scenarios. including geometric scenarios.
Section 1 Section 1
• Solve linear equations. • Solve linear equations.
Section 2 Section 2
• Solve quadratic equations. • Solve quadratic equations.
• Understand that different types of equations have a • Understand that different types of equations have a
different possible number of solutions. different possible number of solutions.
Section 3 Section 3
• Solve linear simultaneous equations. • Solve linear simultaneous equations.
• Solve linear and quadratic simultaneous equations.
Section 4 Section 4
• How to read and interpret graphs in various contexts. • How to read and interpret graphs in various
contexts.
• How to use graphs to approximate solutions
• How to use graphs to approximate solutions.
Section 5
• Use iterative methods to approximate solutions.
Section 6
• Apply a combination of equation and graphical
techniques to solve problems.

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Vocabulary
Unknown, linear equation, roots, solution, simultaneous equations

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Incorrect use of the equality sign so that when solving 2x + 3 = 7 students write 7 – 3 = 42 = 2. While this may not seem
problematic, because students are still attaining the correct answer, students who are notating their working in
this way tend to be working on a reverse operation principle without recognising that they are applying the same
operation to both sides of the equation. These students tend to have problems later when faced with unknowns
on both sides. Visualising the problem as a balancing scale and even using diagrams to support students’ working
alongside the algebra, where x represents a bag of unknown value, can help here (example in diagram to right).
In addition to using the analogy of balancing scales, it is worth revisiting some problems involving the use of an
equality sign e.g. 5 + 13 = + 12, to assess whether students are using the equality to show the next step and hence
write 18 in the box or recognise it as showing an equivalence and hence write 6 in the box.
• Lack of understanding that adding a negative is equal to subtraction and so on. This may be evident in the ‘Before
you start’ section in which students are asked to fill in the gaps to make their knowledge of inverses evident. An
example to highlight this is 7+ = 0 in which students have to recognise that adding −7 is the same as subtracting 7.
Revisiting the rules of addition and subtraction of negatives will help support this.
• The following misconceptions and issues that arise can be supported by encouraging a frequent checking of
solutions through substitution. Students are often unwilling to check their working by using substitution. There is no
simple solution to this other than constant reminders and modelling good practice (even if it does take an additional
couple of minutes to talk through).
-- Not applying an operation to every term on both sides of the equation but to selected terms e.g. 3x + 15 = 18 ⇒ x
+ 15 = 6. A reminder to multiply or divide every term in the whole equation in the same way, so that the equation
remains balanced, should help students avoid this error. When solving by factorising, misunderstanding that it is
the factor that must equal zero rather than replicating the constant terms as factors e.g. for (x + a) (x + b) stating
the roots are a and b rather than –a and –b.
-- Leaving their solutions to simultaneous equations incomplete by forgetting to find the value of the second
variable.

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• Wanting to give exact or decimalised answers rather than working on their solutions in fractional form. For example,
given 3x = 10, students are reluctant or unsure of how to divide 10 by 3. Few students are confident that 103 is an
acceptable form for their solution and many want to round to 3.3 (which of course causes problems when using
substitution to check their values of x). Exposure to examples involving fractional answers and discussions about
fractions as ‘lazy’ divisions can be very helpful. For issues based on factorising and completing the square (Higher
only) see the notes for Chapter 13F Further algebra.
• Failing to find all solutions, particularly when solving a quadratic that is the difference of two squares or when a factor
is x. Encouraging students to always factorise and apply the zero factor principle often helps prevent this issue.
• When students apply the iterative formula method they do not use technology to support them. Students need to be
taught to use the ‘ANS’ key on their calculator to prevent issues with rounding and reduce the amount of work they
have to do.
• Students confuse the decimal search and bisection method. The meaning of the word bisection can be used to help
students remember this.

Hooks

• Diagrammatic problems in which the game is to find the value of a symbol can often help draw students in. Using
problems where the scales are set up as a mobile where each strand is equal allows students to realise they can use
knowledge of equivalence (in this case removing the same object) to solve the problem.
• Introduce the need for simultaneous equations by considering two different shopping receipts in which the value of
the products is unknown but the total value of the shopping is known. The addition of refunded items makes for an
interesting investigation in which strategies for solving can be formed by students investigating.

SECTION 1F / 1H: LINEAR EQUATIONS

This section explores different types of linear equation including: simple linear with one unknown on one side
(Foundation only), solving with unknowns on both sides, working with equations that involve manipulation of
fractions to solve (Higher only), and forming and setting up equations first from information given.

Prompting questions
Exercise 14A(F)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (F) What other options are available to you other than expanding the bracket?
Dividing both sides by the constant factor.
• Q4 (F) Why might you want to expand the brackets first rather than divide by a constant factor?
If there is more than one bracket, both with different constant factors.
• Q4 (F) Why is –x = 4 not an acceptable solution?
Because we want to know what x is, not what −1 times x is.
Exercise 14B(F) / 15A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What should you try to do first when there are unknowns on both sides?
Use the expression ‘pay your debts’ i.e. add any negative x terms when needed first to reduce problems with finding
negative x later. This may require expansion of brackets first.

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• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What can you add or subtract to both sides of the equation to ‘undo’ a term?
The same thing that will cancel with a term on one side.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Can you represent your problem with balancing scales?
See example in misconceptions question for using diagrams.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Why might you want to expand the brackets first rather than divide by a constant factor?
If there is more than one bracket, both with different constant factors.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What don’t you like about your solution? Does your equation even have a solution? What could this
mean?
Identities work for all values for the unknown so we can always reduce the equation to 0 = 0. There are an infinite
number of solutions, as identities are true for all possible values of the unknown. Identities were introduced in Chapter 5
Introduction to algebra.
Exercise 15B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What has to be the same for us to be able to add fractions?
The denominator.
• Q1 (H) How can we find a common multiple of both denominators?
Multiply the denominators together.
Exercise 14C(F) / 15C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What is your unknown? What does your letter represent?
• Could you draw a diagram to represent your working?
• Q1e (F) / Q1e (H) How can we represent any two consecutive numbers?
(x, x + 1 or x − 1, x etc.)
Does it matter which option we choose?
No, the algebra will still give the same solution. Suggest students attempt both methods to see.
• Q3 (F)/ Q3 (H) What formulae are useful to us in this problem? What equations can you form from the information
we know?

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starter
• NRICH ‘Your Number Was…’ is a simple introduction to solving linear equations by applying inverse operations to
undo. Standard ‘I think of a number…’ problem. (nrich.maths.org)
Starters and plenaries
• ‘What is wrong with the answer?’ starter or plenary short task. Given you are asking students to constantly check
their work for errors this further reinforces this idea. Giving them their teacher’s ‘homework’ to mark is a simple task
that takes very little time to write.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Good Work If You Can Get It’ is a challenging problem in terms of forming and solving. There is a lot of
information to get through and students will need to define their own variables for the amount given to each man
and the total amount. The trick to solving comes from knowing the fraction of the total amount that each man is due
based on the number of days he worked. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• For students who enjoy Sudoku puzzles, NRICH ‘Addition Equation Sudoku’ offers a nice homework/assessment
task as it includes the need for defining the unknowns before solving. (nrich.maths.org)
• Comparing students’ solutions that have opted to define their initial unknown in different ways e.g. in example
1 defining x as the largest angle rather than the smallest to promote the idea that the initial decisions aren’t as
important as seeing their ideas through and that they may have different working but the same answer as others.

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SECTION 2F / 2H: QUADRATIC EQUATIONS

This section focuses on solving quadratic equations, drawing on all the methods for factorising and manipulating
quadratic expressions from Chapter 13 Further algebra. Students again work on their forming and setting up equations
skills but this time due to the number of solutions must recognise that not all their solutions are valid in the context of
the question. It is important that students do not rely too much on using the square root function as an inverse, thinking
for example that 9 = 3 or −3, as it is defined for a positive range of outputs only. It is instead better to talk about what
values could be squared to give a required value and using ± as it is used in the quadratic formula. This will be very
important for later work in functions covered at A level.
(Higher only) The method for completing the square is used to deduce the quadratic formula and students are asked to
consider the number of roots based on the graphical representation of the equation.

Prompting questions
Exercise 14D(F) / 15D(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1−3 (F) / Q1 (H) What should I do first when I have a quadratic equation equal to 0?
Factorise
What does one of the numbers have to be if the product is 0?
The only way to get 0 with multiplication is to multiply by 0.
• Q4 (F) What if the solution is not 0? What if my quadratic is 8? How many different ways are there of making 8?
The point is too many so it must be equal to 0 for factorising to be used to solve.
What must you always do at the end of your solution?
State the values x can take.
What does a quadratic look like when plotted on a graph? How does this help us with knowing how many solutions
there are?
The number of solutions is the number of intersections with the x-axis. Showing and discussing various examples could
help students understand that not all equations have solutions.
How many solutions are possible when solving a quadratic equation?
One, two or none depending on how many different factors the solution has.
• Q4 (F) / Q5 (H) What should I do if I do not have a quadratic equal to 0?
Rearrange so that it is in the form ax2 + bx + x = c.
• Q5 (H) What if my equation doesn’t look like a quadratic? What should I do then?
Rearrange so that it is equal to 0 and then you will know what type of equation you are solving.
Exercise 15E(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What are the values for a, b and c for this quadratic?
Encouraging students to start with a =, b = and c = will reduce the number of errors and prevent problems with negatives
being missed.
Exercise 14E(F) / 15F(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What is your unknown? What does your letter represent?
• Could you draw a diagram to represent your working?
• Q2−3 (F) / Q3−7 (H) What formulae are useful to you in this problem? What equations can you form from the
information you know?
General area formulae and (Higher only) Pythagoras’ theorem are required.
• Q3 (H) What does Pythagoras’ theorem state?
The sum of the squares of the two shorter sides is equal to the square of the hypotenuse in a right-angled triangle.
• Q2−3 (F) / Q3−7 (H) If we are dealing with a value squared what type of units or problem are we dealing with?
Area

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment Activities
• NRICH ‘How old am I?’ is a challenging problem that requires students to have good setting up equations skills.
(nrich.maths.org)
Assessment Ideas
• There are numerous past exam questions that have involved forming and solving quadratics based on information
about an area of a shape. Combining these problems with those based solely on perimeter, and hence linear
equations, is good for getting students to recognise what the different dimensions can mean in a contextual
question.

SECTION 3F / 3H: SIMULTANEOUS EQUATIONS

This section introduces students to the idea of having two unknowns and using two pieces of information to solve
them simultaneously. The hook given above is a nice way to start this topic and can be used to varying degrees as an
investigation if needed. Students learn two methods for solving: substitution and elimination. Once students know
they can eliminate they are often reluctant to substitute but it is often the better method, particularly once multiple
solutions are involved so the order the substitution and elimination methods are introduced should be considered.
The idea of using graphs to find solutions is first raised in this chapter and students should think about what it means
graphically for equations like 3x + 9 = 0.
(Higher only) Work on solving simultaneously is extended to include quadratic and linear simultaneous equations tying
together the work from the rest of this chapter.

Prompting questions
Exercise 14F(F) / 15G(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2f (F) / Q2f (H) Do you need to do any rearranging first to change the subject?
Have you got a value for both x and y?
How can we check our solutions?
Using substitution.
Exercise 14G(F) / 15H(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Line the statements up, with the variables lined up vertically, like you would a long addition or subtraction. Does this
help you see whether you should be adding or subtracting?
• Repeat the question using the substitution method from the previous exercise. Do you get the same answer?
You should!
• Q2 (F) / Q2−3 (H) Why might the elimination method be the better option?
Should be quicker and prevent rearranging if the subject of the formula can form a direct substitution.
• Q2 (F) / Q3 (H) Multiply through by a factor to have the same number of xs or ys so that elimination is possible.
• Q2 (F) / Q3 (H) Why can I multiply the whole equation by a variable?
At this point you may wish to give the analogy of buying shampoos and conditioners (or any other products). If s is the
price of shampoo and c the price of conditioner then s + c = £2.50. If I buy twice as much then I have 2s + 2c = £5.
Exercise 14H(F) / 15I(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What are your two unknowns? Can you define the variables?
• What do you know about your two unknowns? Can you write the sentences out in full English and then adapt by
replacing ‘the number of…’ or ‘the unknown number’ with your variable?
This section is very challenging for Foundation students and it requires strong forming and solving skills.

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Exercise 15J(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Can you sketch your functions to identify how many solutions you will have?
• How can you tell how many solutions you have from your algebra?
Whether the quadratic gives two roots, one or none.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment Activities
• NRICH ‘What’s it Worth?’ has a huge number of possibilities for challenging students of different levels with the
randomly generated worksheet file on the teacher page. The included different solutions offer probes for group
discussion about working systematically and elegantly. If you wish you could ignore the last solution as it is a unique
method to this problem (but great fun for a plenary!). (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Matchless’. Once students are confident with ideas relating to solving simultaneous equations this is a nice
problem for them to attempt. The challenge here is that students will need to set up the equations to begin with
before forming their own simultaneous equations. You may wish to remove some cards for some groups to promote
a discussion of the amount of information required in class. (nrich.maths.org)
• (Higher only) For the most able students, NRICH ‘Intersections’ will force them to consider what is actually
going on to make the following equations so different. In addition to this it required strong manipulation skills and
attention to detail to prevent errors. (nrich.maths.org)
• (Higher only) NRICH ‘Surds’ is another task for the most able students who are fluent with surds and can recognise
that the first statement forms an equation in one variable before the simultaneous equations can be tackled. (nrich.
maths.org)
• Similar to the Sudoku puzzle in Section 1, NRICH ‘All-variables Sudoku’ is a puzzle requires simultaneous
equations to solve it. (nrich.maths.org)
Starters or Plenaries
• Giving students a series of equations to be solved and asking them to sort them into always, sometimes and never
true and within sometimes into the number of solutions to help them understand that the order of the polynomial
does not necessarily dictate the number of solutions. This also helps consolidate material on identities and works
best when a mix of linear and quadratic equations are used.
• To update the chickens and goats examples you may wish to turn the problem into a Harry Potter potions class with
spiders and lizards. Here you can have a similar problem based on heads and legs but with an opportunity to show a
video clip of Professor Snape telling them off first. Search the internet for ‘Professor Snape potion master’.

SECTION 4F / 4H: USING GRAPHS TO SOLVE EQUATIONS

This section recaps prior learning on graphical representations of functions to extend to using this information to
estimate solutions by reading off the graph. The example has no context so students may need some support when
working on the first couple of questions of Exercise I/K given that it is based on a distance–time graph and you may wish
to use this as a second example.

Prompting questions
Exercise 14I(F) / 15K(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What does each axis of your graph represent?
• So is your question about a value on the x-axis or y-axis or neither?
• Q2−3 (F) / Q2−3 (H) How do we find the average speed of a moving object?
Distance divided by time
How do we find the equation of a straight line from the graph?
We use y = mx + c and find the y-intercept (c) and the gradient (m).

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• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) What is special about the coordinate where two straight lines meet?
It is the point of intersection and the solution to the pair of simultaneous equations formed by the two lines.
• Q7−9 (F) / Q7−8 (H) How many times can a quadratic curve cross the x-axis?
Maximum of two but also none.
What equation are we solving when we consider the x-axis intercepts?
• Q7−9 (F) / Q7−8 (H) How many different ways can a straight line and a quadratic curve meet?
Twice, once or not at all.
Why might we prefer algebraic solutions over a graphical solution?
Because of accuracy and rounding where the solution may be irrational.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘What’s That Graph?’ goes beyond the graphs and problems covered in this section, and again in Standards
Unit: A6 – Interpreting Distance-Time Graphs. A similar structure of task could be designed to cover all the functions
in this section to create a mixed matching exercise that asks students to match scenarios to graphs as well as read
information off them. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 5H: FINDING APPROXIMATE SOLUTIONS BY ITERATION

This section considers three different methods for approximating solutions of equations: the iterative formula, the
decimal method and the bisection method. It is worth considering the order in which you introduce these methods.
That is that some students may find it easier to start with the graphs and change of sign (decimal and bisection)
methods first. You may also wish to start the section with an exploration of trail and improvement methods to solve
non-linear and non-quadratic functions to support students in understanding why iterative methods are required.
Exercise 15L(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What is the first value of x you are going to substitute into the iterative formula?
The one given as x1.
Exercise 15M(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (H) What is the difference between decimal search and bisection methods?
Decimal search goes up in equal intervals, bisection method cuts the interval in half and checks the median value each
time. Students have come across bisect before and the meaning of the word should be explored as a way of helping
them remember.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Identify the interval for one or both roots of a quadratic equation using change of sign / trial and improvement
methods. Students can then use the quadratic formula to verify that the solutions lie in the intervals given.
Enrichment ideas
• The student book does not consider why the iterative formula can be used and how the given formula is connected
to the equation being solved through rearrangement. This is not something students need to know but an
appropriate extension for the most able candidates is to explore graphically what is happening when x is made the
subject of the equation and the iterative method is applied.
• The use of technology can be used to reduce working and allow students to spot patterns quicker. Setting up
speedsheets that apply iterative formulae can help students identify appropriate values to start the substitution and
why initial change of sign methods are required.

SECTION 6H: USING EQUATIONS AND GRAPHS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

This final section contains a mixed exercise to test all the material covered in the chapter.

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TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
This chapter uses all the manipulation skills worked on in Chapters 5 Introduction to algebra and 13 Further algebra to
help manipulate expressions including factorising and simplifying to solve a variety of equations.

Future learning
Later chapters will revisit solving to explore ranges of solutions to inequalities. In addition to this, in Chapter 16F / 17H
Formulae students will apply the techniques learned here to ‘solve’ formulae in order to change the subject of the formula.

Gateway to A level
Solving forms a large part of the future Mathematics students will study. Students will learn how to manipulate
equations containing a larger range of functions to find multiple solutions and have a greater understanding about
the number of solutions in a given range. It is important that students understand the connection to graphical
representations of functions and what the solutions mean for future study, i.e. that for a y = f(x) in solving f(x) = 0 they
are finding the intersection of the curve with the x-axis. They will also extend their work on quadratics to look at higher
order polynomials, including cubics, and learn about other features of graphs.
The ideas surrounding inverses will also be covered in greater detail with students learning about the domain and range
of functions as well as the restrictions on these that must sometimes be in place for an inverse to exist.
Finally, the work students start on numerical methods will be covered in more detail at A level and students will learn
a wider range of iterative methods. Understanding why iterative methods are still needed for functions we can’t easily
solve sets the groundwork for future work on this topic at A level.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 2, question 19 • Chapter 1, questions 12, 13, 14
• Chapter 3, question 5 • Chapter 2, questions 4, 15, 16
• Chapter 6, questions 2, 8 • Chapter 3, questions 3, 9

• Chapter 8, questions 21, 22 • Chapter 7, question 8

• Chapter 8, question 18
• Chapter 10, question 7
• Chapter 10, questions 3, 4

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 14 • Chapter 15

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 14 (F) / 20 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 9 (F) / 13 (H) animated widgets
• 19 (F) / 28 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 6 (F) / 10 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 6 (F) / 10 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

14H Surds
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to round an answer to a required number of decimal places or significant figures.

• How to use Pythagoras’ theorem (from Key Stage 3 study).
• How to write numbers as products of their prime factors (perform prime factor decomposition).
• How to expand brackets and simplify expressions by collecting like terms.
• How to create equivalent fractions by multiplying or dividing both numerator and denominator by the same value.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• To be able to find the circumference and area of a circle in order to tackle a few of the contextualised questions.
• If students have previously factorised the difference of two squares, they will recognise that this is being used to
rationalise fractions where the denominator is a binomial where at least one term is a surd.

Learning outcomes
Higher
Section 1
• To use a calculator to approximate the values of numbers involving surds.
• To calculate exact solutions to problems using surds.
Section 2
• To simplify expressions containing surds.
• To manipulate surds when adding and subtracting.
• To manipulate surds when multiplying and dividing.
• To rationalise the denominator of a fraction.
Section 3
• To apply an understanding of surds to solve more complex problems.

Vocabulary
Irrational number, surd, rational number

Common misconceptions and other issues

• When students fail to spot a factor that is square they may assume a surd cannot be simplified e.g. if for 75 they
write 5 x 15 , they may stop at this point. Encourage full prime factor decomposition of the number each time as
identification of any primes raised to the power of 2 (or any even number) will help remedy this.
• Linked to the above, students may not fully simplify a surd when they have not spotted the largest square number
that is a factor. A common example is a number like 48 where students reduce this to 4 x 12 = 2 12 . Again,
encouraging full prime factor decomposition may help.

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• Students who do not fully understand how to simplify surds may follow a procedure and make errors they do
not identify at certain stages. For example, a student may say 28 = 7 x 4 and then present their final answer as
7 4 or 7 2 as they have not grasped the correct simplification is 7 x 4 = 2 7 . Double checking through use of
approximation or a calculator during the early stages of students grasping this concept may help.
• If students are simply presented with a set of rules concerning surds, students may incorrectly assume that since
ab = a x b that a + b = a + b is also true. An example like 9 +16 will help to show that the rule does not apply
to addition and subtraction.
• Manipulating surds may identify misconceptions remaining from simplifying expressions. A specific one to address
is (a + b)2 = a2 + b2, as if this still exists students will not understand the need for a conjugate expression when
rationalising more challenging surds. For misconceptions like this give students time to investigate which are true or
false (the Improving Learning in Mathematics N11 resource suggested in Section 2’s enrichment activities is ideal for
this).
• When rationalising surds, students often forget to simplify the final fraction or are surprised when the answer is not
in fractional form and assume they have gone wrong. Some quick practice or a starter on simplifying fractions before
covering this could help.

Hooks

• Ask students to try to draw a line that is exactly 2 cm long, (the hypotenuse of an isosceles right-angled triangle with
the shorter lengths 1 cm) or 5 cm (the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle with the two shorter lengths of 1 cm and 2
cm). As a challenge ask them whether they can draw a length of 3 cm. (Here they could use a right-angled triangle
with hypotenuse 2 cm and shortest length 1 cm).
• Build on the above by asking students to join two adjacent dots diagonally on isometric paper and use Pythagoras’
theorem to work out the length ( 2 ). What if they double the length of the line by extending it up to the next dot? Its
length must be 2 2 but using Pythagoras again will give the solution of 8 . Ask students to continue to explore this
in order to be able to suggest their own rules for simplifying surds such as 72 .

SECTION 1H: APPROXIMATE AND EXACT VALUES

This section introduces the definition of a surd, how to work with them on calculators and use them in contextualised
questions in order to obtain the most exact solution.

Prompting questions
The activities in Exercise 14A will help students to familiarise themselves with operating their calculators. With the wide
range that are now available it is important to ensure students find all the relevant buttons, and compare with others,
checking answers as they work through. This is particularly relevant if some students have older or cheaper calculators
where the order of entry of calculations can differ and answers may not be given in surd form but rounded to fit the
display.
Exercise 14A (H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) and Q2 (H) What would the answers to each question be if they were rounded to three significant figures
instead of three decimal places? This will give an opportunity for the revision of significant figures and could
promote a discussion about a relevant degree of accuracy to give solutions to when this is not specified.
• Q3 (H) Try changing questions e and f to 2 3 + 3 3 and -2 5 + 3 5 . Ask students what they think the answer will be
before checking on the calculator.
5 3 and 5 .

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Exercise 14B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (H) The solution to this may seem surprising initially. Ask students to suggest another similar question that
would work in this way.

e.g. ( 255 )
• Q5 (H) Work out the length of the plot without using surds. Try rounding your answers to a range of different degrees
of accuracy (e.g. one decimal place, two decimal places etc.). What effect does this have on the final answer for the
diagonal length? In what ways is using surds better?
Using surds, you can do all of this without a calculator and it removes the issues of rounding errors.
• Q6 (H) encourages students to think about the implications of rounding on calculating a selling price. Ask students
to think of their own examples and create a question that illustrates how rounding could have an impact.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and plenaries
• In preparation for simplifying surds in the next section, a starter finding square roots of larger square numbers, using
the method of prime factor decomposition, would be useful. For example, find 484 . (Since 484 = 2 × 242 = 2 × 2 × 121
= 2 × 2 × 11 × 11 = 22 × 112 the square root must be 2 × 11 = 22.)
• Exercise 14B will help students to see the purpose of surds within calculations in order to consider the accuracy
of their answers but requires students to be able to use Pythagoras theorem. If they haven’t covered this
recently the ‘Shape and Space’ section from the National STEM Centre will provide plenty of revision materials.
(nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Trice’ is a problem that can be solved using Pythagoras’ theorem and leaving intermediate answers in surd
form will allow students to obtain a precise solution. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘The Spider and the Fly’ also uses Pythagoras’ theorem and students could use surds but will need to
convert them to approximate values to compare. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 2H: MANIPULATING SURDS

This section covers all the key manipulations of surds, from simplifying them, to collecting like expressions, expanding
brackets and rationalising fractions involving surds.

Prompting questions
The introduction provides four rules that apply to surds, do students feel convinced? Is not having found a counter-
example sufficient to say the rules hold? Can they think of any ways to begin to generalise this?

( n)
1 1 1
2
For example, n x n n, n =n2 and n 2 ´ n 2 = n1 = n (for positive values of n).
Exercise 14C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) For each of the incorrect answers ask students what errors were made and therefore what possible
misconception is being demonstrated.
For example, in 1a part B 4 has not been simplified.
• Q3 (H) Ask students to suggest some other surds that must already be in their simplest form.
For example, the square root of any other prime number.
• Q5b (H) To add to the prompt already given, if students are unsure ask them to compare this to 54 .

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Exercise 14D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q4 (H) Why can’t 45 + 8 be simplified? What do you notice about the surds involved in this question where further
simplification is possible?
Look for suggestions of common factors; use prime decomposition to identify which surds could be simplified in this
way.
Exercise 14E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q4 (H) Which of these does not have a surd component in the answer?
Part g.
What do you notice about the expressions that lead to a non-surd answer?
The binomial components are the same but with the sign between them changed.
Can you give another example that would lead to an answer without a surd component?
E.g. (2 + 3 )(2 − 3 ).

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or Plenaries
• The ‘Surds Pairs’ game from Teach It Maths (you can register for free and download pdf versions of their
resources) involves simplifying and matching simple equivalent surds (and the solutions are provided).
(teachitmaths.co.uk)
• A light-hearted song summarising manipulations of surds to the tune of ‘Grease is the word’ is ‘Root 3 is a surd’ and
can be found by searching online for ‘Root 3 is a surd, grease is the word’.
• ‘Surds Connect 4’ at justmaths.co.uk covers basic simplification of surds and would be a good starter or plenary
activity for paired work. (justmaths.co.uk)
• Exercises 14C, 14D and 14E all contain a range of questions where students are asked to simplify surds. These could
be used in a number of ways, such as to create matching cards, pairs, a follow me or a Tarsia puzzle in order to
provide students with practice in a more interactive format where they can work more easily in pairs or groups.
Enrichment Activities
• ‘Manipulating Surds N11’ is available from Improving Learning in Mathematics at the National STEM Centre
Archive and contains a range of activities such as true/false statements and dominoes to enable students to develop
their understanding of how to manipulate surds. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• The Number Loving website has a differentiated ‘collect a joke’ activity for simplifying surds, when students can
work on one of three different levels worksheets in order to find surd solutions that links to phrases that form a joke.
The site also has a tick or trash sheet for surds. (The easiest way to find particular resources is to select KS4 and then
click ‘find’ to get a full list in alphabetical order.) (numberloving.co.uk)
• For extra practice on the more complex manipulation of surds the MEI GCSE extension material ‘Surds’, available
from the National STEM Centre, also makes the connection to the golden ratio. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• NRICH ‘The Root of the Problem’ will require students to practise rationalising binomial denominators. (nrich.
maths.org)
• As an extension for students finding manipulation of surds quite straightforward, the task NRICH ‘Irrational
Arithmagons’ should prove quite a challenge. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 3H: WORKING WITH SURDS

This section embeds the skills used in the previous sections with a range of problem-solving questions involving the use
of surds.

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Prompting questions
Exercise 14F(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) Ask students to draw a different shape with the same perimeter as the ones in the question. They could also
try this for area, which in some cases could be quite challenging!
• Q7 (H) Why is it possible to solve this question?
If x is positive then the whole expression will be positive so finding a square root is possible.
Could you write a question that looks similar but cannot be answered?
-x 3 -2x 2 - x
Can you write one that is possible?
This factorises to x(x + 1)2 so can then be simplified using basic surd manipulation. Therefore any cubic of the form x(x ±
n)2 would also work.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
Give the students the section’s example question to solve individually, before looking at the step by step solution in the
book. Then ask their partner to review the solution and note any areas of method that seem unclear, that are implied
rather than recorded explicitly or that are missing. Then ask students to look at the solution in the book and identify
its strengths, and any points they might alter in their solution, recording how they could improve their method in the
future.
Enrichment activities
• This activity links well with Exercise 14F Q4. Fold a piece of A4 or A5 paper to create a kite. Only two folds are
needed: holding the paper in portrait, fold the bottom right vertex diagonally across to the opposite edge, bisecting
the bottom left vertex. Then fold the top right vertex up to meet the horizontal edge created by the first fold. Tell
students to assume the length of one for the shorter sides of the sheets of paper (see diagram below).

1
1

How many other lengths can they find? What is the perimeter of the kite? Can they work out the area?
The long diagonal is 2 by Pythagoras. If they hold this against the long side of the rectangle of another sheet of paper
(or fold the kite in half) they will see that this is the same length. A property of A-type paper is that the ratio of side
lengths is 2 : 1.
From this the dimensions below can be found:
1  ( 2  1)  2  2

2 2
21 21
Or 64 2

1
2
1 2
1

Perimeter = 4, Area = 2 2 − 2.

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 14H Surds

• Research the ‘Geometric Square Root’ construction technique described by Descartes (although not attributed to
him). Create a presentation or leaflet explaining how the method works.
A diagram showing the Geometric Square Root construction:

D q

q 1 x p
A B

• For very able students a nice extension is to look at the formula for the Fibonacci sequence.

( ) 1
( )
n n
1 1+ 5 1- 5
Fn = × - ×
5 2 5 2

TOPIC LINKS

Previous Learning

• Squaring numbers and finding square roots.

• Using the laws of indices.
• Prime factor decomposition.
• Using Pythagoras’ theorem.
• Cancelling fractions and equivalent fractions.
• Expanding brackets and simplifying expressions (basic algebraic manipulation skills).
• The difference of two squares. (Students will be able to rationalise without knowing that they are using the factor
pairs of the difference of two squares but, if they have previously met this topic, it is a good example of a technique
being put into use in another context.)

Future learning

• Pythagoras’ theorem will be dealt with more thoroughly in Chapter 32H Pythagoras’ theorem, including its use in 3D
Geometry.
• Trigonometry. Exact values of the ratios for angles such as 30° will be required in Chapter 33H Trigonometry.

Gateway to A level

• Exact values of solutions are often asked for and these may need to be given in surd form.
• Complex numbers use similar techniques to the rationalising of the denominator.
• Binomial theorem (in order to approximate roots).

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LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
• Chapter 4, questions 11, 12
• Chapter 6, questions 13, 24

Homework Book
• Chapter 14

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 5 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 6 animated widgets
• 16 interactive walkthroughs
• 5 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 5 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

112 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 15F / 16H Functions and sequences

15F / 16H Functions and sequences

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• Recall of multiplication tables.

• Recognition of square and cube numbers.
• An ability to spot numerical patterns.
• An ability to substitute into formulae, particularly with negative numbers.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To identify a term-to-term rule. • To identify a term-to-term rule.
• To generate terms of a sequence from a term-to-term • To generate terms of a sequence from a term-to-
rule. term rule.
Section 2 Section 2
• To generate terms of a sequence from a position-to- • To generate terms of a sequence from a position-to-
term rule. term rule.
• To find the nth term of linear sequences. • To find the nth term of linear sequences.
• To use correct notation to write rules to find any
term in a sequence.
Section 3 Section 3
• To generate terms of a sequence from a function rule. • To generate terms of a sequence from a function
rule.
• To interpret expressions as functions with inputs and
outputs. • To interpret expressions as functions with inputs
and outputs.
• To find the inverse of a function.
Section 4 Section 4
• To identify special sequences. • To identify special sequences.
• To find a position-to-term rule for quadratic
sequences.

Vocabulary
Sequence, term, consecutive terms, first difference, term-to-term rule, arithmetic sequence, geometric sequence,
position-to-term rule, function
(Higher only) composite function, inverse function

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Confusing the term-to-term and position-to-term rules.

• Incorrectly writing n + 4 for a position-to-term rule when the common difference is +4.
• Applying operations in a function incorrectly. For example with 3(n + 4), incorrectly × 3 before +4. Go through a few
examples to emphasise that the BODMAS order always applies.

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• Applying composite functions in the wrong order. Use functions like f(x) = x + 3 and g(x) = x2 to show that the results
gf(x) and fg(x) are different.
• Students are generally good at substituting values into linear position-to-term rules, but may need reminding to
check their working carefully if negative numbers are involved. Their greatest difficulty is often determining which
number to substitute into a position-to-term rule (e.g. for the 4th term we must substitute in 4).

Hooks
Write up two numbers on the board (e.g. 3, 6) and ask students what the next number could be. They could suggest 9
(from ‘add 3’) or 12 (from ‘double’) or possibly other more obscure answers. Write up another two numbers (e.g. 5, 9)
and ask for further suggestions. This opens up for discussion what rules govern different sequences and how we can
write them.

SECTION 1F / 1H: SEQUENCES AND PATTERNS

This section introduces the idea and notation of term-to-term rules. Most pupils will be familiar with the language
required for describing term-to-term rules (e.g. add, subtract, multiply, divide) and the concepts in this section are
straightforward.

Prompting questions
Exercise 15A(F) / 16A (H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) How do you get from one number to the next in the given sequence?
a) add 7, b) subtract 4 etc.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What is the next term in the sequence? Why?
a) 16, adding 3 each time
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) How can we work out the height after the first bounce?
Halve 96 (48).

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Assign each student a different term-to-term rule. Read out the terms in a sequence and ask students to stand up as
soon as they know they have the rule for it.
• Give students two numbers and ask them what the third number in the sequence could be.
Starters or plenaries
• Distribute numbered cards. Project / write up the first three terms in a sequence and ask students to hold up their
number if it is in the sequence.
• NRICH ‘Coordinate Patterns’ allows you to project different sequences and ask students to write the term-to-term
rule on mini whiteboards. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 2F / 2H: FINDING THE NTH TERM

This section introduces further vocabulary for sequences (position and position-to-term rule) and focuses on finding a
position-to-term rule for linear (arithmetic) sequences but also gives practice with substitution to generate the terms of
a sequence when given the position-to-term rule. It may be necessary to remind students of the order of operations, as
they need to be fluent in this when substituting values into their position-to-term rule.
The six step problem-solving grid provides a thorough and logical approach to finding the nth term rule for a linear
sequence.
Students typically remember to find the common difference between terms, but often then struggle to remember how
it is linked to the nth term rule. For example, for 4, 7, 10, 13, …, students will recognise the common difference is +3, but

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will then give the answer n + 3. To combat this, drawing out the link with the times tables can help reinforce the idea
that any linear sequence is essentially a shifted times table.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
How do you get from one number to the next in this sequence (e.g. 3, 7, 11, 15, …)?
Add 4.
• What other set of numbers can you think of where you add (e.g.) 4 each time?
The four times table.
• How is this sequence different to the four times table?
It is one less, so the nth term is 4n – 1.
• Will the number 1000 be in this sequence? How do you know?
No. 1000 is in the four times table, whereas this sequence only has numbers that are one less than the four times table,
so 1000 cannot be in the sequence.
• What does n represent?
The position in the sequence, i.e. for the 3rd number, we substitute n = 3.
• Are there any numbers n cannot be?
Zero or the negatives.
Exercise 15B(F) / 16B (H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1c (F) / Q1c (H) Can you think of another example that proves your theory?
The sixth term is not double the third term (from part a) so the 40th term is not double the 20th term.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) How do you get from one number to the next in the sequence?
Add 4.
Which times tables is this related to?
The four times table.
How is the given sequence different?
It is one more than the four times table (i.e. 4n + 1).

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Display a sequence only showing the 1st, 2nd and 5th terms. Ask students to fill in the 3rd and 4th terms.
• The ‘Sequence Generator Spreadsheet’ from Maths-It is excellent as a whole-class teaching tool. It shows ten
terms of a sequence and the nth term rule, but also allows you to hide/reveal particular terms or the rule. (maths-it.
org.uk)
• NRICH ‘Shifting Times Tables’ task. (nrich.maths.org)
Plenaries
• Consequences game. Each student writes a position-to-term rule at the top of a piece of paper and passes it to the
student on their left. This student writes the first five terms of the sequence underneath, folds over the top line of
writing (so that their writing, but not the original is visible) and passes to their left. The new student writes down
the position-to-term rule, folds over the line of writing with the five terms so that only the new writing is visible and
passes to their left.
Enrichment activities
• Create a treasure hunt around the classroom. A card holds a question (e.g. what is the 5th term in the sequence
2n + 1?). Another card holds the answer to this in a bubble in the top left corner, and has another question of the
same format. With a set of such cards (which loop back with the final answer being on the top of the first card),
place them around the room and ask students to complete the treasure hunt.

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• Use matchsticks to create physical sequences and ask pupils to work out the position-to-term rule. Pupils can then
create their own patterns with matchsticks and they can work out the rules for other pupils’ sequences.

, , , etc

, , , etc

• NRICH ‘Seven Squares’ task. The teacher notes with this resource suggest how to use this in the classroom,
enabling the formulation of the position-to-term rule to naturally emerge from discussions on the construction of
the sequence. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 3F / 3H: FUNCTIONS

This section introduces the idea and notation of a function. Most students will be familiar with the concept of a function,
especially if direct links are made with computer science or spreadsheets. This link can help with the language of
‘inputs’ and ‘outputs’.
(Higher only) The second part of this section, has a brief introduction to composite functions. The notation used for
this is unintuitive, considering students are used to working left to right. Thinking about wrapping up the input as a
‘pass the parcel’ may help introduce the idea that for f(g(x)) the first function applied to x is g, and then its output is
used as the input to f.
(Higher only) The section finishes by introducing the idea of the inverse of a function. Pupils will already be familiar
with the idea of an inverse (‘division undoes multiplication’). They may find it most straightforward to write f(x) = 2x as
y = 2x, and then rearrange to make x the subject, finally re-writing using function notation.
It may be worth pointing out that functions always have an inverse if they are ‘one-one’, i.e. if each value of y has just
one corresponding x value. A ‘many-to-one’ function (like any quadratic or trigonometric function) doesn’t necessarily
have an inverse. If you draw a horizontal line across the graph of the function it intercepts the graph at more than one
point, and that means it has no inverse. However, if you only plot part of the function (ie restrict the input values) so that
the horizontal line only intercepts at a single point, then it does have an inverse. Constant value functions (for example
f(x) = 2) do not have an inverse function.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Do we have to use the letter f for a function?
No, but commonly the letters alphabetically leading from f are used.
• Do we have to use the letter x or n for the input? (Note that n is commonly used when we expect the domain to be the
integers.)
• Can we have functions that use more than one letter?
Probably best avoided to prevent confusion with compound functions.
• If f(x) = 5x, what is f(x2)? How about if g(x) = x2, what is g(5x)?
• If f(x) = x + 3 and g(x) = 2x, does the order f(g(2)) generate the same value as g(f(2)). Is there a value of x that does
generate the same for both orders of composition? This question can provide useful practice for solving various
forms of equation.
Exercise 15C(F) / 16C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts or questions for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What answer do you get if you input 1? 2? 3? How could you describe this sequence?
a) 4, 5, 6, ‘add 1’
• Q7 (H) How can you undo the function and get back to x?
a) add 7, b) divide by 4, etc.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and plenaries
• NRICH ‘Alison’s Mapping’ uses the number plumber, which provides an interactive function machine that you can
use to create your own functions and view the results on a graph. Pupils could create their own functions on the
number plumber and challenge their classmates to discover what they are. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 4F / 4H: SPECIAL SEQUENCES

This section introduces some common and historically significant sequences. It is probably worth tackling head-on the
fact that we have very many ways of describing the same thing in mathematics: sequences that are linear could also be
called arithmetic; we sometimes use the word ‘progression’ to mean the same as sequence.
Pupils are generally good at spotting whether sequences are arithmetic or geometric, especially for well-chosen
numbers where the difference or ratio is easy to spot.
Most pupils will be familiar with square and cube numbers, but reinforcing the idea that ‘5 squared’ is the area of
a square with side length 5, and ‘5 cubed’ is the volume of a cube with side length 5 can help justify the slightly
unintuitive names (‘Miss, why is squared a little two when a square has four sides?’).
(Higher only) Quadratic sequences are mentioned in the table of sequences. The final part of this section looks at how
identifying that the second difference is constant can lead to finding a position-to-term rule for a quadratic sequence.
Students will be most efficient if they can remember that the second difference is double the coefficient of x2, but
it is important that pupils establish this through considering the second differences of x2, 2x2, 3x2, etc. Keeping the
coefficient of x2 constant and finding the second difference of the family of sequences 3x2 + 2x, 3x2 + 7, 3x2 − 4x + 6 should
help consolidate this idea.
The method essentially partitions a quadratic sequence into an x2 term and a linear expression. Pupils will have
practised finding expressions for linear sequences in Section 2, so once the x2 term is identified, it is a case of
determining what linear ‘adjustment’ is made to give the desired sequence.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Why do we use the word ‘linear’ to describe a sequence like 5, 7, 9, …?
• Is 0, 0, 0, … a linear sequence? Is it geometric?
• What happens if I start on 1 and keep multiplying by −2? What would it look like drawn on a graph?
• What if we start with 360 and keep dividing by 2? Dividing by −2? How long until we get to zero?
• Is zero a square/triangular/cube number?
• Is −1 a square/triangular/cube number?
• Are any numbers both square and triangular numbers?
Yes! 0, 1, 36, 1225, …
Exercise 15D(F) / 16D (H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) How many parents does each bee have? How many grandparents? What is the pattern for calculating
the next generation back? 2, 4, double the current generation.
• Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) What does n3 mean? ‘n cubed’, or n × n × n.
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Why are sequences with a squared sign called quadratic?
This is linked to areas of quadrilaterals, eg x(x + 1) = x2 + x is the area of a rectangle with a side one unit longer than the
other.
• If the second difference is 5, what is the coefficient of x2?
5
2

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If the second difference is 12 , …? If the second difference is - 13 , …?

1 , 1 , always halve the second difference to find the coefficient of x2.
4
-6
• If the coefficient of x2 is 6, what will the second difference be?
12.
If the coefficient of x2 is 5, …?
10, we double the coefficient of x2 to find the second difference.
• If the second difference is zero, what will the coefficient of x2 be?
Zero: there will not be an x2 term. This means the sequence is linear.
Exercise 16E (H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:

• Q2 (H) How can you get from 1 to 2 ?

Multiply by. 2 .
• Q4 (H) How can you work out u1?
Substitute n = 1 into the formula.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Plenaries
• Pupils can use the ‘ANS’ key on their calculator (which substitutes the previous answer) to quickly generate terms of
a sequence. For example typing 1 and pressing ‘=’ or ‘ENTER’; then type 2 × ANS and repeatedly pressing equals will
generate a geometric sequence that doubles the previous value.
• When given a series of calculator key presses, pupils could fully describe the sequence in words (‘geometric
progression, starting on 5 and doubling’).
Starters or plenaries
• The OEIS website allows terms of a sequence to be typed in and matched against a comprehensive database of
named and described sequences. It is useful to highlight that many sequences are possible if just provided a few
terms (e.g. 154 known sequences contain the numbers 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 in order). (oeis.org)
• The ‘Sequence Generator Spreadsheet’ from Maths-It will display first and second differences for a configurable
quadratic sequence. (maths-it.org)
Enrichment activities
• Search for any of the ‘Zeno’s Paradox’ videos on the internet.
• No discussion of triangular numbers would be complete without reference to the legend of Gauss calculating the
sum of the integers 1 to 100. Writing out pairs that sum to 101 (1 and 100, 2 and 99, 3 and 98, etc.) and realising there
1
are 50 pairs is generally a convincing argument for the n(n +1) formula.
2
• NRICH ‘Fibs’ task. (nrich.maths.org)
• Fibonacci sequences make many appearances in nature and are a rich topic for students to research.
• NRICH ‘Steel Cables’ task. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Handshakes’ task. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Mystic Rose’ is a different form of the ‘Handshakes’ problem. (nrich.maths.org)

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• This topic provides a good opportunity to return to work on basic calculations (Chapter 1F / 1H Calculations) and
properties of numbers (Chapter 4F / 4H Properties of numbers). There are opportunities to consider how square and cube
numbers are related to physical shapes and how a numerical sequence can be linked to geometrical or physical patterns.

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Future learning

• Functions and sequences are used in straight-line graphs (see Chapter 23F / 24H Straight-line graphs) for describing
the relationship between the x and y coordinates.
• Quadratic sequences are used in graphs of quadratic functions (see Chapter 24F / 25H Graphs of functions and
equations) for describing the relationship between the x and y coordinates.

Gateway to A level

• This topic will be built upon in KS5. Having a strong understanding of this concept will be necessary for students
to extend their knowledge in A level modules. In addition to the notation learnt at GCSE, students will also learn to
describe sequences as arithmetic progressions. They will calculate terms in a sequence and the sum to n terms.
• In addition to arithmetic progressions, geometric progressions are a further extension of this topic, which builds
upon sequences such as 2, 4, 8, 16, 32. Students will learn to calculate terms in a sequence and the sum to n terms,
including the sum to infinity for converging sequences.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 8, question 13 • Chapter 1, question 2
• Chapter 9, question 5 • Chapter 5, question 3
• Chapter 6, question 14
• Chapter 8, questions 4, 19

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 15 • Chapter 16

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 7 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 4 animated widgets
• 8 (F) / 9 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 3 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 3 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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16F / 17H Formulae

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• The order in which mathematical operations are processed, i.e. BODMAS.

• Common formulae used in mathematics and science, for example A= 12 base × perpendicular height.
• The meaning of an unknown, variable and constant.
• The difference between an expression and an equation.
• Fluency in algebraic manipulation: simplifying, substitution, expanding, factorising and solving.
• Know what a ‘coefficient’ is.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Number work including operating with negative number, rounding and working with fractions.
• Calculator skills, i.e. use of extra brackets in calculations to force your calculator to do the correct calculations.
• (Higher only) Formulae relating to physical events, for example the equations of motion.
• Substitution into trigonometric functions.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To be able to write formulae to represent real life • To be able to write formulae to represent real life
contexts. contexts.
Section 2 Section 2
• To be able to substitute numerical values into formulae. • To be able to substitute numerical values into
formulae.
• To be able to use formulae from the topic of kinematics.
• To be able to use formulae from the topic of
kinematics.
Section 3 Section 3
• To be able to rearrange formulae to change the subject. • To be able to rearrange formulae to change the
subject.
Section 4 Section 4
• To be able to work with formulae in a variety of • To be able to work with formulae in a variety of
contexts. contexts.

Vocabulary
Formula, subject, substitute, evaluate

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Algebraic manipulation is a major part of this chapter and all the misconceptions addressed in Chapters 5F / 5H
Introduction to algebra and 13F / 13H Further algebra are relevant here.

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• (Higher only) In addition to this, students are required to have strong skills in operating with fractions. A well-
chosen starter with addition, subtraction and simplifying algebraic fractions questions will help to draw out any
issues so that key points, e.g. cancelling factors not terms, can be addressed before starting this chapter.
• A common misconception for this chapter is confusing the variables in a formula with any constants present, for
example when working with p. To address this you could identify the constants and variables for each formula you
use before working with the formula. This would fit into Section 2, which looks at substituting into formulae.
• When changing the subject of a formula, students sometimes simply swap the letter they have as the current subject
with the one they wish to change to. To address this misconception you could ask them to try values in the original
formula and then in the new formula to see that this will not work. A good formula to test this with is the formula for
converting between degrees Celsius (°C) and degrees Fahrenheit (°F).
• Not knowing what a variable is and an unwillingness to substitute different values into the formula. To look at this
you could go back to the idea of a ‘function machine’, where different inputs are selected and this gives different
outputs. That is, if you vary the input, the output varies.
• ‘It is an equation, so it can be solved,’ this can cause students problems because sometimes after substituting
numerical values into a formula they may need to solve the equation they have formed, so that they can find what
value the variable must take when given the numerical values of the other variables. These problems could be
resolved by using the terminology clearly: solve equations that have one variable but rearrange a formula that has
more than one variable.

Hooks
The use of formulae in the everyday world is prolific. From the useful formulae used to calculate speed, the energy of
a particle right through to the less useful formulae about the best way to make Perfect cheese on toast or to win the
World Cup. Search the internet for more information.

SECTION 1F / 1H: WRITING FORMULAE

This section introduces the idea of creating a formula for a given situation. This is a section in which you could make
reference back to the hooks section above.
This section for Foundation students will require them to read and understand the sentence first. This may prove
challenging for some students. For example, ‘y is three less than x’ may cause confusion from a literary point of view
(see questions below for possible questions).
(Higher only) Higher students will be required to construct some formulae they are familiar with and will also need to
read a larger amount of information in a question in order to form a formula that they then apply.

Prompting questions
Exercise 16A(F) / 17A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) We could start by identifying what each of the variables is for. How could we present this on the page to help
us construct a formula?
Maybe a word equation first could be useful before replacing the words by letters.
• Q2 (F) If ‘y is three less than x’ can you construct a numerical example with y =... and x =...?
If y = 10 then x = 13. So y = x − 3.
If we have a context we are familiar with, for example the area of a triangle, we should write down what we know
first. What information is given in the question? How can we organise this on the page?
This will be context based but noting down the information as it is read is a useful way to draw out and record the
variables for the question.
• Q3 (H) Where have we needed to use this information before? What question did we use it to solve? (This question
has scope for recapping and revisiting questions that use each of the formulae.)

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Variants of the questions from Exercise 16A(F) / 17A(H) could be used to start or review content of a lesson.
Enrichment activities
• An exchange rates activity where students are required to form formulae to change between different currencies.
This can also form part of an ICT lesson where the students use a spreadsheet to accomplish this.
• The activity NRICH ‘How Do You React?’ could link this section with Chapter 39H Interpretation of graphs. The
students are required to come up with their own formula for this situation. (nrich.maths.org)
• Links can be made forward to Section 2 with the activity NRICH ‘Making Maths: Make a Pendulum’ and an
investigation, where you drop an object from varying heights and find the time taken to fall. This data can then be
plotted and students could come up with a formula to describe this situation. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 2F / 2H: SUBSTITUTING VALUES INTO FORMULAE

This section formally introduces the idea of substituting into a formula. Students will, however, be familiar with what a
formula is and will have examples of formulae they have used (which are a nice way to start off a sequence of lessons
on this topic). It is important in this section to emphasise the key vocabulary, particularly ‘evaluate’. The ‘Work it out’
question is a nice way to assess what misconceptions will be present; specifically, the misconceptions that have been
highlighted in Chapters 5F / 5H Introduction to algebra and 13F / 13H Further algebra. Exercise 16B(F) / 17B(H) allows for
consolidation of this introduction.

Prompting questions
While working through the ‘Work it out’ exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• In what order do we do the operations?
BODMAS.
• How can we work out from the formula what the units of the answer should be?
u is a velocity and at also gives a velocity, so our answer is a velocity.
• How could we set this calculation out on the page?
Write down the list of variables and equate them to any numerical values you know. Then substitute
the values in and evaluate the formula to find the final velocity of the body.
Exercise 16B(F) / 17B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) This question could be used to reinforce some of the formulae the students are required to learn: e.g. when
would you use the formula in part e?
The volume of a cylinder.
• Q4–6 (F) These questions are all in a context and thus you could ask: What units is our answer going to be in? How
can we tell?
• What are the common errors made when substituting values into a formula?
Ignoring BODMAS and the rules of negative numbers.
• Q10 (H) This question is based on a pendulum and a question you may ask is ‘how can we tell what the units must
be for the subject of this formula given the calculation we need to do?’
2p is dimensionless but length is in metres and acceleration due to gravity is measured in metres per second squared.
m
We therefore have the square root of m ÷ 2 which is equal to seconds. This is called dimensional analysis and is done by
engineers and scientists. s

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• (Higher only) Before using Question 10 from Exercise 17B(H) you could use NRICH ‘Making Maths: Make a
Pendulum’ to investigate what happens to the time for one complete swing when you change the length of the
pendulum. This activity then provides a way to evaluate their experiment by using the formula given in Question 10
and the students could make suggestions for why the times may be different. (nrich.maths.org)
Enrichment activities
• This section provides scope for embedding some investigations to discover a mathematical formula for a specific
situation. One such activity that can work well for both Foundation and Higher students is NRICH ‘Pick’s Theorem’.
Dotted square paper is required and you can control the level of difficulty by restricting what your students look at,
for example how many shapes can be described with four dots in their perimeter and none in their interior. What are
the areas of these shapes? (nrich.maths.org)
• A simple substitution game based on the idea of a flow chart with different formulae at each stage but requiring the
answer from the previous stage will give a fluency exercise but without having to repeat the style of Question 1.

SECTION 3F / 3H: CHANGING THE SUBJECT OF A FORMULA

This section introduces the idea that you may not always want the formula in the form you are given. There are times
when you wish to rearrange a formula to make one of the other variables the subject. This section may give rise to the
misconception that you can ‘solve a formula’, so any statements that draw on the similarities with solving equations
should be carefully stated. However, when looking at numerical values, if you choose to not change the subject of the
formula but instead substitute numerical values in first, you will be solving an equation to find the value of the variable
that is not given.

Prompting questions
While working through this section, good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• How can you set out your changing of the subject of your formula on your page?
You need to make sure you are clear about what algebraic manipulation you are doing to your formula at each stage.
Setting it out as in the example in the book is helpful.
• How can you check to see if you have correctly rearranged your formula?
You could substitute some values in.
• How can you correctly determine the units for your answer?
Context of the question (F) or dimensional analysis (H).
• (Higher only) What algebraic manipulation will you need to do if you have several occurrences of the variable you
wish to change the subject of your formula to?
Need to expand, collect the variable you require and then factorise that variable out to only leave one occurrence of it.
Exercise 16C(F) / 17C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2(F) Q1-2(H) How can we set these questions out on the page to help when we perform our algebraic
manipulation?
We can look at the mathematical processes that are required in each part and then find the opposite mathematical
process required.
• Q10(H) How can we approach this question?
We could substitute the values and then solve the equation for L or we could rearrange the formula to make L the
subject and then substitute the values in.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Exercise 16C Q1(F) would work well as a starter or as a plenary.
• Have a sheet of incorrectly rearranged formulae on and the students need to spot the errors and correct them.

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Enrichment ideas
• (Higher only) This section could be used to recap or revisit rearranging a quadratic equation to make x the subject. A
useful resource can be found at NRICH ‘Proof Sorter – Quadratic Equation’. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• The use of mini whiteboards for a short assessment task on this topic may prove useful, e.g. a slideshow where a
formula is flashed up and students must change it to the required subject.
• The same idea can be extended to revise substitution after rearranging by constructing a relay where the previous
answers are used to calculate the next as they work through ten different types of formula. This activity can work
well to reinforce their calculator skills and knowledge of rounding if you include non-exact answers at some stages.

SECTION 4F / 4H: WORKING WITH FORMULAE

This section applies all the skills gained in this chapter on formulae. The students can consolidate their knowledge of
formulae using the common formulae they will need to remember for their examination. The questions cover a range of
topics including Fahrenheit/Celsius conversion, perimeter, area, surface area, Pythagoras’ theorem, and volume.
(Higher only) This section introduces the idea of further formulae that are used in mathematics; a specific example
of a recurrence relation is given. Exercise 16D(F) / 17D(H) offers a range of formula related problems that require an
additional process to occur.

Prompting questions
Exercise 16D(F) / 17D(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Can you answer this question without looking at the formulae above?
• How should we set out these questions on our page?
It is a good idea to record the variables you have, if you have a numerical value for them and the formula you can use.
You may then need to rearrange your formula. It is then a good idea to substitute the values into your formula first
before evaluating it.
• Q2 (H) Where have we seen questions like this before? (This question has scope for recapping and revisiting
questions that use each of the formulae we form.)

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Turning Exercise 16D(F) Q1 and 17D(H) Q1 into a starter or plenary.
Enrichment activities
• Making connections to other areas of mathematics for the use of formulae is hugely important, since a formula
has no meaning unless each of the variables has a context. You could use a space in your classroom for a board
dedicated to formulae and their use. Each pair of students gets a formula that they must remember. They are then
required to provide an example using the formula, work out a good way to remember the formula and know at least
one rearrangement of the formula. They then share their formulae with the class.
• (Higher only) Exploring recurrence relations can be a good way to consolidate the use of a formula and link back
to a topic the students have seen before (sequences, Chapter 15F / 16H Functions and sequences). The students can
investigate the recurrence relation given before Exercise 17D for different initial values of the variable Z0 and values
of the constant C.
Assessment ideas
• Having the students construct a revision guide containing the formula they are required to remember and those that
they are required to use will aid their revision process.

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TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
Since this is a chapter on formulae it has connections with all areas of mathematics where you are required to
calculate an answer given several inputs. During this chapter your students will be revisiting the process of calculating
areas, perimeters, volumes, solutions to quadratic equations (and looking forward to using trigonometric functions,
Pythagoras’ theorem and equations of straight-line graphs).

Future learning
Work on substituting values into formulae in Foundation links to material covered in Chapter 32F Growth and decay on
simple interest and in Higher, work on writing formulae relates to exponential decay in Chapter 34H Growth and decay.
The kinematic formulae introduced here (equations of motion) will be used in the interpreting graphs Chapter 39H
Interpretation of graphs.
(Higher only) There are also transformations of curves, Chapter 41H Transforming curves, which will introduce the new
terminology: the formula that forms a given curve is called a function and acts in the same way as a formula.

Gateway to A level
Students looking further ahead will need to be fluent in their use of all the formulae mentioned in this chapter,
particularly those relating to equations of motion and calculus topics. A level students will be required to rearrange
formulae with the variable appearing several times, for example, rearrange a formula containing a quadratic term, say
x2, to make x the subject. Further to this, recurrence relations will be tied together with different types of sequences
where students will be required to recognise more than one way of rearranging the subject to give a recurrence relation
to employ Numerical Methods.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 5, question 9 • Chapter 6, question 2
• Chapter 6, questions 9, 10 • Chapter 7, question 2
• Chapter 7, question 13 • Chapter 10, question 21
• Chapter 8, question 1
• Chapter 10, question 8

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 16 • Chapter 17

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF
• Lesson notes
• 3 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 1 animated widget
• 5 interactive walkthroughs
• 3 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 3 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets
• Required formulae – Foundation
• Required formulae - Higher
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17F / 18H Volume and surface area

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to identify 3D objects from a description.

• How to calculate area and perimeter of 2D shapes.
• The definition and properties of 2D and 3D shapes.
• (Higher only) Application of Pythagoras’ theorem to calculate unknown lengths in right-angled triangles.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Understand what it means for two shapes to be congruent.

• Units of measurement and metric conversions for lengths, area and volumes.
• How to form and solve equations with an unknown from a given text.
• How to use mathematical formulae; either to substitute first and solve for an unknown or to rearrange to change the
subject then substitute to calculate the value of the unknown.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• How to calculate the volume of prisms (including • How to calculate the volume of prisms (including
cylinders). cylinders).
• How to calculate the surface area of prisms (including • How to calculate the surface area of prisms
cylinders). (including cylinders).
Section 2 Section 2
• How to calculate the volume and surface area of a cone. • How to calculate the volume and surface area of a
cone.
• How to calculate the volume and surface area of a
sphere. • How to calculate the volume and surface area of a
sphere.
• How to calculate the volume and surface area of
composite 3D shapes. • How to calculate the volume and surface area of
composite 3D shapes.
Section 3 Section 3
• How to find the volume and surface area of a pyramid. • How to find the volume and surface area of a
pyramid.

Vocabulary
Right prism

Common misconceptions and other issues

• A common issue is confusing the units for area and volume when calculating surface area. When students have a 3D
shape they are often in the mind set that they need to use a unit of volume. Encouraging them to draw nets for each
3D shape they are required to find the surface area of will focus their attention on calculating area so require units
of area. Some weaker students find sketching a net and identifying and labelling clearly the dimensions of each face

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on their net very challenging. For these pupils, rather than having the faces joined in the net of the shape, it may be
more helpful to have arrows coming out from the faces of the shape with a sketch of each face and its dimensions, e.g.

Find the surface area of the cuboid

top and base

6 cm 60 cm2

5 cm 10 cm
10 cm

6 cm
sides

5 cm 30 cm2 5 cm 50 cm2
front and
back
Total surface area
6 cm 10 cm 2  (60  50  30)  280 cm2

• For triangular prisms some students will still not use the perpendicular height of the face triangle to calculate the area
of the cross-section (when given the slant height). A series of starters where the students are required to calculate
the area of different 2D shapes with varying amounts of information on the diagrams will give them the opportunity
to think about what pieces of information they need for each calculation they want to perform. In addition, students
often treat all three rectangle sides as equal, particularly for isosceles cross-section prisms; a way to help them spot
this is to suggest they make a net using the dimensions they have used to calculate the surface area.
• When calculating with cones students often get confused with slant height and perpendicular height, since the
first is used in surface area calculations and the second when calculating volume. To address this, the students can
create physical examples of cones that are labelled so that the students can unravel them. The slant height label is
present on the unravelled cone while the perpendicular height can no longer be seen. This should help to make the
connection that the slant height is needed, but only for direct calculation of the surface area.
• For a sphere, students often get confused about the formula they need to use for surface area and volume. Having a
matching activity that has the formulae for volume and surface area for each of the 3D solids they need and pictures
of each solid with the title ‘surface area’ or ‘volume’ can be repeatedly used as a starter to increase familiarity with
the correct formulae.
• Students can, in general, identify good places to split composite solids up. However, keeping track of all this
information for each component solid requires good book keeping. Having a table to collect all the information for
the volume and surface area calculations for each component solid is a useful way to address this issue.
• When calculating solid shapes that have been cut, for example a hemisphere, students sometimes forget to add in
the cut surface in the surface area calculations in the same way that students often forget to include both radii in
the perimeter of a circle sector. To tackle this problem you could have a series of solid shapes that you slice to create
new solids and ask what 2D shape is formed when we make the cut and what contribution will this make to a surface
area calculation for the new solid.

Hooks

• You may like to start a discussion on area with a packet of biscuits, using biscuits that are roughly one centimetre
thick. Students first calculate the area of the cross-section of their biscuit and then can discuss how many cubes
would fit inside it and how they could describe the packet. Having roughly centimetre thick biscuits makes it a
simple calculation to multiply the biscuit area by the number of biscuits in the packet to calculate the volume and, if
pupils always consider volume to be broken up into these equally sized slices, the biscuit analogy can be recounted
throughout volume problems.
• Acquiring 3D shapes with the same cross-section area and depth that can be filled (with either sand or water) is a
nice way to get students thinking about connections between the volume of pyramids and prisms. There are many
animations that can be found online to show this but it is much more fun to watch pupils guess how full the prism
will be when pouring in the sand/water from the pyramid.

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SECTION 1F / 1H: PRISMS AND CYLINDERS

This section focuses on calculating volume and surface area of prisms and cylinders. It opens with identifying what
prisms the students will meet in the section and goes on to state how to calculate the volume for any prism. What
follows is how to calculate the surface area of each prism and then the section finishes with a section on rearranging
formulae and ‘other prisms’.
The second topic of the section, cylinders, is then explored starting with calculating the surface area of a cylinder from
its net. The worked example following this opening gives the formula for calculating the volume of a cylinder.
(Foundation only) The problem-solving framework gives a detailed breakdown of how to answer an extended problem
involving surface area and volume for a given question.

Prompting questions
While working through this section, good prompts to promote discussion might be:
• What objects in the room are prisms? What makes them a prism?
They have two parallel and congruent polygons end faces and a uniform cross-section.
• What does it mean for one side to be perpendicular to another?
The two sides are at right angles to each other.
• What units do we use for volume?
The units are cubed.
• What are the units for area?
The units are squared.
• How can we identify the cross-section shape for calculating the volume of our prism?
If we have a prism, we are looking for two end faces that are congruent polygons.
• Do all cylinders have the same sketch of a net?
Yes, the only lengths that change will be the radius (which will in turn change the circumference of the end faces) and
the height of the cylinder.
Exercise 17A(F) / 18A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What does the net of each of these 3D shapes look like?
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) How do we calculate volume of a rectangular prism?
We find the area of the any triangular face and multiply by the third length given.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) How do we calculate the volume of any square prism?
Given the area of the square cross-section (found by squaring the side length) we then multiply by the depth.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) Can we draw a sketch to help?
We have a rectangular prism.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) How do we calculate the volume of a triangular prism?
The area of the triangle is multiplied by the prism length.
What do we need to find the area of the cross-sectional face?
We require a perpendicular height for the triangle face.
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) What do we wish to calculate here, is it a volume or an area?
We want the area of a rectangle.
• Q7 (F) / Q11 (H) What do the markings on the diagram tell us about the shape?
That the sides with the same type of markings are equal in length.
• Q7 (H) What is the net of this water tank?
It is a cylinder so its sketch will look similar to all other cylinders, a rectangle and two circles.
• Q8 (F) / Q12 (H) What are the shapes we need to calculate the volume of?
A rectangular prism and a cylinder.
• Q9 (H) What 3D shape are we creating each time?
A cylinder.
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 17F / 18H Volume and surface area

• Q10 (H) What is the net of a cube?

It has six congruent squares.
• Q13 and 14 (H) What would a labelled diagram look like for this question?
Each side would be labelled with by one of the lengths given.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Guess the shape. Given a solid, students are required to find the 3D shapes that make up this composite 3D shape.
Once they have identified all the basic 3D shapes in the composite shape, you can ask them, ‘What would be the
minimum amount of side length information you would need to calculate (i) volume; (ii) surface area?’
Starters and plenaries
• A calculation for surface area of a 3D shape is displayed on the board, but some of the calculation is missing or
incorrect. The students must identify which parts of the solution are correct and what additional material is needed
for each question.
Plenaries
• A matching activity where the students identify which volume formula to use with which 3D shape that is displayed.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Cuboids’ gives students a chance to experiment with how surface area changes when you change certain
dimensions of the 3D shape. This activity is best used with a points system for students finding cuboids with surface
area around the 100 square units goal. (nrich.maths.org)
• ‘Popcorn Picker’ by Dan Meyer is based on creating two possible tubes from a piece of A4 paper, one where you roll
the paper up from landscape, the other from portrait. His question is which tube gives you more popcorn? This is an
excellent start in to an investigation about maximizing volume given the minimum surface area, which can follow on
from maximizing area given a set perimeter. (threeacts.mrmeyer.com)
• ‘Dandy Candies’ by Dan Meyer is an excellent task for weaker students as it focuses on cuboids only and the candies
here are represented by cubes (24 for of them in fact so a good set of factors and a possible chance to revisit some
number work at the same time). There are opportunities for thinking about the shapes that minimise surface area
given a set volume by exploring other numbers of candies. If you wanted to simplify the task you could remove the
ribbon from the calculations. (101qs.com)
Assessment ideas
• Students design their own ‘exam style question’ for a calculating the surface area or volume of a prism or cylinder.
They then swap with another student who tries their question. The students then come together to mark what they
have done and suggest changes to either the question or to how the student answered it. These can be collected and
used for revision purposes later.

SECTION 2F / 2H: CONES AND SPHERES

In the first part, the formulae for volume and surface area of a cone are introduced and a link is made with Pythagoras’
theorem (with a tip that this will be covered in more detail in Chapter 30F / 32H Pythagoras’ theorem). (Higher only) A
problem-solving framework for a practical question on the volume of a cone is provided.
The middle part of the section is devoted to spheres. The formulae for the volume and surface area of a sphere are given
along with a worked example.
The final part of the section looks at composite solids and how students can go about breaking the composite solid up
to calculate volume and surface area.

Prompting questions
While working through this section, good prompts to promote discussion might be:
• What is the difference between the slant height and perpendicular height of a cone?
The slant height is the slope of the cone, while the perpendicular height is the distance between the centre of the base
and the apex of the cone.

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• When would we use the slant height of a cone?

To calculate the surface area of a cone.
• When would we use the perpendicular height of a cone?
To calculate the volume of a cone.
• How do we define a sphere?
We use the radius r and it is the 3D loci of points that are r distance away from a given centre.
• What are the differences between the surface area formula and the volume formula for a sphere?
4
The volume formula requires 3 of the calculated value involving r3 (a length multiplied by itself three times) while the
surface area formula requires four lots of the calculated value involving r2 (a length multiplied by itself twice).
• How can you decide if you have included all the solids in your surface area or volume calculation for a composite
solid?
You must first decide what 3D shapes you can split your composite solid into. Next you can calculate the surface area
and/or volume for each component. Finally, you need to decide which parts of the surface area calculation need to be
included for each component. A table is a good way to display all this information, as given in the worked example.
Exercise 17B(F) / 18B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Are all the dimensions given needed?
For the volume of a cone only the base radius and perpendicular height are needed. For the curved surface area of a
cone only the base radius and slant height are needed.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What are we assuming the shape of the moon is?
A sphere.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What formulae will we need for each and what will the units be?
We will need the formula for the surface area of a sphere and require the square of the given units.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) Can we draw a sketch to help display the information given? What pieces of information do we need
to calculate for this question?
The radius and the volume of the sphere.
Exercise 17C(F) / 18C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How can we break up each of the composite solids?
Both solids have rectangular prisms, but (b) also has half of a cylinder attached.
• Q2 (F) How can we break each of these shapes up into solids we know how to calculate the volume of?
The shapes are made up of prisms and cylinders.
• Q3 (F) What parts will make up the surface area of the hemisphere?
We have half the surface area of the sphere plus the area of the circle where the cut was made.
• Q2 (H) How is the capsule formed?
Two hemispheres and a cylinder.
• Q3 (H) How could we calculate the volume of this composite solid?
Either, you can form the separate prism and hemi-cylinder and calculate their volumes or use the prism like structure
that the composite solid has. Calculate the area of the face (which is needed for the surface area calculation) and
multiply by the length of the water tank.
• Q4 (H) Will the surface area of the cut shapes be greater or less than the original uncut metal blocks?
They will have a greater surface area, since we have now exposed some of the interior of the blocks.
• Q5 (H) What are the solids making up this composite solid?
There is a rectangular prism and a triangular prism. We could also calculate the cross-sectional area of the trapezoidal
prism that is given in the picture.
• Q6 (H) Can we form a picture to identify which lengths we require to calculate the volume?
• Q7 (H) What type of prism do we have?
A trapezoidal prism, thus our cross-section is a trapezium.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Prism or not a prism? A game to round up or recap what the definition of a prism is. Various 3D shapes are displayed
and the students must determine if it is a prism or not. An extension to this would be to include dimensions on the
3D shapes and also ask if they can calculate the surface area and volume.
Plenaries
• Give a variety of 3D solids on the board and ask the students to combine them to form a composite solid. Lengths are
then added to the sides and the students must calculate the volume and surface area of the composite solid.
Enrichment activities
• (Higher only) Question 8 in Exercise 14C(H) could form the basis of a class activity. Possible dimensions could be
collected on the board as a class.
Assessment ideas
• The plenary described above can be turned into a peer assessment activity where pairs of students design a
composite shape each and then exchange shapes to find the surface area and volume for their new shape.

SECTION 3F / 3H: PYRAMIDS

This section gives a worked example for calculating the volume and surface area of a pyramid.

Prompting questions
While working through this section, good prompts to promote discussion might be:
• What makes a 3D solid a pyramid?
A pyramid has a base given by a polygon and each vertex of the polygon is connected by an edge to a single point above
the base polygon.
Exercise 17D(F) / 18D(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How do we calculate the area of the triangular faces?
We need the length of one of the edges and the ‘perpendicular’ height from it.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What units will the volume of the pyramid be in?
m3.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What could help before we start to do any calculations?
Draw a sketch for each pyramid.
• Q5 (F) / Q6 (H) What are the components of this composite solid?
We have a cuboid of height 30 m−1.5 m, with a square based pyramid on the top.
• Q4 (H) Can we create a labelled diagram with this information?

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Have a worked solution for finding the surface area and volume of a pyramid, however this solution has errors and
parts missing from it. The students mark this worked solution highlighting errors and missed information. They then
share what they have found as a class.
Enrichment activities
• Taking Exercise 17D(F) Q5 and Exercise 18D(H) Q6 as a base and extending to find the approximate volume of stone
used to construct an Egyptian city. Your students could design their own city and calculate the volume and surface
area of each of their buildings.

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TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
Chapters 2F / 2H Properties of shapes and solids, Chapter 10F / 10H Mensuration, Chapter 11F / 11H Perimeter, Chapter
12F / 12H Area, and Chapter 3F / 3H 2D representations of 3D shapes all feed into this chapter and the ideas for each
chapter are used in this chapter extensively. Students may want to revisit Chapter 12F / 12H Area Exercise E, where nets
are given to calculate areas but not constructed to give a solid. The natural question would be, ‘What is the volume of
each of the solids formed from the nets in Exercise E (if they close up)?’

Future learning
The Chapters 19F / 20H Ratio and 28F / 30H Similarity will use surface area and volume of solids to form a background
for questions that can be asked in those chapters. Having a strong base in the topic of surface area and volume of solids
will remove any initial barriers students have to any new topics and allow them to concentrate on this new material
while consolidating old topics.

Gateway to A level
Students who will go on to A level will need to be fluent with all the formulae for volume and surface area of 3D solids
met here. They will also see new ways to ‘discover’ some of the formulae they have met here under the topics of
integration and volume of revolution.
In addition to this, A level students will be required to form equations with unknown lengths connecting a solid of given
surface area but with a need to calculate the lengths that optimise the volume of the solid (differentiation).
For mechanics students, this topic appears when calculating the centre of mass of an object and moments of inertia.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, questions 2, 3, 9 • Chapter 2, questions 5, 6, 24, 25
• Chapter 2, questions 11, 12, 13 • Chapter 4, questions 2, 13
• Chapter 4, questions 3, 5 • Chapter 5, question 10
• Chapter 5, question 10 • Chapter 6, question 15
• Chapter 10, question 9

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 17 • Chapter 18

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF
• Lesson notes
• 12 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 11 animated widgets
• 21 (F) / 22 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 6 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 6 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• (Foundation only) Nets of common 3-D solids.

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 18F / 19H Percentages

18F / 19H Percentages

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to multiply and divide by powers of 10.

• How to express a fraction in its simplest form.
• How to express a percentage as a decimal.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To be able to convert between fractions, decimals and • To be able to convert between fractions, decimals
percentages. and percentages.
Section 2 Section 2
• To use fractions, multipliers or calculators to calculate • To use fractions, multipliers or calculators to
percentages of amounts. calculate percentages of amounts.
• To be able to express a quantity as a percentage of • To be able to express a quantity as a percentage of
another. another.
Section 3 Section 3
• To calculate percentage increase or decrease. • To calculate percentage increase or decrease.
• To calculate the original amount given an increase or • To calculate the original amount given an increase
decrease. or decrease.

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students may believe that when multiplying by ten you simply add a zero (similarly taking away a zero for dividing).
This may lead to some problems when converting a percentage into a decimal and vice versa.
• Since dividing by ten is the correct calculation for finding 10% students might think that this works for any
percentage, e.g. to find 20% divide by 20. This could be because students fail to see a percentage as a part of 100.
They might not understand that they would have to divide the quantity by five because there are five 20s in 100.
• When writing a quantity as a percentage of another, students might fail to see that the quantities are in different
units.
• When calculating percentage increase or writing a quantity as a percentage of another, students might fail to
understand that a percentage can be higher than 100%. For example, when writing 80 as a percentage of 50 students
might not understand the answer of 160%. Instead, they might calculate 50 as a percentage of 80 and get 62.5%.
• Students might misunderstand how to calculate a decrease followed by another decrease. For example, they might
think that if you receive 50% off followed by another 50% you will not have to pay for the item!
• Students may think that because 100 reduced by 25% is 75 that 75 increased by 25% is 100. They may fail to see that
25% of 100 is not the same as 25% of 75.
• Students might think that if 100 is reduced by 20% that takes it down to 80. However, they then believe that to get
from 80 to 100 you merely add on 20% rather than the 25% it should be.

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Hooks

• Introduce students to where they might see percentages in their day to day life. This video shows many examples.
(stem.org.uk) After this you could show photos that display discounts that have been calculated incorrectly.
Students can then discuss and correct these. For example,

get

50 %
off

or half price,
whichever is less.

SECTION 1F / 1H: REVIEW OF PERCENTAGES

This section reviews the student’s understanding of the equivalence between fractions, decimals and percentages.

Prompting questions
Exercise 18A(F) / 19A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q4 (F) Why might it be useful to have all of the quantities written in the same form, e.g. all percentages?
In order to compare them.
• Q5 (F) / Q4 (H) This question mentions the fraction 23 . What is the difference between 2.6 and 2.6 (and even 2.66667)?
2.6 is a recurring number.

Other activities, assessment ideas and rich tasks

Starters or plenaries
• To convert a percentage to a fraction or a decimal, students might find it helpful to have a place value grid.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Matching Fractions, Decimals, Percentages’. A game similar to pairs that gets students to match
equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Doughnut Percents’. A silent group work activity that asks students to match equivalent fractions, decimals
and percentages. (nrich.maths.org)
• SMILE Mathematics ‘Percentages’ from the National STEM Centre. Equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages
(final page of pack 1). Students are required to match a percentage with a pictorial representation and a decimal
fraction. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• ‘Fractions, Decimals and Percentages whodunnit?’. Students are required to work through the clues to work
out who dunnit. The clues range from ordering fractions, decimals and percentages to working out whether a
statement is true or not. A great activity that gives students a purpose for converting between fractions, decimals
and percentages. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• ‘Extreme Fractions, Decimals and Percentages’ from justmaths.co.uk. A collection of questions with a real life
context. (justmaths.co.uk)

SECTION 2F / 2H: PERCENTAGE CALCULATIONS

This section introduces various ways to calculate a percentage of an amount and how to write one number as a
percentage of another.

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This chapter gives the students three different ways of calculating a percentage of an amount. The second method is
called the ‘decimal method’. Students might like to know that this is called the multiplier method and is very useful for
completing questions with multiple calculations.

Prompting questions
Exercise 18B(F) / 19B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) In part (i), how are you going to make sure you are accurate when calculating this problem?
• Don’t round any numbers until the end. For each question, students could discuss how to round their answer and
decide why.
Exercise 19C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) Prompt students to look carefully at the amount of crimes reported and the context in which they were
reported.
They should notice that the largest increase came from the area with the smallest population.
• Q3 (H) What extra information would you like to answer this question?
Students might find it useful to know the average population in each of the contexts. This will help students to come to a
more informed decision. They also might like to think about the types of crime committed.
Exercise 18C(F) / 19D(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Why is it important to make the units the same?
To write one number as a percentage of another the units must be the same.
• Q8 (F) / Q8 (H) Students might find it interesting to investigate the label further. What percentage of the ingredients
per serving are listed?

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• ‘Ever Wondered Why?’ at justmaths.co.uk. This is a code breaking activity that practises calculating percentages of
amounts. (justmaths.co.uk)
• ‘Percentage of an Amount’ Top Trumps. (justmaths.co.uk)
• ‘Percentage of an Amount’ Connect Four. (justmaths.co.uk)
• NRICH ‘One or Both’. A challenging activity where students have to work out how many people took an exam if
they know how many people passed both and the percentage of students that passed each exam. (nrich.maths.org)
• ‘Percentage Snake Board Game’. (mrbartonmaths.com)

SECTION 3F / 3H: PERCENTAGE CHANGE

This section focuses on increasing and decreasing an amount by a given percentage and finding the original amount if
you know the increase or decrease.
The reverse percentages section shows students how to calculate a reverse percentage algebraically. If students are
struggling there are a couple of other ways that you can demonstrate this. If the bike had 10% off then £108 represents
90%, students can now think about the helpful percentages they can find, e.g. 1% or 10%. For example, students could
divide £108 by nine to find 10% and then multiply this value by ten to find 100%. Another way that students could
calculate this is to divide by the multiplier instead. For example, if £108 represents 90% then the original value can be
found by completing the calculation £108 ÷ 0.9.

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Prompting questions
Exercise 18D(F) / 19E(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) If you did the calculation 48 × 0.14, what have you calculated and what calculation would you have to
do to complete the question?
You’ve calculated 14% of 48, which you then need to add on to 48.
• Q2a (F) / Q2a (H) Explain why the calculation 68 × 0.86 represents the question £56 decreased by 14%.
0.86 is 100% decreased by 14%.
• Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) Explain why the following calculation would work for the first part of the question: 2500 x 0.9575.
100% reduced by 4.25% is 95.75%. 95.75% written as a decimal is 0.9575.
• Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) What single calculation could you do to find the value of the shares at the end of month two?
2500 x 0.9718625 (2500 x 0.9575 x 1.015).
Exercise 18E(F) / 19F(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) For all of these questions what percentage would be useful to calculate first? How would you find this
percentage?
It is useful to find 1%. To calculate this divide the value by the percentage you were given. For example if 8% is 120g then
1% is 120/8 = 15 g.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What percentage of the original price did Misha pay for the DVDs?
80%.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or Plenaries
• ‘Increase and Decrease Bingo’ from Mr Barton Maths. An activity which tests students’ knowledge of writing an
increase or decrease as a multiplier. (mrbartonmaths.com)
• ‘Percentage Increases and Decreases’ from Kangaroo Maths. An activity that requires students to match a
statement to an answer. (kangaroomaths.com)
Assessment ideas
• ‘Percentages Project’. A project that tests all objectives and focuses on students’ financial literacy.
Enrichment activities
• ‘Using Percentages to Increase Quantities N7’ at the National STEM Centre. This activity requires students to
increase or decrease an amount of money by a given percentage. The students then need to match this to the same
calculation written in words, as a fraction and as a decimal. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• ‘MP3 Players’ at the National STEM Centre. This task has many objectives (graphs, probability and functions) as
well as percentage increase/decrease. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• Completing the four rules with integers.

• Multiplying and dividing with decimals.
• Multiplying and dividing by powers of 10.

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 18F / 19H Percentages

Future learning

• General use of calculations in most topics.

• Probability. Probabilities are expressed as fractions, so being confident with converting between the fraction types is
useful.

Gateway to A level

• Probability. More complex combinations of events are met in Statistics. Often these are best tackled in fraction form,
so being able to convert from a probability given as a percentage is useful.
• Decision maths. Linear programming may have constraints expressed as percentages of the variables.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 4, question 6 • Chapter 4, question 14
• Chapter 6, question 11 • Chapter 6, questions 3, 25
• Chapter 7, question 19 • Chapter 7, questions 9, 10
• Chapter 8, question 23 • Chapter 8, question 5

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 18 • Chapter 19

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 11 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 6 animated widgets
• 12 interactive walkthroughs
• 6 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 6 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

137 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

19F / 20H Ratio

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to divide quantities using efficient methods.

• That multiplication is a more efficient form of repeated addition.
• The multiplication tables and how to apply them.
• How to write one amount as a fraction of another.
• How to identify highest common factors.
• That multiplication is commutative.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To use ratio notation to write ratios for diagrams and • To use ratio notation to write ratios for diagrams
word statements and to simplify ratios. and word statements and to simplify ratios.
Section 2 Section 2
• To divide a quantity into two or more parts given a • To divide a quantity into two or more parts given
specified ratio and to specify the division of quantities a specified ratio and to specify the division of
into parts as a ratio. quantities into parts as a ratio.
Section 3 Section 3
• To be able to compare ratios by expressing them in the • To be able to compare ratios by expressing them in
form 1 : n. the form 1 : n.
• To be able to use this unitary form to solve ratio and • To be able to use this unitary form to solve ratio and
proportion problems and relate ratios to fractions and proportion problems and relate ratios to fractions
linear functions in order to solve problems, including and linear functions in order to solve problems,
real life ones such as conversions and scaling. including real life ones such as conversions and
scaling.

Vocabulary
Ratio, proportion, equivalent

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students may fail to see a difference between the ratios m : n and n : m, not realising that the order in which the ratio
is written affects how the quantities are shared. Ensure you make it clear that order is important. Use visual prompts
to help address this, for example 4 : 5 red to green couldn’t have four green and five red items.
• Students sometimes think that m ÷ n is the same as m : n; this can often be seen in representations of probability
1
where, for example, students might try to write a probability of as 1 : 4.
4
It is important to draw this out through discussion; reviewing the definitions of ratio and proportion provided in the
chapter could be an effective way of establishing the students’ current understanding and dealing with this
misconception. To further develop this, ask students to write the fractions of shaded squares in the diagrams for
Exercise 19A(F) / 20A(H) Q2 and Q3 and compare these to the ratios they have identified.
• The multiplicative nature of ratio is not always understood and students may think that n : m is equivalent to (n + 1)
: (m + 1) since one has been added to both sides. Practical sharing activities in given ratios using counters can quickly
resolve this.
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 19F / 20H Ratio

Hooks

• ‘Bad Date’ at mathsnacks.com. An entertaining way of portraying ratio through the proportion of words spoken by
each person on various ‘dates’. (mathsnacks.com)
• (Foundation only) Sharing chocolate bars. Place one bar on one table at the front, two bars on the next and three
bars on the third. Invite students up in turn to choose where to stand for their share of chocolate. Be sure to ask each
student in turn why they have chosen that position and how many segments of chocolate will they receive, how have
things changed when another student has joined that table? See NRICH ‘Chocolate’ for additional information and
prompting questions. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 1F / 1H: INTRODUCING RATIOS

This section introduces writing related quantities in a ratio and simplifying and identifying equivalent ratios.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• (Foundation only) Which would you prefer, a glass of squash with a ratio concentrate : water of 2 : 7 or 4 : 14?
Both the same strength as equivalent ratios.
• (Foundation only) Does 4 : 14 as opposed to 2 : 7 necessarily imply that I would get more squash?
No as these are equivalent ratios; the ratio does not define the amount involved, simply the proportional share for each
part. However the quantity of squash may have increased due to a repeat sharing in the ratio of 2 : 7.
Exercise 19A(F) / 20A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1d(F) / Q1d(H) Suggest a different number of students on the trip that maximises the staff to student ratio and
changes the girls to boys ratio to 2 : 3.
36 : 54 since 9 staff could have 90 students maximum.
• Q2(F) / Q2(H) and Q3(F) / Q3(H) (and see also the misconceptions section above). Write the fractions for the
proportion of shaded squares in each diagram and compare these to the ratios.
6 3 4 1 5 1 4 1 6 1 6 2
2a = , b = , c = ; 3a = , b = , c =
16 8 12 3 15 3 16 4 12 2 15 5

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• (Foundation only) The Interactive Teaching Program ‘Fractions’, from the Primary National Strategy can be helpful
for students who need extra help visualising ratio. (taw.org.uk)
• (Foundation only) NRICH ‘Rod Ratios’. Another interactive and visual tool to demonstrate ratio using Cuisenaire
rods. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Ratio Pairs 3’. An interactive card match of equivalent ratios. (nrich.maths.org)
Enrichment activities
• The introduction to this section considers mixing paints and ensuring a consistency of shade through consistent
application of ratio. This could be demonstrated in a practical way using paints, food colouring or squash in order to
provide a visual and kinaesthetic demonstration to the textbook example. For example, to create a ‘Mocktail’ activity
can be very engaging.
Assessment ideas
• Depending on the starting point of your students, it may be useful to supplement the initial exercise with further
practice identifying equivalent ratios. Make a card matching pairs game or a Tarsia Puzzle to link equivalent ratios.
(There are many ready-made examples available on the internet and the TES website has a good collection to
choose from). (mmlsoft.com)

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SECTION 2F / 2H: SHARING IN A GIVEN RATIO

This section focuses on solving problems where quantities are shared in a ratio with two or more parts.

Prompting questions
Exercise 19B(F) / 20B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Ask students to consider what fraction each share represents.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) Why do you think the question used 350 g for the amount of pastry?
Ratio parts add to 14, which is a very convenient factor.
Suggest another total mass of pastry that would also result in whole number answers for the separate ingredients
masses.
Any multiple of 14.
• Q8 (F) and Q8 (H) I don’t like dried fruit so have removed this from the recipe, leaving the other ratios the same. How
much of each ingredient is needed now to make 600 g of tiffin? Why are the values no longer integers?
1 1
5 : 2 : 2 has nine parts and nine is not a factor of 600. You will need 333 g of biscuit, 133 g of butter and also cocoa.
3 3
• Ask students to group the questions in Exercise 19B(F) / 20B(H) into categories to identify similarities and
differences. This should provide a discussion starting point to draw out the key details of what each question is
asking. Students often find it difficult with ratio problems to spot this, and can easily fall into the trap of applying a
procedural method to every question, where they add up the ratio parts and divide by that to find one share, even
when this is not appropriate.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• ‘Language of ratio’ cards. Available from Teach It Maths (as a free pdf if you register with the site). This asks
students to categorise the types of question as simplifying, sharing in ratio or finding one quantity when others are
known. It then provides additional questions for practice. (teachitmaths.co.uk)
Enrichment activities
• (Foundation only) Interactive resource: ‘Thinking Blocks Ratio and Proportion’ from Math Playground. Available
as an app as well as through the website, this uses the ‘box’ method referred to in the textbook for solving ratio
problems. (mathplayground.com)
• NRICH ‘Mixing Paints’ and NRICH ‘Mixing More Paints’. These would build very well on the simple textbook
example given in Section 1. (nrich.maths.org)
• (Higher only) NRICH ‘Speeding Boats’. A good investigation that students could work on in pairs or groups to
deepen their understanding of ratio and proportion. (nrich.maths.org)
• (Higher only) NRICH ‘Escalator’. This has similarities to Speeding Boats above and could be used as an additional
activity. For both problems students may use a fraction approach rather than ratio so encouraging them to use ratio
notation for an alternative solution would be useful. (nrich.maths.org)
• (Foundation only) Using manipulatives such as counters is an effective way to represent sharing through ratio.
Considering Worked Example 1, students should quickly see that repeat sharing of 1, 3 and 4 will take a very long
time to achieve a grand total of 32 000. Ask them to consider the total number of counters after each additional
round of ‘dealing’ out the shares. Can they suggest a method of working out how many each person will have when
their total is 24, 32, …, 320, 3200, 32 000? Link the use of counters to the box method described in the chapter so that
students can see the worth of each counter is £4000.
Assessment ideas
• Ratio and Proportion ‘Thoughts and Crosses’. A useful way of presenting differentiated material. Use a 3 × 3 grid with
easier questions in the first column and row, becoming increasingly difficult from left to right and top to bottom (you
could use questions from a range of the exercises in the student book as an alternative way of presenting them). The
students then have to play noughts and crosses to compete a row of questions to win.

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SECTION 3F / 3H: COMPARING RATIOS

This section focuses on comparison of ratio using a unitary approach that links to conversion graphs and direct
proportion.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• How could students use the graph showing inches converted to centimetres, to work out the number of centimetres
in 20 inches, 100 inches, 18 inches, etc.?
Since they are in direct proportion 20 inches is 2 x 10 inches so 2 x 25 cm = 50 cm. 100 inches = 10 x 10 inches = 10 x 25 cm
= 250 cm. 18 inches = 10 + 8 inches = 25 + 20 cm = 45 cm.)
Ask students what methods they have used as they could have many alternative suggestions to these. Linking the
graphs to what they already understand about the multiplicative nature of proportion is a concept students often
seem to struggle with.
• (Higher only) The section on the golden ratio mentions that the ratios of consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci
sequence tend towards the golden ratio as a limit. Ask students to calculate the first few ratios to investigate this.
Exercise 19C(F) / 20C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) and Q3 (F) and Q3 (H) These questions are about conversion graphs. What other possible conversion
graphs can the students suggest?
For example pounds to dollars, miles to kilometres, etc.
What would they need to know to plot these? What would the equations of the plotted graphs be?
Start encouraging students to make links between the ratio 1 : n and the linear function y = nx.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) In this question we use the conversion 5 miles = 8 km. We could write this in a unitary way as 1 : n.
What would this be and can students explain why? (The graph in the chapter review would provide one method to
help establish this.) Without doing this, what operations do we need to use to convert miles to km and vice versa? In
France, the speed limit on motorways changes for wet weather, from 130 km to 110 km (see illustration below). Can
you drive at 80 mph in dry weather or 70 mph in wet weather?
Yes then no: 80 mph = 120 km/h, 70 mph = 112 km/h

130

110

Exercise 19D(F) / 20D(H)

While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• The ratio between our hands and wrist measurements are not the only ones that demonstrate the golden ratio.
Research the Marquardt Beauty Mask for further ideas.

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Exercise 19E(F) / 20E(H)

While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) Is it possible to have a triangle with side length ratios 5 : 12 : 5? Can you explain why?
Would be isosceles, but the sum of the two short sides would not add to the longest therefore they wouldn’t join.
• Q8 (H) Can you express the ratio of the side lengths, and the relationship of the areas of the square algebraically?
i.e. 3n : 3n + 1 for side lengths, giving areas of 9n2 : 9n2 + 6n + 1.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• The Number Loving website activity ‘Ratio and Proportion Mystery’ (search the resources section using: Key
stage 4, Number, Ratio and Proportion). Students use clues to decide whether or not to buy a cake, using ratio and
proportion along with a little bit of surface area. This is a good activity for consolidation of the topics in a real life
context. (numberloving.co.uk)
• Currency conversions are a good example of 1 : n ratios in real life. Use an online currency converter to quickly
establish current conversion rates and ask students to use this to convert between currencies. You could give
students a list of items to purchase from different countries, along with the conversion rates (or ask them to research
these themselves), and ask them what they would have to pay in local currency. A key question to ask here is if the
conversion is given as 1 : n, what do you do if the currency you have to convert is the ‘n’ value for example if British
Pound Sterling to Euros is 1 : 1.26, how can you convert from Euros to Pounds? (Without just changing the currency
converter!)
• NRICH ‘Nutrition and Cycling’. A set of information cards and questions to solve requiring ratio and proportion
calculations. This may be more appropriate for Higher tier students due to the quantity of information provided but
the maths should be accessible for Foundation students too. (nrich.maths.org)
• The section on the golden ratio mentions the link to art and architecture. You can obtain some useful images
showing artwork with rectangles illustrating the ratio at ‘Golden Ratio in Art Composition and Design’. These
could be printed out for students to analyse. (goldennumber.net)
Enrichment activities
• Improving Learning in Mathematics ‘Mostly Number – N6 Developing Proportional Reasoning’ available from
the National STEM Centre Archive. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• NRICH ‘Golden Trail 1’. A collection of resources that lead students through a variety of examples where the golden
ratio can be found. (nrich.maths.org)
• (Higher only) Nuffield Foundation ‘Paper Sizes’ at the National STEM Centre Archive. An investigation into the links
between A and B paper sizes that could encourage students to create their own graphs representing the proportions
they uncover. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• (Higher only) NRICH ‘Ratio and Dilutions’. This is a STEMNRICH activity that provides a practical cross-curricular
link to chemistry to help students connect their maths with other subjects. It has an interactive app that allows
students to test out their concentration calculations and extends the principle to using two dilutions.
(nrich.maths.org)
Some students may find this quite difficult initially; it could be introduced using the much more simple NRICH
‘Mixing Lemonade’ activity as a starter. (nrich.maths.org)
• ‘Best Buy’ calculations. Find some current examples of supermarket offers, for smaller and larger packets of produce,
and work out which offers the best value. Often this can demonstrate how some of the ‘buy one get one free’ type
offers are not as good value as they may initially seem.
• Give your class a recipe project, where recipes have to be scaled for the required number of recipients (i.e. the recipe
is for six and they need 20). Use a shopping list with costs and quantities from a supermarket to ensure students
order sufficient ingredients, and calculate the total cost of making their recipe. (This can link to the ‘Best Buy’
activity as students could work out the cost per gram etc. for ingredients and compare brands). Students could
independently research the information they require, or be given a prescribed list depending on your resources and
time available. They might consider total costs on just the ingredients they use, or from the package sizes they have
to buy, which then brings in calculations around wastage.

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• Research and investigate the Penrose Tilings, where proportions of the two tessellated rhombus tiles are in the
golden ratio.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• Identifying fractions from visual representations, and writing equivalent fractions.

• Finding fractions of quantities.
• Division into equal parts.

Future learning

• Direct and inverse proportion, Chapter 33F / 35H Proportion.

• Similarity and enlargement, Chapter 28F / 30H Probability - combined events.
• Trigonometry and sine rule, Chapter 31F / 33H Trigonometry. Sin, cos and tan are the ratios of sides in a right-angled
triangle.
• Irrational numbers and surds (from the golden ratio).

Gateway to A level

• Trigonometry and sine rule.

• Constant of proportionality: integration and solving differential equations.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, questions 4, 10 • Chapter 2, question 7
• Chapter 2, question 4 • Chapter 7, question 3
• Chapter 6, questions 4, 12, 13, 14 • Chapter 10, question 5
• Chapter 7, question 6
• Chapter 8, question 14
• Chapter 10, question 10

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 19 • Chapter 20

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 4 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 2 animated widgets
• 6 interactive walkthroughs
• 2 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 2 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper
• 2 mm graph paper
• Axis grids from -10 to 10 in x and -10 to 10 in y

144 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 20F / 21H Probability basics

20F / 21H Probability basics

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to calculate confidently with fractions, decimals and percentages.

• How to convert between fractions, decimals and percentages.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Understand and use the vocabulary of probability. • Understand and use the vocabulary of probability.
• Express probabilities as a number between zero • Express probabilities as a number between zero
(impossible) and one (certain), either as a decimal, (impossible) and one (certain), either as a decimal,
fraction or percentage. fraction or percentage.
• Relate relative frequency to theoretical probability.
• Represent and analyse outcomes of probability
experiments.
Section 2 Section 2
• Understand that outcomes are equally likely if there is • Calculate the probability of an event NOT
the same chance of each outcome occurring. happening.
• Calculate the theoretical probability of a desired • Understand that the probabilities of mutually
outcome. exclusive events sum to 1.
• Calculate the probability of an event NOT happening. • Use tables and frequency trees to organise
outcomes, understanding that a frequency tree is
not the same as a probability tree.
Section 3 Section 3
• Relate relative frequency to theoretical probability. • Calculate probabilities in different contexts.
• Represent and analyse outcomes of probability
experiments.
• Use tables and frequency trees to organise outcomes.
Section 4
• Calculate probabilities in different contexts.

Vocabulary
Event, outcome, equally likely, random, mutually exclusive

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students tend to be very familiar with vocabulary such as certain, probable, likely, 50/50 chance, unlikely, impossible
etc. as it is used frequently in everyday conversations and they hear it in the media. However, often the words are
used incorrectly, so it is important to identify misconceptions at the start of this topic.
• It is also worth considering how percentages are used in conversation and in relation to probability. Certain means a
100 per cent probability; you can’t have 110 per cent probability but you can have 110 per cent profit.

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• Students often assume that possible outcomes are always equally likely; for example, students know that it is evens
for getting heads on a toss of a coin and will therefore assume that any event with two possible outcomes will have
a 50/50 chance, such as the probability of passing or failing a test. Leading questioning and giving examples of an
event with two possible outcomes that are not equally likely helps to dispel this misconception. For example, if
there are two people running 100 m, do they both have an equal chance of winning? They would need to be equally
matched in terms of fitness and skill. What if one of the people was Usain Bolt? Usain Bolt is much, much more likely to
win the race.
• Packs of cards are often used in probability questions. It is worth checking that pupils actually know the cards
that make a deck. It is always surprising how many pupils are not aware of how many cards are in a suit or how
many suits are in a deck. Having packs of cards in the classroom will develop familiarity and allow students to trial
different experiments to get a sense of the likelihood of different outcomes.
• Lucky/unlucky numbers, or rolling a six being harder than any other number because of its importance in some
board games.
• ‘Gambler’s fallacy’: after getting four heads in a row I’m more likely to get tails on the fifth coin flip.

Hooks

• Use familiar games, like ‘Guess Who?’, ‘Deal or no Deal’ or ‘Play your cards right’ as prompts for discussion. Discuss
strategies that pupils use and the probabilities at each stage.
• A game like ‘Dibingo’ from Median Don Steward offers an introduction to both the vocabulary of probability and
starting to work out the numerical probability of different outcomes. (donsteward.blogspot.co.uk)

SECTION 1F: THE PROBABILITY SCALE

Foundation Section 1 reminds pupils of the specific language used with probability and then introduces the notation of
P(event) before demonstrating how probability can be described using numbers between 0 and 1.

Prompting questions
Exercise 20A(F)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) Susanne says the probability of her being late for school is 1.5; explain how you know that she is wrong.
The maximum probability is one. One is certain.
Jamie says that the probability of him being late is less than zero. Explain why Jamie is incorrect.
The minimum probability is zero. Less than zero is impossible.
Robin says that he will either be late or on time, so he has a 50/50 chance of being late. Explain why Robin’s
statement could be inaccurate.
What could make him late? Surely it would depend on Robin’s punctuality and organisation in general.
• Q3a (F) Where is it more likely to rain: in the rainforest or the desert?
Rainforest.
Why is this?
It rains every day in the rainforest, but very rarely rains in the desert.
Is there a 50 per cent chance of rain tomorrow in the desert?
No.
Is there a 50 per cent chance of rain tomorrow in the rainforest?
No.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Students write down something they think is certain, then discuss as a class if these events are actually certain or
just highly likely. Repeat with something they think is impossible and something that they think has a 50/50 chance.
This discussion identifies misconceptions and demonstrates the need for a scale.

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Starters and plenaries

• Use quotes from celebrities or extracts from current newspaper articles that contain the language of probability as
prompts for discussion. For example, a judge on a TV talent show says ‘I am certain that you will have a number one
single’; can they really be certain?
• Provide students with a set of cards with different events on them. Students should then order the cards by how
likely the event is to happen. The cards can then be placed on a probability scale; this could be done as a small
group or as a whole class on the board or by pegging the cards to a washing line. To enhance engagement in this
task, the cards could be personalised to the class, for example ‘Finlay will become a rock star’ or ‘Ethan will go to
Spain’ or ‘Imogen will be given a merit in her next class’.
Enrichment activities
• If you can’t have more than 100 per cent probability why do the ‘odds’ on the Grand National add up to far more than
one? This can lead to an interesting discussion on how bookmakers make their money.
Assessment ideas
• Give each student in the class an outcome described in words, or probabilities given as a decimal, fraction or
percentage. They need to put this on a probability scale shared by the whole class. This can provide useful practice
in fraction, decimal and percentage conversion.

SECTION 1H: REVIEW OF PROBABILITY CONCEPTS

Higher Section 1 covers the concepts of the probability scale, relative frequency and theoretical probability. These
concepts are the same as those covered in Sections 1, 2 and 3 of Foundation, but the complexity of the problems can
increase significantly. In addition to fractions, decimals and percentages, probability offers the opportunity to revisit
other topics, such as forming algebraic expressions and proof, area, or interpreting statistical graphs.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Why do we use experimental probability?
• Can you give an example of when calculating theoretical probability is not practical, but using relative frequency is?
Exercise 21A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (H) How many times would you expect to roll a six, if you rolled a dice 300 times?
50 times.
If the frequency of a six was 54, do you think this is a fair dice?
Yes. 54 is approximately 50.
• Q3 (H) Why does the table start with a total of two instead of one?
It is impossible to have a total of one when rolling two or more dice.
Why is there a higher frequency for getting a total of seven than a total of 12?
There are lots of ways to get a total of seven, while there is only one way of getting a total of 12.
• Q4 (H) Is this a sensible sample size for the market research company to use?
While the relative frequency will be more accurate if you have a bigger sample size, this may not be cost effective or may
be impractical.
Exercise 21B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (H) Extension: how would the probabilities change if instead of finding the product of two dice, it was three dice?
Or instead of multiplying, Nick and Vijay found the difference or sum?
• Q5d (H) When do most families go on holiday? How is this reflected in the price of holidays at different times of the
year? Consider term time versus school holidays.
More likely that families will go on holiday in the summer, particularly in August.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• The NRICH ‘Probability Stage 4 – Short Problems’ is a collection of problems that are useful for starters or
extensions. (nrich.maths.org)
Enrichment activities
• The NRICH ‘Odds and Evens’ task can be approached using theoretical probability of combined events through
systematic listing or sample space diagrams, or through relative frequency. It is worth considering how the rules of
the game could change and what impact these rule changes would have on the probability. (nrich.maths.org)
• The NRICH ‘Which Spinners?’ task has an interactivity that demonstrates that the more you repeat an experiment,
the closer the experimental probability will be to the theoretical probability. It then offers the challenge of working
out which spinners were used, given different relative frequency graphs. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 2F: CALCULATING PROBABILITY

Foundation Section 2 begins with a concept that many students find difficult: that of equally likely outcomes.
Addressing the misconception that, for example ‘breaking your arm’ can either happen or not, so the likelihood of each
is a half will be important here.
While fractions, decimals or percentages are all equally valid ways of representing probabilities, for situations involving
theoretical probabilities writing these as fractions should be encouraged as the natural choice. Correct notation is
essential: ‘1 in 3’ or ‘fifty-fifty’ would score zero in an exam, as would any use of ratio notation.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Most of an iceberg is hidden under water (if asked about the Titanic, most classes will have a student who will tell
you this). If 113 of the iceberg is above water, what fraction is below?
8
11
What if 0.359 is below water?
0.641
What if 93 per cent is above water?
7 per cent.
• Is rolling a five mutually exclusive to rolling:
An even number?
Yes.
An odd number?
No.
A prime number?
No.
• Is it raining tomorrow mutually exclusive to it being sunny?
No. You can have both rain and sun on the same day and even at the same time.
• Is winning a football match mutually exclusive to losing it?
Yes.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• The probability of the complement of an event is straightforward to work out when probabilities are given in
fractions. Doing the same activity with decimals is useful practice, especially for pupils who will go on to study
statistics at a higher level and will need this skill when working with the normal distribution. (Hint: each place sums
to nine except the right-most digit).

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• Spinners with numbered sections that are also coloured can be helpful to reinforce the importance of considering
whether events are mutually exclusive. For example, if a spinner is labelled one to six, with even numbers red and
odd numbers black, P(red or two) is 63 not 64 .
• Alternatives to asking questions about vowels are ‘dotted letters’ e.g. there is a 34 chance of picking a dotted letter
from ‘Fiji’. Reversing the problem and asking for a word with a 23 probability of picking a dotted letter/vowel can add
an additional challenge.
Plenaries
• Give students probabilities (e.g. 16 ) and ask them to write outcomes that have that probability. Using denominators 2,
6, 13, 36, 52 should reinforce common situations involving dice, coins and cards.
Enrichment activities
• Students could research whether it actually is equally likely to have a baby boy or a baby girl. Does it matter where in
the world you are? How does gender distribution change in a given country at different ages?

SECTION 2H: FURTHER PROBABILITY

Higher Section 2 begins by revising the idea of the complement to an event. As in Foundation Section 2, particular focus
could be placed on quickly finding the complement of decimal probabilities, e.g. 0.109 and 0.891.
At Higher tier, more emphasis on the consequence of events being mutually exclusive is necessary. In particular,
understanding that we cannot just add two probabilities.
Most aspects of this section are discussed either in Foundation Section 2 above or in Foundation Section 3 below.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• I have cards that each show one of the letters of the word AUSTRALIA. Is picking a card with an A and a vowel
mutually exclusive?
No.
What are some outcomes that are mutually exclusive?
For example picking a card with an S and a vowel.
Exercise 21C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) During the next working week (Monday to Friday), Michelle manages to get a seat on the bus every day. How
does this change the experimental probability of her having to stand?
58 58
227
(= 0.256) compared to 232 (= 0.25), which means the probability has slightly reduced (by 0.6 per cent).
• Q3 (H) In a game, this basketball player had 20 shots at goal. Approximately how many goals did the basketball
player score?
(1 – 0.432) × 20 = 11.36, so 11 (or 12) goals.
• Q5 (H) Is it realistic to assume that attendance of these different school clubs is an example of mutually exclusive
events?
We can assume this if they are all run at the same time and students are therefore unable to attend more than one club.
Exercise 21D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What happens when you add the frequencies on each branch of a frequency tree? How can you use this to check that
you are filling in the frequency tree correctly? The sum of the frequencies on the end of each branch should equal the
total frequency.
• Q1 (H) Why would a hotel want this information? How can it use it to improve their facilities?
This should prompt student discussion.
• Q2 (H) What percentage of patients who thought they would need a prescription didn’t actually need one?
30.95 per cent.

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What percentage of patients guessed correctly about their need for a prescription?
66.67 per cent.
• Q4 (H) Which do you think medical professionals would prefer in testing: a higher probability of a false positive or a
higher probability of a false negative? Why?
This question should prompt student discussion.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

• Please refer to Foundation Sections 2 and 3.

SECTION 3F: EXPERIMENTAL PROBABILITY

Foundation Section 3 introduces experimental methods of calculating probabilities. While initially represented as
fractions, to allow comparisons between experiments the use of percentages or decimals is sensible. Getting students
to repeat experiments for a certain number of minutes (rather than a certain number of times) makes it likely that all
groups will have carried out a different number of trials, which can result in students suggesting this representation
quite naturally. This should help students understand that the frequencies are relative to the total number of trials.
The section ends with two approaches to structuring results from experiments. The first, two-way tables, will be familiar
to most students. The second, frequency trees, will be new to most students yet tests have shown that most students
are able to make sense of them with limited intervention.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• I flip a coin a number of times and get eight heads. Is it a fair coin?
It depends how many times you have flipped the coin.
• I flip a coin eight times and get eight heads. Is it a fair coin?
Unlikely to be fair, however we won’t be sure with this number of trials.
• I flip a coin 16/50/1000 times and get eight heads. Is it a fair coin?
Maybe/maybe/no.
• Which is a better game to play: one with a 73 chance of winning or one with a 52 chance? 73 (≈ 0.429) is greater than 52
(= 0.4) so the first game is better to play.
• I flip a fair coin 50 times and, amazingly, get 50 heads. If I flip it a further 50 times, how many heads can I expect out
of 100?
As these are independent events you could argue that you can treat each 50 trials separately. Out of the further 50
times, you would expect to get approximately 25 heads, so 75 in total. Alternatively you could consider the 100 trials
together, in which case you would assume that you would get 50 heads in total.
• In 1913, the ball on a roulette wheel in Monte Carlo landed on black 32 times in a row. Do you think people bet for or
against black?
Exercise 20C(F)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Why do you get a head and tails more often than two heads?
Because there are two different ways to get a head and tails, but only one way to get two heads.
• Rory flips two coins a large number of times. If he managed to get two tails 63 times, can you estimate how many
times Rory repeated the experiment? Can you estimate how many times Rory got two heads? Can you estimate how
many times Rory got a head and tails?
If Rory got two tails 63 times, he would get two heads approximately the same number of times (63) and he would get a
head and a tail approximately double the number of times (126), so we can estimate that Rory repeated the experiment
252 times in total.

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Exercise 20D(F)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) What is the experimental probability of getting tails with the same coin?
25 .
60
Do you think this is a fair coin?
It looks like it is fair, but you need to repeat the experiment many more times to be sure.
• Q3 (F) What is the maximum value for probability?
You cannot have a probability greater than one as one is certain. 63 = 2, so we know that Paul can’t possibly be correct.
Explaining why an answer is incorrect helps students to consolidate their knowledge and helps them avoid the same
mistakes in their own work. What other mistakes could be made?
• Q7 (F) and Q8 (F) Why is the weather forecast for tomorrow going to be more reliable than for five days from now?
Exercise 20E(F)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) Why would a hotel want this information? How can it use it to improve their facilities?
This should prompt student discussion.
• Q2 (F) What fraction of patients who thought they would need a prescription didn’t actually need one?
13
42
What fraction of patients guessed correctly about their need for a prescription?
40
60
(or 23 ).
• Q3 (F) Which do you think medical professionals would prefer in testing: a higher probability of a false positive or a
higher probability of a false negative? Why?
These questions should prompt student discussion.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Biased dice and double-headed (or tailed) coins are readily available from online retailers and can make useful props
for whole class experiments.
Starters or plenaries
• False imprisonment, or unnecessary surgery, are powerful contexts for demonstrating the usefulness of frequency
trees. Experimental probability is always a fall-back when a problem is (too) hard to analyse theoretically. For
example, ‘Stay or Switch: The Monty Hall Problem’. (stayorswitch.com)
Enrichment activities
• The NRICH ‘Which Spinners?’ activity is an interesting task with helpful simulations (nrich.maths.org)
• Students often enjoy being devious, making spinners out of card and matchsticks with surreptitious Blu-Tack placed
to bias it to one face. This can be most effective if the target is to make the bias subtle: eg on a pentagonal spinner,
the experimental probability of landing on the biased side should be no more than 25 per cent.
• Getting across the idea that dice, cards and roulette wheels ‘do not have a memory’ will likely do your students more
good than just in the mathematics classroom.
Assessment ideas
• Pupils identify common errors in solutions created by others. This will check their understanding of how frequency
trees are constructed

SECTION 3H AND SECTION 4F: WORKING WITH PROBABILITY / MIXED PROBABILITY PROBLEMS

This section brings together the concepts learned in earlier sections. Students are invited to consider statements that
could be heard in everyday conversation and use theoretical probability or relative frequency to check the validity of
the statement.

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Probability questions can often be very wordy and some students struggle with knowing where to start. The problem-
solving framework in this section demonstrates how one of these questions can be broken down into steps. In this
example, it asks for the final answer to be expressed as a percentage. Firstly, this provides an opportunity to highlight to
students the importance of reading each question carefully and warn against losing marks in an exam for not expressing
an answer in the desired format. Secondly, students may need practice in converting fractions and decimals into
percentages.
In the exercise, students are given prompts in questions to draw a frequency tree or complete a two-way table in order
to sort information before calculating a probability. However, they may not always receive such prompts in exam
questions. It is therefore worth providing opportunities for students to develop their processing skills by removing this
support initially.
It is also useful for students to work out experimental probability from data presented in different formats, such as
cumulative frequency curves or pie charts, as this gives students an opportunity to increase familiarity with these
statistical graphs.

Prompting questions
Exercise 21E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students that should lead to discussion might be:
• Q3 (H) Which do you think medical professionals would prefer in testing: a higher probability of a false positive or a
higher probability of a false negative? Why?
• Q7 (H) Part a draws out the misconception that students will assume that events are equally likely. Before answering
part b, it is worth asking ‘Does it seem realistic that the probability of a baby being born with blood type AB is 14 ?’
Exercise 20F(F)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students that should lead to discussion might be:
• Q6 (F) You are given a ten day forecast with the chance of rain for each day. Which of these probabilities is the most
reliable and why? Which of these probabilities is the least reliable and why?
• Q7 (F) Which do you think medical professionals would prefer in testing: a higher probability of a false positive or a
higher probability of a false negative? Why?

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• The NRICH ‘Probability Stage 3 – Short Problems’ is a collection of problems which are useful for starters or
extensions. (nrich.maths.org)
Starters or plenaries
• (Higher only) Insurance companies calculate premiums based on the probability of an event happening. How could
they work out what the premium should be for priceless pieces of art? See the news story about a man tripping over
his shoelaces in a museum and breaking several Ming vases. (news.bbc.co.uk)
Discuss other industries that will use probability.
• (Higher only) The NHS Blood Donation website has a bar chart to show current stocks for each blood type. Ask
students what probability questions could be asked based on this bar chart. For example, what is the probability of a
blood donor being O positive? You have the blood type AB negative; how likely is it that there will be the correct type
of blood available? (blood.co.uk)
Plenaries
• Use one of the questions from Exercise 21E (Higher) or Exercise 20F (Foundation), the Chapter review exercise or an
exam-style question as a starting point. Ask pupils to think about other questions that could have been asked based
on the same starting point.
• (Higher only) Give pupils data for how late buses run and how late underground and overground trains run,
presented in different formats. Ask pupils to make a decision on which form of transport is most reliable (has the
smallest probability of being more than 10 minutes late) based on this data.

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Enrichment activities
• The NRICH ‘Do You Feel Lucky?’ task states some of the advice and tips people offer to increase the chance of
winning a game and asks pupils to consider if it is good advice or not. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• Give pupils a question with a lot of information to process before calculating a probability. Through peer assessment
or group / whole class discussion, identify different methods used to sort the information (such as a frequency tree,
two-way table or list) and discuss the efficiency of each method.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• Working with fractions, decimals and percentages.

Future learning

• Interpretation of pie charts, cumulative frequency curves, histograms and other statistical graphs.
• Area of sectors (linked to probability spinners).
• Algebraic expressions and proof.

Gateway to A level

• Use of probability in hypothesis testing.

• Use of symmetries of the normal distribution (complementary events).

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 5, question 6 • Chapter 2, questions 8, 9
• Chapter 6, questions 5, 6 • Chapter 5, question 4
• Chapter 8, questions 2, 3, 4
• Chapter 9, questions 6, 7, 14, 15, 16

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 20 • Chapter 21

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 15 (F) / 14 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 7 (F) / 8 (H) animated widgets
• 13 interactive walkthroughs
• 6 (F) / 4 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 6 (F) / 4 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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21F / 22H Construction and loci

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• Properties of angles.
• Properties of shapes and associated language, including circles.
• Read and write angles and lines using formal notation conventions.
• Measure and construct angles using a protractor.
• Notation conventions including: ⊥ for perpendicular to and  for parallel to.
• Knowledge of basic ratio and scale.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Use knowledge of complements of angles around a point to accurately construct reflex angles using a 180°
protractor.
• Convert metric units of length.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Use ruler, protractor and pair of compasses to • Use ruler, protractor and pair of compasses to
accurately construct angles and shapes. accurately construct angles and shapes.
• Accurately copy diagrams using rulers and a pair of • Accurately copy diagrams using rulers and a pair of
compasses only. compasses only.
Section 2 Section 2
• Construct the perpendicular bisector of a line. • Construct the perpendicular bisector of a line.
• Construct the perpendicular at a given point on a line. • Construct the perpendicular at a given point on a
line.
• Construct a perpendicular from a given point to a line.
• Construct a perpendicular from a given point to a
• Bisect an angle.
line.
• Bisect an angle.
Section 3 Section 3
• Use constructions to solve loci problems. • Use constructions to solve loci problems.
Section 4 Section 4
• Apply appropriate constructions and loci knowledge to • Apply appropriate constructions and loci knowledge
a variety of problems including those with a context. to a variety of problems including those with a
context.

Vocabulary
Radius, diameter, circumference, semi-circle, chord, bisect, midpoint, perpendicular bisector, locus (loci)

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Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students struggle with formal language and notations in geometry. For example when a vertex is labelled B,
students refer to the angle as B forgetting that there are two possible angles this could be, one less than 180° and the
other greater than 180° as a minimum. Having starters based on notation, and highlighting angles and lines given
their label, can help identify and recognise these errors at the beginning. For example:

A
F

E
B G
H

D
C

• Students have problems measuring and drawing angles using a protractor. These problems are mainly born from
their misuse of a protractor. Students either fail to line up the centre of the protractor with the vertex of the angle
or read from the wrong scale of the protractor. Labelling the vertex before they draw the rest of the angle to have
something to line up to and reminding students to always start from 0 on the scale can be helpful in preventing these
problems. In addition to this, reinforcing estimation skills relating to angles, including using games such as NRICH
‘Estimating Angles’ can also support students in recognising their errors in reading from the wrong scale. The tip
in Section 1, which suggests students extend the lines of an angle if struggling to read the size from their protractor,
can also assist them in accurately reading off the size of an angle. (nrich.maths.org)
• Students’ work may not be not accurate enough. It could be that they are struggling to work with their pair of
compasses and pencil. Having a set of Christmas cracker screwdrivers to hand for loose compasses and reminding
students to sharpen their pencils helps with this. Students who struggle to use their pair of compasses because they
put too much pressure on it may find it better to spin the paper not the pair of compasses.)
• Some students struggle to remember how to draw basic constructions. Time spent working on ways to prompt
students memories can be useful, such as considering the constructions as all linked by finding/drawing the
rhombus. If you join all construction points in any construction problem they form a rhombus (see example in
diagram). You could ask students to add these lines to their construction notes so that you can prompt ‘Where is the
rhombus?’

Bisect angle BAC. B

A look for the rhombus

C

You could also encourage students to make their own ‘how to’ guides for each construction as an assessment task.
• Students may want to rub out their construction lines or they may be too faint in the scan of their answer.
Reinforcing that construction lines are mandatory to get the marks and spending time marking exam questions with
students, or scanning in their work to show what problems may occur, can help to prevent this.
• Students who have problems drawing arcs (because they misjudge where they are going to intersect) could draw the
full circle when constructing rather than just the arcs required.

Hooks

• Introducing loci problems with analogies relating to animals tethered to poles and the space they can move within
helps students gain a conceptual understanding of what is going on in loci problems. You could ‘act out’ loci

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problems with the students themselves: using rope to attach them to a fixed point, or, given two students standing
on opposite sides of the classroom, ask students one by one to stand an equal distance between them.

SECTION 1F / 1H: USING GEOMETRICAL INSTRUMENTS

This section revises the basic construction skills students need in this chapter. It focuses on drawing and measuring
angles using a protractor and then teaches students a method for accurately constructing copies of diagrams using a
pair of compasses and a ruler, only for diagrams where a protractor would normally be used, e.g. an AAS triangle.
For weaker students, having diagrams part drawn for Exercise 21A (F) / 22A (H) or providing supporting sketches would
be advisable.

Prompting questions
Whilst working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What is the difference between a sketch and a drawing?
A sketch is not accurate; it only indicates the general diagram.
• Can you sketch what you are being asked to draw first to give an idea of what you could do? General advice which
could help students who are struggling to know what needs to be done without worrying about accuracy.
• What equipment does the question allow you to use?
Make sure students read each line of the question and use the equipment stated.
Exercise 21A(F) / 22A(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1,3,7−8 (F) / Q1,3,7−9 (H) Have you placed the centre of the protractor on the vertex of your angle?
General advice which could help students.
• Q1,3,7−8 (F) / Q1,3,7−9 (H) Which scale are you going to use on your protractor?
The one where the line is on 0.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What do angles around a point sum to? How can we use this information to draw reflex angles?
360°.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What else could we do to draw a reflex angle?
Split our angle into a straight line and the additional part of the angle.
• Q4−6 (F) / Q4−6 (H) If we have the diameter of a circle how can we find the centre of the circle? Hint: what is the
connection between the diameter and the radius of a circle?
The diameter is twice the length of the radius.
• Q8 (F) / Q8 (H) Are there any angle or shape facts you could use to identify what you have to do?
For example what do we know about an equilateral triangle? What do we know about angles around a point?

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Constructing triangles’ is an ideal investigation for students who need some additional practice with a
pair of compasses and those who can gain some additional conceptual knowledge regarding properties of triangles.
(nrich.maths.org)
• True/false triangle constructions based on AAS, SAS and SSS triangle facts are also useful.
Assessment ideas
• Provide solutions to Exercise A that have been photocopied onto OHP acetate (or similar) to allow students to then
overlay them on their own work and self-assess their own accuracy. For simple angle constructions give students

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±2o accuracy guidelines to check their working and give them an idea of how their work will be marked in the exam.
(Note: this also makes a good peer-assessment tool for classes).

SECTION 2F / 2H: RULER AND COMPASS CONSTRUCTIONS

This section again revises ruler and compass constructions. The section starts with bisections of a line and from
there continues this construction to include: constructing a perpendicular at a given point on a line, constructing a
perpendicular from a point to a line. It then covers how to bisect an angle. Throughout all of this chapter you can
suggest students look for the rhombus (see misconceptions above) and when first working on these constructions
students can draw in the rhombus in a different coloured pen.

Prompting questions
Whilst working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Have you opened your compass points enough so that your arcs will intersect?
Students may wish to use a general rule of thumb to help here such as ‘open your compass to 34 of the length of the line.
• Have you kept your pair of compasses at the same width when working on your construction?
The answer hopefully will be ‘yes’.
• Have you labelled all the parts of the shape as required?
Make sure all line segments are appropriately labelled to prevent errors in more complex problems.
Exercise 21B(F) / 22B(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Which construction finds the midpoint of a line?
Perpendicular bisector.
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) What does ⊥ or  mean?
Perpendicular to or parallel to.
• Q4 (F) / Q4, 8 (H) If you have not spotted any patterns or rules yet, what could you do next?
Repeat the investigation.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Assessment ideas
• Use exam questions and photocopy solutions on OHP acetate to give students an idea of how accurate they need to
be and what construction lines will be looked for in the exam.
• Having questions pre-printed saves time and maximises the number of constructions students complete in a lesson.
• Having one or two heavily annotated examples for students to copy up as step-by-step guides for each construction
is often very helpful for future revision of this work. We get students to write them up on A5 card and laminate them
as revision cards to store in their books/folders.

SECTION 3F / 3H: LOCI

(Foundation only) Section 3 introduces the idea that there may be more than one point that solves a problem and
focuses on using constructions to find the paths formed by loci problems.
(Higher only) Section 3 focuses on using constructions to solve a variety of loci problems and explores the idea that the
solution to a problem may be a set of points that form either a line or area. The locus of points may also have to satisfy
more than one condition.
(Foundation and Higher) The images at the end of the section in the chapter offer ample opportunity for students to
discuss the type of shapes and constructions they can see.

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Prompting questions
Whilst working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What language can we use to describe what will happen? What shapes can you see? Is the solution an area or a line?
Exercise 21C(F) / 22C(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Can you draw a picture of the problem being described to help you?
For example, what does a tennis court look like?
• Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) How do I find the centre of a rectangle?
Find the point where the diagonals intersect.
• Q9 (H) Where is a valve on a bike wheel? What is going to happen to this valve as the wheel rotates?
It is attached to the edge of the wheel by the tyre so will go up and down as the wheel rotates (creating a cycloid).

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment Activities
• NRICH ‘How Far Does it Move?’ ties into the ideas being looked at in 22C(H) Q9, based on rotating regular
polygons. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Like a Circle in a Spiral’ is based on a similar idea to the above, and this also makes a nice end of term
activity. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 4F / 4H: APPLYING YOUR SKILLS

This section connects the ideas of the previous section to contextual problems. This adds a layer of complexity related
to drawing and solving problems where a scale is involved.

Prompting questions
Whilst working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Can you sketch the problem to work out what shapes and constructions will be involved? General advice which could
help students who are struggling to know what needs to be done without worrying about accuracy.
• Have you answered the question by clearly stating which line or area is the locus of points required?
Some students may need a general reminder to clearly show their solution.
Exercise 21D(F) / 22D(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2−4 (F) / Q2−4 (H) Are there any properties of shapes that would be useful in this question? e.g. Q2, which diagonal
will be longer
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) Is there any additional information you need to decide to solve this problem? The length of an
average arm so that people can’t reach over the rails to touch the monkey either.
• Q5−6 (F) / Q5−9 (H) What is the scale of the problem? Do you need to convert any lengths to fit your scale diagram?
Yes or they won’t fit on the page. Recommend students use 1 cm : 100 cm (1 m) for their drawings (or 1 cm : 10 m for Q9).
• Q8 (H) What does ‘equidistant’ mean? What constructions can I use to find the line of points equidistant?
Angle or line bisector.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• You could use a range of activities based on maps of the local area, such as treasure hunting or deciding on where to
build a new shop. These tasks take a while to create but are much better when personal to the area students live in.
They can also be differentiated for different classes to include a different number of clues, which can be printed on
card to also promote problem solving skills.

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TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
A lot of the work in this chapter relies on strong geometric foundations in language, notation conventions and
properties of shapes (Chapter 2F / 2H Shapes and solids). A basic knowledge of scale and proportion is also required in
Chapter 19F Ratio / 20H Calculations with ratio.

Future learning
This topic requires accurate use and care of equipment. The development of neatness with drawing is useful for
accurate drawing of straight lines (Chapter 23F / 24H Straight-line graphs). Generally, the accuracy developed should
improve the quality of sketches.

Gateway to A Level
Parametric equations, which are covered in the second year of A level, give a loci of points on the plane given a
parameter. Students will also learn about cycloid curves, similar to the lines formed in the problems related to rolling
shapes in Section 3.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, questions 11, 12 • Chapter 1, questions 3, 4, 15
• Chapter 10, question 15

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 21 • Chapter 22

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 10 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 5 animated widgets
• 3 interactive walkthroughs
• 3 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 3 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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22F / 23H Vectors

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• Basic arithmetic skills including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division (for finding fractions of amounts)
of both positive and negative numbers.
• How to plot coordinates in all four quadrants, understanding that the x- and y- coordinates are distances in
horizontal and vertical directions from the origin.
2 3
• Basic ratio including connections to proportion e.g. 2 : 3 is and of the whole.
5 5
• How to solve simple linear equations.
• How to solve simultaneous linear equations.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• To know what the associative, commutative and distributive laws are and how they apply to basic arithmetic
operations.
• Form and solve simultaneous equations.
• How to use Pythagoras’ theorem to find the length of a line segment in 2D.
• How to use the tangent function to find angles in right-angled triangles.
• What a mathematical proof is. (H)

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Represent vectors as a diagram or column. • Represent vectors as a diagram or column.
Section 2 Section 2
• Apply add and subtract vectors. • Apply add and subtract vectors.
• Multiply vectors by a scalar. • Multiply vectors by a scalar.
• Recognise parallel vectors. • Recognise parallel vectors.
Section 3
• Use vectors to construct geometric arguments and
proofs.

Vocabulary
Scalar, vector, displacement, parallel vectors.

Common misconceptions and other issues

Though in some ways this topic may appear straightforward, there are many possible misconceptions and students can
easily pick up wrong ideas, so care is needed when first teaching this material.
• Confusing x- and y- values
• When working with column vectors, some students confuse the x- and y-axis and which direction of movement the
values refer to. Ask students to recall how coordinates work. Phrases such as ‘x is a cross’ and ‘y to the sky’ may
prove helpful.

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You could also give students a coordinate grid to practice rewriting coordinates as a positions vector from the origin,

()3
for example A = (3, 5) so OA or a = 5 . Be careful that this does not reinforce or introduce the misconception that
all vectors must start from the origin (see next point).
• Assuming all vectors start at the origins
• Students often think that all vectors start at the origin. The term ‘position vector’ is not used in the student book, but
teachers should be aware of the following definitions so they can spot if students begin to treat displacement vectors
as position vectors.
-- position vectors describe the movement to a point on a grid and always start from the origin (in the student
books coordinates rather than position vectors are used to locate positions on a grid).
-- displacement vectors describe the movement between any two points on a grid, and therefore can start
anywhere on the grid depending on the points in question.
A displacement vector can be equal to a position vector, but their starting points will be defined in a different way.
• Understanding that equal vectors are also parallel vectors
• Students sometimes struggle to understand that equal vectors are also parallel vectors. The definition of parallel
x1 x2
( ) ( )
vectors is when one vector can be written as a (scalar) multiple of the other, i.e. y = t y where t is the scalar
1 2
to be found. This is often described to students when they know how to multiply a vector by a scalar, as one vector is
a multiple of the other. It is also important that students understand that equal vectors are also parallel; this is the
case when the scalar is one.
• Students may not understand what –a means geometrically in relation to a. Ask students to draw three vectors and
then to draw their opposite vector on the same grid. For example, the opposite of the vector drawn ‘2 right, 3 up’
would be ‘2 left, 3 down’. This should help students to identify that multiplying a vector by the scalar –1 results in
moving in the opposite direction to the starting vector.
This can also be explained by describing a series of vectors in a geometric problem as a network with a series of
paths, e.g.
A

a B

b
O
  
To find AB you can travel back along the arc a (i.e. AO = −a ) and then along b.
   This can be written as AB =b - a . (Higher
only) If using only displacement vector notation, you can write AB = AO +OB .
Be careful when using the idea of vector problems as networks because it can introduce new problems when
working with midpoints and other values as proportional distances between two points, when students wish to stick
to the grid only. For example, in addition to the information in the diagram above you are told that coordinate M is
   
the midpoint of the line segment AB and are asked to find OM . By considering OM = OA + 1 AB you can simplify to give
 1 1 2
OM = a + b. If students want to stick to the network and the drawn paths then this has little meaning to them,
2 2
whereas with a strong knowledge of equal and parallel vectors students can understand that it is the start and end
points and the movement between them that are important rather than the routes taken.
• Understanding that addition is commutative in vector arithmetic
• Students might need reminding that addition is commutative for vectors as well as numbers. This links into the
previous point about wanting to use only the drawn paths in the diagram above. Given the same vectors above,
additional vectors can be drawn on the diagram to give:
C

A a

a B

b
O

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If students fail tounderstand the importance

      of parallel vectors in describing movement then they will fail to
understand that AC = OA + AC = OB + BC , i.e. AC =a + b = b + a .

Hooks

• A nice way to introduce the idea of a vector, and then ask students what they think it is, is through a clip of
Despicable Me (movie), which you may be able to find online. It introduces the words ‘direction’, and ‘magnitude’ and
produces a discussion point from which you can bring out the definition of a vector and how it differs from a scalar.
• Another way to introduce vectors is to look at line segments on a grid joining two points e.g. a map of an American
city based on a grid/block network showing two points of interest. A discussion could be based on travelling ‘as
the crow flies’ rather than by the grid network, and through this the discussion can move to the need for vectors to
describe movement.

SECTION 1F / 1H: VECTOR NOTATION AND REPRESENTATION

This section introduces the basics of vectors including notation and representation. There are opportunities for
students to go beyond what a vector is and how we can draw it to also consider what it means for vectors to be parallel,
equal and opposite. These ideas are drawn out through the first exercise.

Prompting questions
While introducing the need for vectors, good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• How can you describe any point on a grid/axis?
Using coordinates to define the distance from the origin in terms of the horizontal and vertical distance.
• What are you describing its position in terms of?
Its distance from the origin.
• What is the quickest way to travel from the origin to this point?
Diagonally or ‘as the crow flies’.
• What if you want to describe how to get from coordinate B to coordinate E? Why is this more challenging?
Need to give starting point and x and y movement, and hence introduce need for vectors.
Exercise 22A(F) / 23A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What would the column vector be if the arrows were pointing in the opposite direction?
The same numbers with the opposite polarity.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How else could you describe this ‘opposite’ vector?
It is the original vector multiplied by –1.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Are there any other pairs of vectors that are of interest? What is interesting about them?
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Could you draw on the right-angled triangle to show the movement represented by the vectors given
when finding the new coordinate points?
e.g. for part a, draw a triangle with base 2 units to the right from starting point and then 7 units up.
• What is meant by opposite vectors?
Vectors that are linked by a scale factor of –1, i.e. the same vector where each element has the opposite polarity so it
describes a movement of the same distance in the opposite direction.
• What is meant by equal vectors?
Vectors that describe movement in the same direction for the same distance.
• What is meant by parallel vectors?
The movement is the same direction but they do not necessarily start and finish in the same place on the grid or move
the same distance. One of the vectors will be a multiple of the other, i.e. they are connected by a scale factor.
• Can you give 3 vectors and a coordinate point that together form a right-angled triangle?
• Can you do the same for an isosceles triangle?
• Can you do it for an equilateral triangle?

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• The ideas in the hooks section are nice ways to introduce this topic. Looking at a large coordinate grid (with or
without the underlay of a city) would be a good way to replicate the example in the second hook. Providing multiple
examples of routes to take, e.g. between two referenced points on the grid (defined in terms of their coordinates)
that requires and instructions such as starting at ‘place 1’ head east for three blocks then north for five. Whereas just
saying head east for three blocks then north for five implies you start at (0,0).
Starters or plenaries
• In pairs, students play ‘Vector snakes and ladders’ to help consolidate the use of column vectors. The board is
designed so that the vectors placed on some squares on the board displace the counter in a helpful or not so helpful
way. An alternative is to ask students to write the vectors that describe the movement the snakes and ladders give
on a standard game board.
• A card game of ‘follow me’ or dominoes. A series of points on a grid are projected at the front of the class. One side of
the follow me / domino card gives the label of one of the points and the other side gives a column vector e.g. using
the diagram for question 2 in Exercise 22A (F) / 23A (H), you could have the following cards:

D
( )2
−3

H ( )
−8
4

Students read out their column vector and calculate the point it arrives at using the grid on the board. If another
student’s card has the letter of that point they then continue the game by reading out their column vector. In the
example above, the next card would have the letter A. These cards can be made more challenging for use with
Section 2 by giving a calculation to simplify first, e.g.

D
( ) ( )
8
−12 + 3
−2
3

• The NRICH ‘Vector Journeys’ task pulls out a lot of the above points that come through in Exercise 22A (F) / 23A
(H) about opposite, equal and parallel vectors but there are many more options for exploration and introduction to
addition of vectors (Section 2) in this simple, open task. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 2F / 2H: VECTOR ARITHMETIC

This section introduces students to the basics of vector arithmetic including addition and subtraction of vectors and
multiplication by a scalar. Students are not introduced to other forms of vector multiplication until A level and it’s
probably worth explaining to students that this is one of many forms of multiplication with vectors.

Prompting questions
Exercise 22B(F) / 23B(H)
While working through Exercise B, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How can you use a grid to help? How would these vectors look on the plane? Starting at any grid
point (on square paper) draw each vector successively to find the finishing grid point. Then join up the start and end
points to reveal the single vector that describes the translation.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What do you need for parallel vectors?
To find a scalar multiplier.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What does it mean when a combination of two vectors makes a third?
That the left-hand side combination for movements in the x-direction must be the same as the movement in the
x-direction on the right-hand side of the equality sign. The same is true for the movements in the y-direction.

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• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What do you need to set up in order to find the values x, y, z and t that create these vector equations?
Linear and simultaneous linear equations.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) If the ratio of AC:CB is 1:3, what must be the ratio of the movement in the x-direction of A to C and C to
B?
The same, 1:3.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) If 20 is the movement between A and B in the x-direction, what proportion of 20 is movement from A
to C and what proportion of 20 is movement from C to B?
We can look at the ratio for the x-direction movement as 1:3, with our total of 20 we have a ratio for the x-direction
movement as 5:15 for AC and C to B.)
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) What fraction of the line segment AB is AC if the ratio of AC:CB is 1:3?
One quarter.
• (Higher only) What different types of triangles do you know about and how do you tell them apart?
Equilateral, isosceles, scalene (consider the magnitudes of vectors) and right-angled (in 2D use, consider the gradients
of the line segments

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• As mentioned in Section 1, the NRICH ‘Vector Journeys’ task offers opportunities for students to discover addition
of vectors through exploration. It also gives students concrete examples for drawing on right-angled triangles and
forming a justification for why the x-values and y-values are summed when adding vectors. (nrich.maths.org)
Starters or plenaries
• NRICH ‘Vectors – Short Problems’. Short problems that can be used as starters and plenaries. (nrich.maths.org)
Enrichment activities
• The NRICH ‘Vector Journeys’ task can be extended into a second problem, NRICH ‘Vector Walk’, which explores
all possible combinations of vector addition to arrive at a new coordinate point. By allowing multiple uses of the two
vectors, students can also discover vector multiplication by a scalar as repeated addition. (nrich.maths.org)
• Once students are able to add vectors they can explore those that sum to zero through a closed path (polygon). The
task NRICH ‘Spotting the Loophole’ offers opportunities to practise basic arithmetic on vectors while completing
the task and further consolidates their knowledge through the use of diagrams. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 3F: MIXED PRACTICE

This section gives Foundation students the opportunity to practise the vector arithmetic of the previous sections in a
variety of geometrical situations.

SECTION 3H: USING VECTORS IN GEOMETRIC PROOFS

This section explores the use of vectors to prove geometric results and applies vector arithmetic to solving problems
including finding midpoints. This is the section where students display most misconceptions as they are able to apply
procedure and manipulate vectors, but struggle to reconcile this with their geometric meaning to solve problems. In
addition students’ understanding of mathematical proof can limit their ability to successfully complete the problems in
this section. Students often have more success when they are encouraged to sketch the vectors they are working with
(note: this is a sketch and not an accurate representation of the vectors they are working on).

Prompting questions
Exercise 22C(F) / 23C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) /Q1 (H) How do you reverse a vector?
We take the negative of it.

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• Q2 (F) /Q2 (H) If the vectors describing the movement between the vertices of the triangles are multiples of each
other, what does this mean?
The triangles are similar.
• Q4 (H) How do you know when two vectors are parallel?
One vector is a multiple of the other.
• Q5 (F) How would you write down a vector equation using the movements between the points given?
  
Vector EG = EF + FG .
 
 
• Q6 (H) What do the vectors HI, IJ , and JH tell you about triangle HIJ?
That it is a similar triangle to EFG.
• Q10 (H)
-- What diagram could you draw?
Assume parallel sides for the banks.
-- How can you represent the flow of the river as a vector?
East to west flow is in the negative x-direction.
-- How can you do the same thing for the swimmer?
We assume the swimmer will try and swim 1.5 m per second straight to the other side of the bank. So 1.5 in the
positive y-direction.
-- What will the resulting vector be for the movement?
( )
−3
The vector will look like 1.5 .
Starters or plenaries
• Getting the students to pick out the correct information from a diagram to construct vector equations is a useful
starter or plenary once students have done Sections 1 and 2. A diagram could be displayed and the students must
write down how to get from each vertex to each other vertex.
Enrichment ideas
• Students construct their own shapes from given vectors. The teacher then ask students to show, describe or (Higher
only) prove something about their shape. To differentiate this, suggestions can be given that show certain properties
of 2D shapes, i.e. the diagonals of a square are of equal length.
Assessment ideas
• Pupils could form a poster summarising the vectors material as a class. Each student contributes a sticky note to an
area of the poster based on one of the topics or highlighted points in the chapter. The teacher then helps compile
the poster, either on a whiteboard or the beginnings of a wall display, and students comment on the points that have
been drawn out or any that have been missed.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
This topic provides a good opportunity to return to work on straight-line graphs (Chapter 23F / 24H Straight-line
graphs). There are opportunities to consider the connections between both a line segment, the vector that describes it,
its gradient and its associated right-angled triangle. These are all extension tasks that help consolidate how all these
concepts are connected and prepare students for future study at KS5.

Future learning
x
()
Column vectors are used in transformations (see Chapter 37F / 40H Transformation) to denote a translation y in the
2D plane. Also, when students have covered the Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry chapters, the content here can
be revisited and students can use their new knowledge to look at magnitudes and directions of vectors.

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Gateway to A level
This is a relatively straightforward topic at GCSE that will be built upon at KS5. Having strong foundations in this
concept will be necessary for students to extend their knowledge at A level. In addition to column vectors and
displacement vector notation, students will also learn to write and operate on vectors in their component form and
extend in to 3D. They will also work mainly with position vectors and learn to write the equation of a straight line using a
position vector, displacement vector and scalar, and also convert between Cartesian and vector forms of straight lines.
Students may then also go on to learn additional vector operations, work with vector equations of planes and extend
their linear algebra knowledge to matrices.
Students may also use vectors when they look at acceleration in a given direction and form vector equations of straight
lines where the scalar represents time.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, question 13 • Chapter 1, questions 7, 21
• Chapter 3, questions 2, 12 • Chapter 3, questions 12, 18
• Chapter 6, question 16

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 22 • Chapter 23

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 3 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 3 interactive walkthroughs
• 3 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 3 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper.
• 2 mm graph paper
• Axis grids from -10 to 10 in x and -10 to 10 in y
• Square dotted paper

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23F / 24H Straight-line graphs

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to generate terms in a sequence from a given rule.

• How to identify coordinates of a given point.
• How to manipulate and solve equations.
• How to change the subject of a formula.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• How to substitute values into a formula.

• How to plot points on a coordinate grid.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Use a table of values to plot graphs of linear functions. • Use a table of values to plot graphs of linear
functions.
Section 2 Section 2
• Identify the main features of straight-line graphs and • Identify the main features of straight-line graphs and
use them to sketch graphs. use them to sketch graphs.
• Sketch graphs from linear equations in the form of • Sketch graphs from linear equations in the form of
y = mx + c y = mx + c
• Find the equation of a straight line using gradient and • Find the equation of a straight line using gradient
points on the line. and points on the line.
Section 3 Section 3
• Identify lines that are parallel by considering their • Identify lines that are parallel by considering their
equations. equations.
• Find the equation of a line parallel to a given line • Find the equation of a line parallel to a given line
(perhaps passing through a known point). (perhaps passing through a known point).
• Find the equation of a tangent that touches a circle
centred on the origin.
Section 4 Section 4
• Solve problems involving straight-line graphs. • Solve problems involving straight-line graphs.

Vocabulary
Function, coordinates, gradient, y-intercept, x-intercept, coefficient, constant
(Higher only) tangent

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students sometimes think the constant (+c) tells them the step increase (gradient) when plotting coordinates. It
is vital to ingrain the understanding that the coefficient of x informs us of the gradient and that the ‘+c’ tells us the
starting point on the y-axis.

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• Students occasionally think the ‘+c’ tells them the starting point on the x-axis, rather than the y-axis. Substituting
some x values into the equation of the line will quickly demonstrate their mistake.
• When plotting lines, students often do not look at the big picture: if they have made a mistake in one of their y-value
calculations, the line is no longer straight, but they will nonetheless plot their points regardless. To combat this,
ask students to stop and think about what they have done. If they know an equation of the form y = mx + c gives a
straight line, and their graph is not a straight line, there must be a mistake somewhere in their calculations!

Hooks

• Read out a rule (e.g. my y number is twice my x number) and ask students to think of pairs of numbers (x and y)
that satisfy this rule. Plot these values on a graph, and ask students what they notice. Then ask students if they
could predict any more pairs of numbers that would also satisfy the rule. Can they also write the rule in algebra?
The following sets of equations would produce a good variety and provide the opportunity to look at the effect of
gradient and y-intercept:
• Gradient introduction:
-- My y number is twice my x number.
-- My y number is three times my x number.
-- My y number is the negative of my x number.
• Y-intercept introduction:
-- My y number is two more than my x number.
-- My y number is four more than my x number.
-- My y number is three less than my x number.
• These are useful for introducing rearranging equations:
-- X and Y add up to three.
-- X and Y add up to five.
-- X and two lots of Y add up to seven.

SECTION 1F / 1H: PLOTTING GRAPHS

This section focuses on plotting graphs. In the worked example, the first instruction is to ‘choose some values for x’.
Discuss with students what values of x would be sensible to choose. We can pick any as they are the input values for our
function, but it makes sense to use consecutive values close to zero so that we can plot the points on a reasonably-sized
pair of axes. It is important to continually stress that students should be careful reading scales on graphs: in particular, if
axes do not start from zero or if the two axes use different scales.

Prompting questions
Exercise 23A(F) / 24A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What values of x are you using in your table?
Consecutive integer values close to zero (preferably including at least one negative x value)
Now you have your x- and y-values, what scale(s) do you need to draw on your axes?
Scales that accommodate the least and greatest values of x and y.
Do both axes need to have the same graduations on the scale?
No.
(If a student’s graph is not a straight line) What do you notice about your line? Which value do you think may be
incorrect?
The point that’s not on a straight line with the others.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Why could you not just use two points to plot your graph?
The function may not be linear; you may have calculated one of the y-values incorrectly.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Ask students to put a single point somewhere on their page. How many lines can be drawn through it?
Infinitely many.
Now draw a second dot. How many lines can be drawn that go through both points?
Just one.
While two points may be sufficient to define a line, a third point adds some reassurance that a mistake has not been
made.
• Be a ‘human function machine’. Choose a function (a single operation, initially, perhaps doubling) but do not tell
students. Get them to say numbers to you, which you apply the function to and tell them the output. Students
should aim to guess the function with as few input values and guesses at the function as possible.
Plenaries
• Get students to explain how the y- and x-coordinates of the points that make up a line are related from its equation.
e.g. y = x + 4 has the y-coordinate four more than the x-coordinate; y = 2x means the y-coordinate is always double
the x-coordinate.
• On a coordinate grid with four quadrants, pretend to be an inept student drawing the graph of a linear equation.
Plot at least three points that are not in a straight line. Ask students how to join them up. Encourage students to
identify the features that make an equation linear (e.g. no powers, no variables multiplied together) and that such
an equation will result in a straight line. If points don’t lie on a line, a mistake has been made (most likely because of
poor substitution of numbers, especially negatives).
Enrichment activities
• Create a human graph. Using a narrow roll of paper (e.g. display board edging paper or toilet paper) make axes on
the classroom floor. Write/print numbers on paper to make the scale on each axis. Call out / project an equation
and ask students to create the graph for it. This could be done by asking one student to direct the task or asking a
handful of students to find a pair of coordinates that fit the equation. If one student is directing the task, they should
call on other students to help them firstly create a table of values and secondly to stand on the correct coordinates
on the grid. To reinforce the concept of a straight line, the students marking the coordinates could be given another
roll of paper: if they do not create a straight line, it will be obvious who is in the wrong place by where the paper
bends.

SECTION 2F / 2H: GRADIENT AND INTERCEPTS OF STRAIGHT-LINE GRAPHS

This section focuses on using and identifying the gradient and intercepts of straight-line graphs (including finding the
equation of a straight line through two points). The chapter begins with introducing the key vocabulary (gradient,
y-intercept, x-intercept). It is important that students are familiar with these terms and hold a correct definition of them
so as to avoid confusing their meanings in their calculations.
Much teacher talk about gradient will rely on familiar concepts such as ‘uphill’. It’s vital that students realise that these
descriptions make sense only if we consider a line being drawn from left to right.

Prompting questions
Exercise 23B(F) / 24B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1a (F) / Q1a (H) The line has a gradient of 3. What is the relationship between the line and one with a gradient of –3?
The lines are equally steep, but one slopes ‘uphill’ and the other ‘downhill’. If a mirror was put on the y-axis, they would
be reflections of each other.
Note: reinforcing that they are, in general, NOT perpendicular is important here.
• Q1b (F) / Q1b (H) What does a gradient of 32 mean?
For every two units to the right, go up three.
If I go 20 units to the right, how many up?
30.

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• Q2a (F) / Q2a (H) How does it change the result if we do ‘the first point take away the second’ versus ‘the second
point take away the first’.
It doesn’t. The numerator and denominator will each be the same magnitude as before but the opposite sign (e.g. −3
versus 3). Because both numerator and denominator change sign, the gradient has the same sign as before.
Exercise 23C(F) / 24C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How does the line y = 3x + 2 differ from the line in (a), y = 3x − 2? Playing devil’s advocate: ‘they both
end in 2, so they cross the y-axis at 2’.
While the number at the end is the same, we need to pay attention to the sign in front of it.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Which of these lines is steepest?
The line in (a), since three is the largest gradient.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Which of these lines is steepest? Why is this a more difficult question than for the lines in question 1?
When lines are not in the form y = mx + c, it is not possible to immediately determine the gradient.
• Q3a (F) / Q3a (H) Rearrange 2y = 2x + 2. What do you notice?
It is the same line as in question 3a, since both sides of the equation have been doubled.
• Q4a (F) / Q4a (H) Why might we write this equation y = 4 − 2x rather than y = −2x + 4?
They are equivalent, so we could! But many mathematicians will avoid starting an expression with a negative if it could
be written in another way.
Exercise 23D(F) / 24D(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2a (F) How do you quickly know that there will be no constant term on the lines in (a) and (b)?
Because it goes through the origin, therefore the y-axis intercept is also at the origin.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Starters that review some of the prerequisite techniques would be sensible here:
-- equivalent fractions,
-- subtraction from (and of) negative numbers,
-- division with (and of) negative numbers,
-- substitution into formulae,
-- rearranging linear equations
• Most of these tasks produce a single numerical answer (perhaps including fractions) and so would lend themselves
well to be completed on mini whiteboards for you to gauge understanding.
Starters and plenaries
• Call out a value for the gradient and y-intercept. Ask students to write the corresponding linear equation on a mini
whiteboard and hold it up for you to see. Repeat this with a variety of gradient and y-intercept pairs. This could be
run as a competition (either seeing who could get the correct equations, or who can display the correct equations
quickest).
Plenaries
• When introducing students to the use of the gradient and y-intercept to sketch graphs (i.e. sketching graphs from the
equation) it is important to note that the gradient is the coefficient of x. Students often incorrectly state the gradient
is 3x, rather than 3 (if the equation were, for example, y = 3x + 2). This needs to be addressed to avoid misconceptions
developing, and you can do so by drawing students’ attention back to the definition of the gradient (the steepness of
the line) as a numerical value, not a function of x.
• On a square grid, draw a line extending the length of the board (or paper). Draw on a number of different gradient
triangles, both ‘above’ and ‘below’ the line. Show that all of these, once simplified, result in the same gradient.

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• ‘Simon Says’ graphs: Call out / project linear equations and ask students to demonstrate them using their arms.
Students should use their bodies as the y-axis. The differences in gradients should be seen by students changing
the angle at which they are holding their arms. The change in y-intercept should be seen by students going on their
tiptoes or bending down lower to the floor (for negative y-intercepts). You could give different equations to a few
students at the same time and then ask the rest of the class if they have adequately demonstrated the differences/
similarities, and if not how they could improve.
• Gradient of a vertical line: establish that as a line gets steeper, its gradient is a bigger number. What happens when
the line gets really, really steep (i.e. close to vertical)? How about when it is actually vertical. Infinity might be a
reasonable suggestion, but what does the gradient formula give us? The denominator would be zero, which would
suggest that the gradient is undefined.
Enrichment activities
• The computer activity NRICH ‘Diamond Collector’ provides good practice at working out equations of lines in a
game context that requires mathematical creativity. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 3F / 3H: PARALLEL LINES (F) / PARALLEL LINES, PERPENDICULAR LINES AND TANGENTS (H)

In Foundation, Section 3 focuses only on parallel lines. In Higher tier, perpendicular lines and tangents are also
considered.

Prompting questions
Exercise 23E(F) / 24E(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) What would be the equation of a line that is parallel to the odd one out?
Any line of the form y = x + c.
• Q2a (F) / Q1a (H) What equation did you solve to find the value of a?
The equation 2a − 3 = 3.
• Q4c (F) / Q3 (H) How did you prove that ABCD is a parallelogram?
Showed that opposite sides are parallel. Any other ways? For example show diagonals bisect each other or that both
pairs of opposite angles are congruent.
• Q5 (F) / Q4 (H) Why can’t we write vertical lines in the form y = mx + c?
Because their gradient is undefined, therefore there cannot be a value for m. Instead they can be written in the form x =
a where a is the x-axis intercept.
Exercise 24F(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) Convince me that y = 4x is perpendicular to 4y + x = −2.
The gradient of the second line is − 14 . If you multiply − 1 by 4 you get −1, hence they are perpendicular.
4
• Q4 (H) What are the gradients of the diagonals of the square?
Since the gradient of AB is 1, i.e. a line at 45° to the axes, then the diagonals of the square will be vertical (i.e. undefined)
and horizontal (i.e. zero).
• Q4 (H) How many different points could vertex C be?
Two, (3, 8) or (5, 6). If C is (3, 8), what is D? (2, 7).
• Q7 (H) Alternatively, how could you use Pythagoras’ theorem to show the triangle is right-angled?
Work out the lengths of the three sides. If the triangle satisfies Pythagoras’ theorem, it is right-angled.
Exercise 24G(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) Tell me another point on the circle with a tangent of the same gradient.
On the opposite side of the circle at (−3, 4).

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• (Higher only) A starter refreshing students’ knowledge of reciprocals would be beneficial. For example project
six pairs of reciprocal numbers on the board, mixed up, and ask students to find the matching pairs. OR: Call out
a number and ask students to write the reciprocal on mini whiteboards. Ensure you include integers, which many
students find hard to find a reciprocal for if their understanding only extends to ‘a flipped fraction’.
Plenaries
• Write the equation of a line on the board, e.g. y = 2x + 3. Hold a ‘closest unique bid auction’ where students must
write on a mini whiteboard the equation of a line that is parallel/perpendicular to the given line with an integer
y-intercept. The winner is the student that gets closest to +3 without any other student in the room also having the
same intercept.
• Pre-prepare pairs of equations that are parallel, perpendicular or neither. Students could hold up cards to indicate
which of the three classifications they believe to be true.
Enrichment activities
• Get students to investigate the effect of plotting a line with a ‘normal’ reciprocal, rather than negative reciprocal, of a
2 3
line. For example plot both y = 3 x + 7 and y = 2 x + 7. How are they related geometrically?
These would be a reflection in the line y = x + 7.
• An unusual use of negative reciprocals is considered in the problem NRICH ‘Twisting and turning’.
(nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 4F / 4H: WORKING WITH STRAIGHT-LINE GRAPHS

This section focuses on interpreting straight-line graphs: determining the equation of a straight line; calculating the
gradient from given information; using graphs to model and solve problems, including simultaneous equations.

Prompting questions
Exercise 23F(F) / 24H(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3a (H) Why would a value of m = 1, so y = x – 2, not intersect the first line?
Having the same gradient means it is parallel. Since it has a different y-intercept the lines are distinct, so will not cross.
• Q4d (F) / Q5d (H) Would the line y = 1.01x + 999 intersect y = x + 3? They are nearly parallel, after all.
Yes, since any lines that are not parallel will intersect. For those lines, this happens at (−99600, −99597).
• Q9 (F) / Q10 (H) Find the gradients of the diagonals of the square.
0 and undefined.
Are the diagonals of a rhombus always perpendicular, or just this one because it’s a square?
Always.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• If students are familiar with a method for solving linear simultaneous equations, get them to solve (for example) x +
3y = 6 and 2x – y = 5. Students can then rearrange these equations into the form y = mx + c and sketch them, noting
that the point of intersection is the solution to the simultaneous equations. Is this a coincidence that just works for
this pair of equations?
Starters or plenaries
• Ask students to choose an equation of the form y = mx + c, and plot it on a sheet of graph paper, writing the equation
on the back of the sheet. These graphs can then be passed along to their neighbour and each student will have a
different graph for which they can work out the equation (and check they are correct by looking on the reverse of the
paper).

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Plenaries
• Give students a graph with a hexagon (or other polygon) drawn on it. Ask students to work out the equations of the
lines that make up the edges of the hexagon.
Enrichment activities
• The NRICH ‘Reflecting Lines’ activity gets students to think about the equation of lines that have been reflected
in the y-axis. In particular, it should encourage students to think about what the gradient represents and how a
reflection in the vertical axis changes the gradient. (nrich.maths.org)

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• This chapter provides ample practice at rearranging linear equations, e.g. to turn 2x + 3y = 25 into the form y = mx
+ c. For questions where graphs are drawn for students, they should be encouraged to check that their rearranged
equation is plausible, e.g. the gradient has the correct sign.

Future learning

• Chapter 24F / 25H Graphs of functions extends the work on straight-line graphs, considering exponential and
trigonometric graphs.
• Problems involving direct proportion are considered in Chapter 33F / 35H Proportion. These problems can be
represented or solved using straight-line graphs. Straight-line graphs are used in Chapter 39H Interpretation of
graphs when the focus is on interpreting graphs.
• Chapter 36H Algebraic inequalities uses the skills of drawing straight lines to represent algebraic inequalities in the
plane.
• Tangents to circles are considered in greater depth when investigating circle theorems in Chapter 27H Circles.

Gateway to A level

• In linear programming (using graphs to find the optimal solution to a problem), we draw graphs with ‘constraints’
represented as straight lines. Doing so quickly and accurately is key. These are frequently in the form ax + by = c,
rather than y = mx + c.
• Finding and using the equations of tangents and normals is a major part of the use of calculus. We frequently know
the gradient of the line as well as a single point it passes through, so finding the equation of the line relies on the
ideas in this topic.
• In A level we make much more use of the tangents to circles, which are straight lines.
• The concepts of gradients and coordinates are used heavily in vector methods, which are particularly helpful in
solving problems involving straight lines in three dimensions.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 5, question 11 • Chapter 5, question 11
• Chapter 6, question 4
• Chapter 8, question 20

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Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 23 • Chapter 24

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 20 (F) / 22 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 10 animated widgets
• 25 (F) / 26 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 9 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 9 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper
• 2 mm graph paper
• Axis grids from -10 to 10 in x and -10 to 10 in y

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24F / 25H Graphs of functions and equations

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• Plot and interpret straight-line graphs including identifying gradients and y-intercepts.
• Solving linear equations to find the y or x coordinate given the x or y coordinate respectively.
• Identifying or constructing parallel lines given an equation of a straight line (in any form).
• (Higher only) Identifying or constructing perpendicular lines given an equation of a straight line (in any form).
• Generate a table of values from a given function.
• How to find roots of a quadratic equation algebraically (including completing the square).

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Fluency with calculating square and cube numbers.

• Fluency when calculating negative numbers.
• Fluency with the laws of indices.
• Ability to set up and solve simultaneous equations.
• How to describe a line of symmetry as a straight-line equation.
• Properties and definitions of quadrilaterals.
• (Higher only) Knowledge of the trigonometric functions sine, cosine and tangent.
• (Higher only) Exact trigonometric ratio values e.g. sin 90, cos 90, sin 45 etc.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Able to work fluently with equations of straight-line • Able to work fluently with equations of straight-line
graphs. graphs.
Section 2 Section 2
• Identify and plot graphs of quadratic functions i.e. • Identify and plot graphs of quadratic functions i.e.
parabolas. parabolas.
• Find roots of quadratic equations from the x-intercept • Find roots of quadratic equations from the
of the parabola of the quadratic equation that defines x-intercept of the parabola of the quadratic
the graph. equation that defines the graph.
• Know the features of graphs of quadratic equations. • Know the features of graphs of quadratic equations.
• Be able to sketch parabolas. • Be able to sketch parabolas.
Section 3 Section 3
• Work fluently with cubic polynomials and their graphs. • Work fluently with cubic polynomials and their
graphs.
• Be able to sketch cubic graphs.
• Be able to sketch cubic graphs.
• Work fluently to calculate reciprocals of numbers and
plot functions involving reciprocals. • Work fluently to calculate reciprocals of numbers
and plot functions involving reciprocals.
• Identify hyperbolas and match them to their equations.
• Identify hyperbolas and match them to their
equations.

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Section 4 Section 4
• Plot and sketch graphs from given functions. • Plot and sketch graphs from given functions.
• Recognise linear, quadratic and reciprocal graphs. • Recognise linear, quadratic and reciprocal graphs.
• Identify and plot exponential graphs.
• Identify and plot trigonometric graphs.
Section 5
• Represent a circle given its centre on the origin and
radius r by a function.
• Identify equations of circles from their graphs.

Vocabulary
(Foundation) Quadratic, parabola, polynomial, reciprocal
(Higher) Exponential function, exponent, periodic graph

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students find it difficult to make connections between the algebraic world and the geometry it can describe.
Reinforce the connection between the two by referring to an equation of the form y = f(x) and asking what graph we
can get from it or, given a graph, asking how it could be described algebraically. A graph/equation here is taken to be
one of straight-line/linear, parabola/quadratic or hyperbola/reciprocal, as given in the text.
• The main misconception when moving from equation to the graph has been students using their calculators to
calculate a table of values for a quadratic function and incorrectly squaring negative numbers. This results in a graph
that is not a parabola. Remind students of their number work and ask the question ‘what does happen if we square a
negative number?’
• When students move from graphing linear functions to quadratic functions they sometimes have a desire to connect
the points with straight lines and consequently the plotted points of their quadratic are connected with line
segments rather than a smooth curve. Some students struggle to connect the points with a smooth curve and they
can be given additional practice by placing their plotted points on the grid into a plastic wallet and treating it like a
whiteboard.
• Terminology is very important for this chapter and students often use equation when they mean expression. You can
reinforce the correct terminology by using appropriate language at all times.
• Students may not have a good grasp of what the word ‘reciprocal’ means. A starter based on matching up reciprocal
numbers could help to reinforce the meaning of the word. Further to this, basic number knowledge of cubed
negative numbers is essential for this section in order to calculate a table of values. Again, a starter based on ‘tick or
trash’ for the correct calculations for (−2)3 or −(−2)3 or −(2)3.
• (Higher only) Students often confuse the trigonometric functions with each other. Using an acronym (such as
SOHCAHTOA) has been useful in tackling this problem.
• (Higher only) Students’ understanding of what a function actually is can be weak. Students can be familiar with
‘function machines’ from earlier material but this can sometimes confuse the situation here where function means
something very specific. A function has an input given by a set of values, the domain, and has an output set of
values, the range. In addition to this, a function has one output for each input. Students need to use this language to
become comfortable with it and must be corrected when using the incorrect vocabulary.
• (Higher only) (x + y)2 is not equal to x2 + y2. This can be addressed by a series of counter examples.
• Something to be aware of: Sometimes the language we use causes conflicts in students’ acquisition of knowledge. In
this chapter it is down to the word reciprocal. When pupils learn about reciprocals in number they learn that it is the
value you multiply a given number by to make one, i.e. it is one divided by their starting number. However, despite
the fact pupils will encounter more reciprocal functions in A level trigonometry in this chapter a reciprocal function
a
refers specifically to those in the form . It is not one divided by their given function.
x

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Hooks

• Graphs are a very useful way to display collected data. Being able to fit a line of best fit to the data is very useful for
predicting what might happen for a different value. Therefore, knowing what different types of graphs look like helps
when fitting different types of equations to the line of best fit. Having a program like GeoGebra open and allowing
the students to either make suggestions for the functions f(x) to plot or give common functions i.e. ax + b and ask
what they might look like before plotting.
• René Descartes used algebra to describe geometry. This connection goes both ways and has allowed
mathematicians and scientists to solve problems in algebra via a geometric solution and, vice versa, problems in
geometry using algebra. On the most basic level, having a graph of a function y = f(x) shows you straight away if you
have any solutions to the equation c = f(x), where c is a constant.

SECTION 1F / 1H: REVIEW OF LINEAR GRAPHS

This section focuses on reviewing the material learnt in 23F / 24H Straight-line graphs. The section goes through a recap
of graphs of the form y = mx + c and describing vertical and horizontal lines.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section, good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• How many different ways can we represent a straight-line graph at this stage?
The classic equation y = mx + c, the more general ax + by + c = 0 and as an angle made with either the x-axis or y-axis at
the point (x, 0) or (0, y) respectively.
• How can we describe lines parallel to the x-axis/y-axis?
We can do this with equations of horizontal/vertical lines.
• How does changing the gradient m in the equation y = mx + c of the line change the graph?
The gradient of the graph controls how ‘steep’ the straight line is, taken from the positive x-axis. The larger the value of
m the steeper the straight line is.
• How does changing the y-intercept c in the equation y = mx + c of the line change the graph? The y-intercept controls
where the straight line intercepts (cuts) the y-axis.
• Why do we often prefer an equation of a straight-line graph in the form y = mx + c?
Having the straight-line graph represented by the equation y = mx + c makes it easier to read off the gradient and
y-intercept of the graph.
Exercise 24A(F) / 25A(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Can we write down an example for each case?
For Q1a, (3,3) must lie on the line.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What pieces of information do we need to find an equation of a straight-line graph?
The gradient and y-intercept are the most useful pieces of information at this stage.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) How do we find an equation of a line parallel to a given line?
We need to know the gradient, as the gradients of both lines must be equal.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) What is different about these equations compared with y = mx + c?
They are not in the same format, they are either x = c or y = c, where c is an integer and hence given horizontal or vertical
lines.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) What are the definitions of the different types of quadrilaterals?
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) How can we find an equation of a straight line given two points?
We need to calculate the gradient first.
• Q7 (H) How much information do we need to make a sketch of a straight-line graph?
We need to either know two points or a point and the gradient of the line.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• A matching activity for straight-line graphs. Equations and graphs are hidden behind card or moveable rectangles on
an IWB. Each student gets a chance to match up the graphs to an equation by revealing two cards each time. If they
are correct the pair stay revealed, if not they are hidden and you start again.
Starters or plenaries
• A ‘tick or trash’ selection of slides where the students vote on whether the graph displayed is given with the correct
equation.
Plenaries
• A mathematical trail of straight-line graphs: starting with a specific equation and apply a series of ‘transformations’
to the equation to create new straight-line graphs with different properties. For example: start with y = x, we now
want a line parallel to this but going through the point (0, 3). Take y = x + 3 and now we want a straight line that has
the same x coordinate when the y = 5 but has a gradient of three. The students can work as teams or individually and
come out to the board to explain.
Enrichment activities
• See tasks given in Chapter 23F / 24H Straight-line graphs.
Assessment ideas
• Since this section is a review and recap of the material from Chapter 23F / 24H Straight-line graphs, Straight-line
graphs students can form pairs and construct revision guides for the material they learnt in that chapter. This task
could be used as a consolidation task for Chapter 23F / 24H Straight-line graphs and then used in this series of
lessons. The guides could be given out (not necessarily to the same students who made them) and used to review
previous learning.

SECTION 2F / 2H: QUADRATIC FUNCTIONS

This section focuses on quadratic functions. The section starts by getting the students to plot quadratic equations
from a table of values. This is then extended after Exercise B to identify the common features of the graphs (parabolas)
the students have just plotted. The key features (turning point, axis of symmetry, y-intercept, x-intercept) are then
calculated for a set of examples before inviting the students to do this in Exercise C. The section ends with worked
examples of sketching quadratic graphs.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section, good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What is a parabola?
The curve we get from graphs given by quadratic equations.
• What form can an equation for a parabola take?
y = ax2 + bx + c
• How do we get ‘u’ shaped parabolas? How do get ‘n’ shaped parabolas?
The coefficient of the x2 term, a, in ax2 + bx + c controls this particular part of a parabola.
• What happens when you square negative numbers?
They become positive.
• How can you plot the graph of a function given a table of values?
The x and corresponding y value form a coordinate, all of which sit on the curve of the quadratic.
• Where does the parabola cut the y-axis?
At the point where x = 0.
• Does the parabola given by y = ax2 + bx + c cut the x-axis? What does this tell you about the quadratic ax2 + bx + c = 0?
That it has either two (cuts the x-axis twice), one (touches the x-axis) or no (does not touch or cross the x-axis) solutions.

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• Where is the turning point on your graph?

The point where the gradient is zero known here as the vertex of the parabola (Higher) or simply where the curve ‘turns’
(Foundation).
• What is our procedure for sketching a parabola given by y = ax2 + bx + c? How can we start? If we complete the
square on our quadratic expression ax2 + bx + c, since this makes it easier to determine the coordinates of the
maximum/minimum point. Or we could determine the shape of the parabola, given by a > 0 or a < 0. Or we could
attempt to factorise the quadratic ax2 + bx + c to find the roots. Or we could find the y-intercept but substituting x = 0
into ax2 + bx + c.
Exercise 24B(F) / 25B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) and Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What happens when you square a negative number? You get a positive number.
• Q3 (H) The questions in this section are excellent for promoting thought.
Exercise 24C(F) / 25C(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What does it mean to have an axis of symmetry?
The line about which the curve is symmetric.
• Q2 (F) How can we determine if the coefficient of the x2 term is positive/negative?
The graph will be a ‘U’ shape.
• Q2 (H) Where have you seen this type of form before for a quadratic expression?
This is completing the square.
What happens when x = h?
When x = h we have a maximum or minimum for the parabola.
What happens when x = 0?
When x = 0 we get the y-intercept.
Exercise 24D(F) / 25D(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) What is the basic shape of a parabola? What happens when x2 has a coefficient that is negative?
The parabola is n shape rather than u.
• Q2 (F) Could we sketch a few examples?
• Q2 (H) How could you use question 1 to help answer this question?
Question 1 can give a guide to the type of features each parabola should have given its equation.
• Q3 (F) How do we do this?
We are looking at in intersection of the parabolas with y = 0.
• Q4 (F) / Q2 (H) What is our process for sketching a parabola?
See bullet points before worked example.
• Q5 (F) / Q1 (H) How could we group the graphs? What does this mean for each graph that can be paired together?
Some parabolas are n shaped while some are u shaped, this tells us that the coefficient of the x2 term is either negative
or positive respectively.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• ‘Guess the graph’ to get students in the mindset of recognising a parabola. Have a series of pictures that are either
parabolas or not.
Starters or plenaries
• Having a few quadratic equations on the board, which need to be sketched within a certain time frame. Points are
awarded for accurate sketches and appropriate labelled information. This can be turned into a quick fire game, with
two students competing in front of the class.

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Plenaries
• Have a series of graphs, with their equations, where some information is given from the list: turning point,
y-intercept, x-intercept and axis of symmetry. The students need to decide if all information that can be given is
given about the parabola. If it is not, they need to either find the missing information through calculations, or justify
why it was not present in the first place.
Enrichment activities
• The activity NRICH ‘Parabolic Patterns’ allows for the use of GeoGebra or a graphical calculator to give the
students a chance to consolidate their recently gained knowledge of identifying an equation of a parabola. (nrich.
maths.org)
-- For Foundation students you may want fewer parabolas.
-- For Higher students you can increase the difficulty by attempting the activity NRICH ‘More Parabolic Patterns’.
(nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• Allowing the students to work in pairs to explore graphs of equations of the form y = ax2 + bx + c by varying the
coefficients graphically first and then requiring them to discuss their paired work in a group of four. Once they have
discussed what they have found as a group they can present or compile an A3 size poster on what they found. Either
the presentations can be peer assessed or the poster can be displayed in the classroom and peer assessed. Key
issues can then be summarised as a class and any misconceptions highlighted.

SECTION 3F / 3H: OTHER POLYNOMIALS AND RECIPROCALS

This section focuses on sketching polynomials of degree higher than two and graphs of reciprocal functions. The word
polynomial is brought in as key vocabulary in this section but should be introduced as early as possible when defining
what a quadratic expression/equation is. During this section the common features of cubic graphs are discussed and
sketching reciprocal functions from a table.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section, good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• How do we write a general quadratic expression?
ax2 + bx + c, a not equal to zero.
• How can we write a general cubic expression?
ax3 + bx2 + cx + d, a not equal to zero.
• What are the similarities and differences between cubic and quadratic graphs?
Both graphs always have a y-intercept. Cubic graphs always have at least one x-intercept. (Higher only: how could we
prove this?)
• What does the coefficient of the x3 term in a cubic function control?
Either we get an increasing curve (a > 0) or a decreasing curve (a < 0).
• What is the reciprocal of three?
1
3

• What is the reciprocal of x?

1.
x
• What is the general form for a reciprocal function?
a
y = , a not equal to zero.
x
• What is the name of the graph we get?
A hyperbola.

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• What happens as the x values get closer and closer to 0?

1
If we approach from the positive x values, we get that gives a very large positive number. If we
very small positive number
1
approach from the negative x values, we get that gives a very large negative number.
very small negative number
Exercise 24E(F) / 25E(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What is the result of −(−2)3?
Eight.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Use question 1 to help.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What patterns have you noticed?
The negative cubic graphs are a reflection in the y-axis.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) How do these two graphs look in comparison with y = x3?
They are the same shape but moved up in the positive y-axis direction or down in then negative y-axis direction.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) What patterns have you noticed? What can you say about y = x3 −9?
This curve will be like y = x3 but moved down so that it crosses the y-axis at (0, −9).
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) What is happening each time to our basic cubic y = x3?
It is being ‘translated’ up and down the y-axis.
• Q7 (H) How could you keep track of all the substitutions required in these questions?
We could create an extended table to calculate each of the components.
Exercise 24F(F) / 25F(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What happens when we divide a negative number by a negative number?
We get a positive number.
1
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) How do these graphs compare with the graph of y = x and y = – 1x ?
They are stretched or compressed versions of them.
• Q3 (F) How can we use question 2 to help us answer question 3?
We have a set of graphs on the same grid we can use to compare the different functions.
1 1
• Q4 (F) / Q3 (H) What do we calculate first: x or x + 1 for y = x + 1?
1
We do and then add one.
x
• Q5 (F) / Q4 (H) Can we use questions 2 and 3 to help with this question?
We are taking the basic reciprocal graph y = 1x and adding positive numbers to each of the y coordinates.
• Q6 (F) / Q5 (H) What does it mean ‘line of symmetry’? How can we try an example?
• Q6 (H) Which values of x should we not use here?
x = −2 for part (b) and x = 2 for part (c).
• Q7 (H) Can we predict what the graphs will look like before we plot them?
• Q8 (H) Have we seen anything like this before? Are there any negative y coordinates?
The quadratic graph y = x2 has no negative y coordinates.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• What type of graph? Have a series of graphs displayed based on the graphs from this chapter. The students must
identify the correct type of graph.
Enrichment activities
• As an introduction to the topic of reciprocal graphs this NRICH ‘More Realistic Electric Kettle’ activity could be
used. This activity also has connection to a task that could happen in the students’ science lessons and offers an
opportunity to combine such a lesson. The students get a chance to plot a curve and find a way to figure out the
equation of the line. (nrich.maths.org)
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Assessment ideas
• Students have learnt about a new graph to add to their bank of common graphs in this section. Students could
make a revision guide accompanied by a question for a reciprocal graph. They then give their guide and question
to another student who answers the question and comments on the revision guide. The guides can be gathered
together and stored for revision purposes.

SECTION 4F: PLOTTING, SKETCHING AND RECOGNISING GRAPHS

This section consolidates the material from Sections 1 to 3. The section contains an overview of the material as bullet
points and an exercise.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section, good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• How do we tell which type of graph we have? Is it a line or curve?
The shape of the curve distinguishes certain graphs and if they are continuous functions (that is, you can draw your
graph without taking your pencil off your graph paper).
• How do we determine which type of algebraic function we have?
Polynomials differ from reciprocal functions. Polynomials can be distinguished by their highest power of x.
Exercise 24G(F)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) How could we test some of the claims in the questions?
We can substitute values in or use examples given in exercises before this one.
• Q2 (F) What do the equations have in common?
They all give straight lines.
• Q3 (F) Which equations will give the same type of graphs? (a), (b), (c) are quadratic functions, (d) is a cubic functions
and (e) and (f) are reciprocal functions.
• Q4 (F) How do we find x-intercepts for quadratic functions?
We look where the line y = 0 crosses the parabolas.
• Q5 (F) What does it mean for a quadratic equation to have two roots?
This means the parabola given by the quadratic equation crosses the x-axis twice.
• Q6 (F) How can we categorise the graphs and equations?
Reciprocal, straight-line, quadratic and cubic graphs.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• The NRICH ‘Guessing the Graph’ activity can be used for students to make their own data, plot the data and use
their knowledge of the graphs of different functions to suggest possible curves to fit to the data. (nrich.maths.org)
• This NRICH ‘What’s That Graph?’ activity can be used to draw connections between the physical world and the
mathematics the students have covered in this chapter. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 4H: EXPONENTIAL AND TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS

This section focuses on exponential and trigonometric functions and you may choose to defer this topic until after
students have learnt about trigonometric functions in Chapter 33H Trigonometry. The section defines what exponential
growth is and what exponential functions are. Students will be exposed to the terminology of exponent and will need
to be fluent at manipulating indices. Following this the section recalls the definitions of the trigonometric functions sin,
cos and tan, and concentrates on constructing their graphs from tables of values, introducing the notion of a period for
a graph. The final part of the section moves on to recognising the trigonometric functions from their graph.

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Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section, good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• How were the trigonometric functions first introduced to you?
They are connected with right-angled triangles and can be used to find side lengths and angles in such triangles. Angles
are the inputs to the function (the domain).
• Can you use your calculator to calculate the value of a trigonometric function at a certain angle?
• What happens at tan 90?
From our right-angled triangle we can see that this would be undefined, since the sum of the interior angles of a triangle
is 180° and we would have two angles that sum to 180°.
• How could we remember some useful trigonometric function outputs for certain angles?
We can use a right-angled, isosceles triangle of side lengths 1, 1 and 2 to describe the value of sin 45°, cos 45° and tan
45°. We can use a similar technique for finding the output of trigonometric functions with input 30° and 60° using an
equilateral triangle of side length 2, cut into two to create a right-angled triangle.
Exercise 25G(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What is the value of x0, where x is any number?
1.
• Q1 (H) How should we connect the point calculated in our table of values?
With a smooth curve.
• Q2 (H) Which part of the graph y = 4x will be above/below the curve y = 2x, why?
The critical value here is x = 0. Any number raised to the power zero is 1. Thus, for x > 0 y = 4 x ‘dominates’ y = 2 x. However,
when x < 0 y = 2 x ‘dominates’ y = 4 x.
• Q3 (H) How does this graph compare with the one from question 2?
( ) is the image of y = 4 reflected in the y-axis. Why? We can write ( ) as 4 to a negative power of x using the index
x x
1 1
y= 4
x
4
laws.
• Q4 (H) What happens if you raise 1 to any power?
It is still 1.
• Q5 (H) What value is the base of the exponent and why does this matter?
0.85, which is less than one so powers of 0.85 will produce smaller numbers than 0.85.
Exercise 25H(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What does it mean for a function to have a maximum/minimum value?
It means that the range of the function is always less/greater than or equal to this value.
• Q2 (H) What do trigonometric graphs look like?
They are periodic.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• An activity where students are asked to suggest an equation for a given graph. The class can debate the students’
responses.
Enrichment activities
• This NRICH ‘Tangled Trig Graphs’ task is meant for an extension as it stands but can be adapted for use with Higher
GCSE students by removing some graphs. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• The students can use mini whiteboards to sketch the graphs of equations given to them.

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SECTION 5H: CIRCLES AND THEIR EQUATIONS

This section focuses on an equation of a circle with its centre on the origin and a radius of r. The students will be
required to recognise circle equations and suggest circle equations for a given graph.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section, good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• How are circles described?
One way is a locus of points a given distance away from a centre.
• What will equations of circles look like for us?
x2 + y2 = r2.
Exercise 25I(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 and Q3 (H) How can we tell when a point lies on any curve, not just a circle?
We can substitute the x and y coordinates into the equation.
• Q2 and Q4 (H) How can each of these questions help you answer the other?
Question 2 asks you to sketch the circles from an equation, while question 4 asks you to determine an equation for each
of the drawn circles.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Given a set of circles match them to their equations.
Enrichment activities
• Given a set of circles of different radii, centred on the origin, and equations of these circles not centred on the origin,
see if the students can:
-- firstly identify which circle equations are based on which original circles (before moving them from the origin)
using graphing software;
-- secondly, discuss and investigate how their equations are connected.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
This chapter links back right back to Chapter 4F / 4H Properties of numbers, Chapter 5F / 5H Introduction to algebra and
Chapter 15F / 16H Functions and sequences for the basic manipulation of numbers and algebra. There are also strong
connections with Chapter 23F / 24H Straight-line graphs (which is recapped in this chapter).

Future learning
The future chapters of Chapter 32F / 34H Growth and decay and Chapter 33F / 35H Proportion.
(Higher only) There are also connections with Chapter 31F / 33H Trigonometry.
(Higher only) The future chapter of Chapter 27H Circles, Chapter 39H Interpretation of graphs and has strong links with
Chapter 41H Transforming curves.

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Gateway to A level
A level mathematics further develops the connections between algebra and geometry. Students who go on to A level
will be expected to be fluent in moving between descriptions of the function as a graph and as an equation, and will
further their knowledge of circles not centred on the origin. Further to this they will need to answer questions of the
type: given two graphs y = f(x) and y = g(x) on the same pair of axes, what do the number of intersections mean for the
solutions of the equation f(x) = g(x)?
From an application point of view, simple harmonic motion, projectiles and parabolic motion are studied and have
foundations in this chapter.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 8, question 6

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 24 • Chapter 25

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 10 (F) / 24 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 4 (F) / 10 (H) animated widgets
• 13 (F) / 23 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 4 (F) / 8 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 4 (F) / 8 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper
• 2 mm graph paper
• Axis grids from -10 to 10 in x and -10 to 10 in y

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25F / 26H Angles

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• The sum of the interior angles in a triangle.

• Notation conventions for labelling angles and lines; including naming a line, e.g. DE, and an angle, e.g. ∠FED.
• Properties of shapes.
• Ability to use basic arithmetic to find complements to 180° and 360°.
• (Foundation only) How to form and solve linear equations with the unknown on one side of the equation.
• (Higher only) How to form and solve linear equations where the unknown is on both sides of the equation.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• How to measure an angle using a protractor.

• What a variable is and how it can be used to form a formula.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Recall knowledge of basic angle facts including: • Recall knowledge of basic angle facts including:
vertically opposite angles, angles on a line and around vertically opposite angles, angles on a line and
a point. around a point.
• Application of basic angle facts to find the size of angles • Application of basic angle facts to find the size of
in various scenarios. angles in various scenarios.
Section 2 Section 2
• Recall knowledge of parallel line angle facts including: • Recall knowledge of parallel line angle facts
alternate angles, co-interior angles and corresponding including: alternate angles, co-interior angles and
angles. corresponding angles.
• Application of basic and parallel angle facts to find the • Application of basic and parallel angle facts to find
size of angles in various scenarios. the size of angles in various scenarios.
Section 3 Section 3
• Understand a proof for the sum of the interior angles of • Understand a proof for the sum of the interior angles
a triangle being 180°. of a triangle being 180°.
• Understand a proof for the exterior angle of a triangle • Understand a proof for the exterior angle of a
being equal to the sum of the opposite interior angles. triangle being equal to the sum of the opposite
interior angles.
Section 4 Section 4
• Calculate the sum of the interior angles of any polygon. • Calculate the sum of the interior angles of any
polygon.
• Calculate the size of a single interior angle of a regular
polygon. • Calculate the size of a single interior angle of a
regular polygon.
• Calculate the size of a single exterior angle of a regular
polygon. • Calculate the size of a single exterior angle of a
regular polygon.

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Vocabulary
Acute, obtuse, reflex, vertically opposite angles, transversal, corresponding angles, alternate angles, co-interior angles,
interior angles, exterior angles
(Higher only) supplementary angles

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students struggle with formal language and notations in geometry. For example when a vertex is labelled B,
students refer to the angle as B forgetting that there are two possible angles this could be, one less than 180° and
the other greater than 180° as a minimum. Having starters based on notation and highlighting angles and lines given
their label can help identify and recognise these errors at the beginning. For example:
A
F

E
B G
H

D
C

• Students fail to use the correct reasoning, for example stating ‘because they are “Z” angles’ rather than ‘because
alternate angles are equal’. Another example of this is students think ‘opposite angles are equal’ is enough rather
than using ‘vertically opposite angles are equal’. Learning these reasons is not easy and very challenging for students
with weak literacy. This is a fundamental requirement for success with this topic and time should be spent learning
the definitions by heart. Having A4 sheets around the room reminding students of these useful facts for frequent use
in lessons can be useful, and they may also serve as a memory prompt if students have a visual memory based on
where they are placed in the room. In addition, you could try testing the reasons like you would a spelling test.
• Students often struggle to cut up the polygons when working on the investigation in Section 4. Students will happily
say that there are four triangles in a square because when they join up the vertices with diagonals they get the
following:

By telling students they must cut the polygon up into triangles using the minimum number of lines possible or by
telling them no additional lines may cross each other tends to help solve this problem.
• Students have problems when misunderstanding what the exterior angle of a polygon is, thinking that it is actually
the whole outside angle at a vertex of a shape rather than the angle formed by extending the edge of the shape.
Therefore thinking that the interior and exterior sum to 360° rather than 180°. This is a definition that just needs to
be reinforced regularly.
• Students get lost in their working and don’t know what their values mean or clearly define their answer. Encouraging
students to always set up an equation, clearly stating what their unknown is and building on the good practice from
Chapter 14F / 15H Equations, help improve this. It is about modelling good practice too, and not taking short cuts
when time is short with an example at the board.

Hooks

• A nice starter to this task, which recaps one of the first angle facts students need to know, is NRICH ‘Round and
Round and Round’. Having watched the first two stages you can pose a question based on where the dot would end
if it turned 30 000°. (nrich.maths.org)
• A fun game that students should really enjoy is NRICH ‘Estimating Angles’. (nrich.maths.org)

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SECTION 1F / 1H: ANGLE FACTS

This section considers the basic angle facts students need to know, including the sum of angles on a straight line, sum
of angles around a point and that vertically opposite angles are equal. Problems challenge students to set up and solve
linear equations.
(Higher only) Extension problems require students to solve equations with unknowns on both sides of the equality.

Prompting questions
Whilst working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• When skateboarding/scootering, what does it mean for you to have ‘done a 360/180’? How does this help us with
knowing what angles around a point / on a straight line sum to?
If you ‘do a 180’ you have turned around so looked from one end of a straight line to the other end of the line. If you ‘do a
360’ you turn all the way around so angles around a point sum to 360°.
• What is your unknown? What do you know about the angles in the diagram? Can you set up an equation to show
things that are equal?
These are general prompting questions without a specific answer.
Exercise 25A(F) / 26A(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2a (F) / Q2a (H) / Q6 (H) How many unknowns do you have? Can you identify which one will be easiest / which you
have enough information to find?
These are general prompting questions without a specific answer. Depending on the angle facts used students may
suggest one angle is easier to find than another. These questions are designed to encourage students to break the
problem down into smaller parts.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What do we know about angles on a straight line? Why does this contradict the image you have?
Angles on a straight line sum to 180° and these angles do not.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Spot the error reasoning. A starter or plenary could be examples asking students to spot the error. For example
‘opposite angles are equal’ where the writer has forgotten to state ‘vertically’.
Assessment ideas
• Asking students to make ‘how to’ revision guides, including: rules, language to remember and examples makes a
good homework assessment task that comes in useful in future revision lessons.

SECTION 2F / 2H: PARALLEL LINES AND ANGLES

This section focuses on the three angle facts based on angles formed from a line transversal to parallel lines:
corresponding angles, alternate angles and supplementary angles. Students must use these rules to find missing angles
and reason correctly to support their solutions.
(Higher only) The additional challenge for Higher students in this chapter is understanding a proof that co-interior
angles are supplementary. In addition to finding missing angles students also need to use these new rules to decide
whether diagrams have parallel lines or not.
Students tend to struggle to recall the facts correctly, particularly given there are three of them. You may find it useful to
focus on only one parallel line rule, e.g. ‘alternate angles are equal’. Armed with that and ‘vertically opposite angles are
equal’ and ‘angles on a straight line sum to 180°’, students are able to correctly reason, with a few more steps, any angle
they are trying to find.

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Prompting questions
Whilst working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What other angle facts aside from those in this section might be useful here?
Angles on a straight line sum to 180° and angles around a point sum to 360°.
• How many unknowns do you have? Can you identify which one will be easiest / which you have enough information
to find?
Often a good rule of thumb here is to work through the unknowns alphabetically.
Exercise 25B(F) / 26B(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Can you label any parallel lines? Can you extend any straight lines to make the letters you are looking
for clearer?
Encourage students to label and extend the vertical lines to help identify the angle fact to be used.
• Q6−7 (F) / Q6−7 (H) Can you point to ∠CEG?
Make sure that students know what this notation means and don’t think it just means the angle at E as there are many
to choose form (this can be repeated for Q7 as well).
• Q9 (H) What must be true for two lines to be parallel?
The three parallel angle facts.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Assessment ideas
• Again, asking students to make ‘how to’ revision guides, including: rules, language to remember and examples,
makes a good homework assessment task that comes in useful in future revision lessons.

SECTION 3F / 3H: ANGLES IN TRIANGLES

In Chapter 2F / 2H Shapes and solids, students learned that the sum of the interior angles in a triangle is 180°, whilst
covering properties of shapes. This section offers two proofs: the sum of angles in a triangle and that the exterior
angle of a triangle is equal to the sum of the two opposite interior angles. Students then use these two rules to solve
additional angles problems.

Prompting questions
Whilst working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Are there any properties unique to your type of triangle that could be useful? Is it an isosceles, equilateral, right-
angled or scalene triangle?
In some triangles we have additional information such as knowing two base angles are equal or all angles are equal,
which can help in problem-solving.
Exercise 25C(F) / 26C(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2−5 (F) / Q2−5, 8 (H) How many unknowns do you have? Can you identify which one will be easiest / which you
have enough information to find?
• Q7 (H) What do we need to form a convincing proof?
Logical argument using formal geometric reasoning, clearly labelling our angles and lines.
• Q8 (H) Have you got more than one triangle involved in your diagram? How are they connected?
Some are similar so share the same angles, others are just next to each other so other angle facts, e.g. angles on a
straight line sum to 180°, can be used in addition to solve the problem.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Plenaries
• ‘Angles noughts and crosses’ works well as a whole class plenary where the class are split in half to play as a team
against each other. This is an opportunity for discussion and splitting the class into two teams adds a competitive
element to increase motivation. Given simple diagrams students have to identify the angle and give the correct
geometric reason for it. Standard game rules apply so suggest a tricky one for the centre of the grid. This could also
be combined with rules from other sections in this chapter.
Assessment ideas
• Again, asking students to make ‘how to’ revision guides, including: rules, language to remember and examples,
makes a good homework assessment task that comes in useful in future revision lessons.

SECTION 4F / 4H: ANGLES IN POLYGONS

This takes the knowledge about the sum of the interior angles in a triangle and extends it to a general rule for the sum
of the interior angles of any polygon through an investigation (Exercise D). This is then extended to derive a rule for the
sum of the exterior angles of polygons. The ‘Work it out’ section makes a good peer assessment task with prompts for
promoting good discussion about common errors students will make.
It is worth noting that students often find it very challenging to draw polygons with more than 4 sides so if using the
investigation in Exercise D, having a sheet of pre-printed polygons for students to annotate would be advisable.
As in Section 2, this material is something students tend to find very challenging to remember. To counteract this you
may prefer to focus on one rule: that exterior angles sum to 360°. From this students can, with a few extra steps, solve
any other polygon angles problem.

Prompting questions
Exercise 25D(F) / 26D(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How many triangles are in your polygon? Have you used the minimum number of lines possible?
There should always be two less triangles than the number of sides, you may wish to ask students to reason why this
must always be the case.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Have your crossed any of your lines to find the number of triangles?
They shouldn’t have or they are adding more angles to the sum (they would need to take away 360° for each internal
crossing).
• Q3−5 (F) / Q3−5 (H) What patterns have you spotted?
For example number of triangles goes up by one each time.
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) Can you write your formula down in words?
Number of sides, subtract two, multiplied by 180° for each triangle and divided by the number of angles in the shape.
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) What is the variable of the formula?
The number of sides.
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) What stays constant in each calculation you do?
Subtracting two, multiplying by 180 etc.
Exercise 25E(F) / 26E(H)
Whilst working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What do I know? Can I use any of the formulae I have learned for interior and exterior angles?
You can use both for any question but often one will be quicker than the other. For interior sum use 180(n–2), for exterior
angles use 360/n (where n is the number of sides).
• Q3−5 (F) / Q2−7 (H) Is my shape regular or irregular? How does that affect how I can solve the problem?
Irregular shapes limit the amount of options we have when solving.

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• Q5 (F) Can you define your unknown using algebra and set up a formula?
Suggest that students sum the angles and equate to the sum of the interior angles etc.
• Q5−7 (H) Can you draw a sketch to help you see what is going on?
This may be required for students to see a way ‘into’ the problem. It may also help by making them consider whether the
polygon is regular or not.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• Tessellations make an interesting investigation and students could now think about how angle facts can help them
know whether a regular shape tessellates or not.
• NRICH ‘Semi-regular Tessellations’ has some interesting additions to the problem, tessellating two or more
regular polygons together. It also has a very good interactive program for testing ideas. (nrich.maths.org)
• ‘Simple Quadrilaterals Tessellate the Plane’ is another interesting investigation in why we can tessellate any
quadrilateral. (cut-the-knot.org)
• For students who enjoy tessellating you may wish to extend them by looking at Penrose tilings and further
consolidating their knowledge of angles.
• This is a good opportunity to explore what shapes you get if you take your interior angle of a regular polygon
180(n − 2)
formula: and use non-integer values. What does a 2.5-agon look like? You can use graphing software or
n
traditional protractor and pencil methods to explore these shapes. If you have a particularly able class, you could
ask: What does a π-agon look like?
Assessment ideas
• Again, asking students to make ‘how to’ revision guides, including: rules, language to remember and examples,
makes a good homework assessment task that comes in useful in future revision lessons.

CHAPTER REVIEW 25F / 26H ANGLES

The first question of the chapter review would make a good starter to a revision lesson on this topic if projected on the
board or printed out for students to work on.

Prompting questions
Whilst working through the chapter review, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3−6 (F) / Q3−6 (H) Are you dealing with a specific shape? Is it regular or irregular?
This information is given in different ways for different questions and students need to get used to reading this
information from a diagram or in the set up to a question.
Encouraging students to extend parallel lines to make the angle facts they can apply in polygon problems often makes a
big difference to their ability to see what can be done.
• Q9 (F) / Q9 (H) How many unknowns do you have? Can you identify which one will be easiest / which you have
enough information to find?
y is probably the easiest angle to find first using their angle facts.
• Q10 (H) Have you got any parallel lines in your diagram? (Hint: you may have to use properties of shapes to help you
here.) Can you extend any of the lines in your diagram to help you spot anything you hadn’t previously?

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
This chapter connects directly to Chapter 2F / 2H Shapes and solids, in which students learned about properties
of shapes and that interior angles of a triangle sum to 180°. It also uses the concepts learned in Chapter 14F / 15H
Equations regarding the solving of equations, in particular linear equations.

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Future learning
Angle facts will be revisited in Chapter 28F / 30H Similarity and Chapter 29F / 31H Congruence, in which students will use
alternate angles, co-interior angles and corresponding angles to geometrically reason about congruence and similarity.
Angle facts will also support problem-solving in Chapter 31F / 33H Trigonometry. In Chapter 27H Circles, students will
be able to use basic facts, from Sections 1 and 3, to investigate and deduce new theorems based on angles formed by
chords and tangents in circles.

Gateway to A level
These basic facts are still used in problem-solving at A level. ‘Vertically opposite angles are equal’ and ‘the sum of
angles on a straight line is 180°’ are both used in vectors work, and numerous basic facts and circle theorems are used in
coordinate geometry problems on the (x, y) plane. In addition, students will extend their knowledge of complementary
angles in Trigonometry and Complex Numbers in order to solve equations and correctly use Argand diagrams.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 2, questions 5, 20 • Chapter 2, questions 17, 18, 26
• Chapter 3, questions 3, 14 • Chapter 3, questions 4, 5, 11
• Chapter 8, question 15 • Chapter 5, question 16

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 25 • Chapter 26

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 10 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 7 animated widgets
• 10 interactive walkthroughs
• 4 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 4 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• Angle facts

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 26F / 28H Probability – combined events

26F / 28H Probability – combined events

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to carry out the basic operations on fractions and decimals.

• Methods of multiplication, including larger numbers.
• Basic probability.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Terminology of probability, especially events, outcomes, etc.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Construct and use representations (tables, tree • Construct and use representations (tables, tree
diagrams and Venn diagrams). diagrams and Venn diagrams).
• Use the language and notation of basic set theory. • Use the language and notation of basic set theory.
Section 2 Section 2
• Use the addition rule, including an understanding of • Calculate numbers of possible outcomes using the
mutually exclusive events. product rule for counting.
• Use the multiplication rule, including an understanding • Use the addition rule, including an understanding of
of independent events. mutually exclusive events.
• Use the multiplication rule, including an
understanding of independent events
Section 3
• Use methods of conditional probability, including
questions phrased in the form ‘given that’.

Vocabulary
Combined events, sample space, independent events, dependent events.

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Many students are unfamiliar with how a deck of cards is made up. This lack of knowledge can prevent students
accessing common probability questions. Having a set of cards, or a display of these, can help students get used to
the numbers of cards, colours etc.
• Similarly, it should be checked that students understand what the minimum score would be if two or more dice were
thrown.
• Students can sometimes assume that all events are equally likely. Giving concrete examples should help dispel this
misconception. For example, they may assume that it is equally likely that it will be raining or sunny tomorrow. The
best way to address this is to then ask students if there is more chance of it being sunny or rainy in the desert or the
rainforest. Or show different spinners with the numbers 1, 2, and 3 on them, but in different sized sectors… will it still
be equally likely to land on each number?
No, it’s only equally likely if the size of each sector is the same!

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• Students are not always clear if an event is independent or conditional. For example, given the question, ‘If a person
takes two yogurts out of the fridge, what is the probability that they will both be the same flavour?’ It is worth
checking that they understand that the first yogurt is not replaced.

Hooks

• Students could be challenged to beat the teacher at a dice game. The teacher needs a set of Efron’s dice, ideally in
four different colours (could be made with stickers on the faces). This special set of non-transitive dice mean it is
always possible for the teacher to have the advantage over a student, even if the student chooses which dice they
are going to use first.
• Similarly, a pair of Sicherman dice can be used against a pair of standard dice. The students can challenge the
teacher and choose which pair of dice they wish to use. Sicherman dice have different numbers to a normal set
of dice, but the odds of throwing every number is the same. Some more information on Sicherman dice can be
found at Wolfram Math World. Given the choice between a set of Sicherman dice and a pair of normal dice, most
students tend to go for the Sicherman dice as they assume they have a higher chance of winning. A sample space
diagram will be particularly useful to demonstrate that there is the same chance of getting each number as a normal
pair of dice. (mathworld.wolfram.com)

SECTION 1F / 1H: REPRESENTING COMBINED EVENTS

This section introduces a variety of diagrams that can be helpful in structuring solutions to probability problems
involving combined events. Sample space (i.e. two-way) tables and tree diagrams will be familiar to many teachers
and students. Venn diagrams will be new to many, although most students will have seen them used in simple cases
for categorisation. Encouraging students to draw and shade diagrams will help them get to grips with some of the new
notation.

Prompting questions
Exercise 26A(F) / 28A(H)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) If you doubled the number of red counters whilst keeping the number of blue and yellow the same
has the sample space changed?
No, since the sample space tells us only the possible outcomes not their probabilities.
• Q3 (F) Are you more likely to get two cards of the same colour or two cards of a different colour?
These are equally likely events.
Compare this sample space to a sample space diagram for the toss of two coins. Also compare with the example
sample space for the roll of two dice; what are the similarities?
The sample space diagrams are all symmetrical.
• Q3 (H) Would a tree diagram still be effective if I tossed four coins? five coins?
They generally become too cluttered with more than about three events, especially if each event has many possible
outcomes.
Exercise 26B(F) / 28B(H)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1b (F) / Q1b (H) What is n(A)+n(A’)?
The size of the universal set, i.e. n(ξ).
What is n(B) + n(B’)?
The size of the universal set, i.e. n(ξ).
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Nadia has 7 pairs of high-heeled shoes, 2 of which are red. How could this new subset be represented
on the Venn diagram?
Will not overlap with the sports shoes, but will overlap with the red shoes.
What is the probability of choosing a pair of high-heels that are not red?
5
.
20

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 26F / 28H Probability – combined events

Work out the probability that a pair of shoes chosen at random from her shoe collection will be neither red nor
9
high-heeled. . Work out the probability that a pair of shoes chosen at random from her shoe collection will be
20
neither red nor high-heeled nor sports shoes.
6
.
20
Exercise 26C(F)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (F) Would a tree diagram still be effective if I tossed four coins? five coins?
They generally become too cluttered with more than about three events, especially if each event has many possible
outcomes.
• Q4 (F) At Christmas, Andrew also offers ‘Merry Christmas’ wrapping paper, red ribbon and a choice of gold, green or
red gift tags. How many combinations are there now?
90.
What is the probability that a customer will choose ‘Merry Christmas’ paper with silver ribbon and a red gift tag.
1
90

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• The ‘two dice horse game’ can be played by lining up 12 ‘horses’ (students) each with a number from 1 to 12. Two
dice are rolled and the numbers showing are added together. That horse moves forward one step. Ideally the
classroom tables are cleared to give a great demonstration that numbers ‘in the middle’ are more likely to come up.
Horse number 1 will never move. Before the ‘race’ students could predict the winner. Repeating the ‘race’ a second
time generally leads to significantly better predictions.
Plenaries
• After getting a student to draw their Venn diagram for one of the questions in Exercise 26B(F) / 28B(H), others could
be tasked with, for example, ‘creating a question with the answer 42 ’. (Where ‘42’ will need to be chosen to be the
80
size of a union/intersection/etc. of the student’s diagram and ‘80’ is the size of the universal set.)
How can you remember that ∪ means union and ∩ means intersection?
Enrichment activities
• Students could determine the strategy for selecting one of Efron’s dice (described above) by constructing sample
space diagrams for each pairing of dice from the set of four.
• Can you construct a Venn diagram for three sets? Four sets? (Not including the universal set.)
• If you could move (but not remove or add to) the spots on a dice, then rolled it against a normal dice, are you more
or less likely to achieve the highest score? This is another activity that lends itself to sample space diagrams.
• NRICH ‘Fixing the Odds’. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• Constructing Venn diagrams from a question is generally the lengthy part, so projecting ready-drawn ones can allow
for quick assessment of students’ interpretation. For example, quick-fire questions that students complete on mini
whiteboards (‘What is the probability that a person eats only chicken?’).

SECTION 2F / 2H: THEORETICAL PROBABILITY OF COMBINED EVENTS

This section introduces the idea of combinations of events, in particular by adding and multiplying probabilities.
However, in the Higher version, it first covers a method for calculating the number of possible outcomes using the
‘product rule for counting’.

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Prompting questions
Exercise 28C(H)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (H) I set up a competing lottery where you only need to match five numbers to win. However, you must choose
from balls numbered from 1−59 rather than 1−49. Is my new lottery a better deal?
Yes, one in 5 million rather than ~14 million.
If you get three numbers in a lottery then you win £10. Why is that prize so low compared to the jackpot?
There are many more ways to get three numbers. There is approximately a one in 1000 chance of getting three numbers.
• Q7 (H) How does the answer change if you are only allowed to choose different fillings?
Number of possibilities decreases to 336.
Exercise 26D(F)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) If you swap the yellow marble from the first box with the red marble from the second box, how will this affect
the probability tree? What is the probability of choosing two red marbles now?
Impossible.
What is the probability of choosing a yellow and a blue marble now?
1.
9
• Q4 (F) Without adding to the tree diagram, can you work out the probability of getting at least one king if you draw
four cards? Are you more or less likely to get at least one king if you draw a card four times rather than one time?
More likely; the more times you repeat the experiment, the more likely it will be to get at least one king.
Exercise 28D (H)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) Nico’s friend is on a different bus but amuses herself with the same game. She sees a road sign for LONDON.
1
What probability questions could have an answer of ?
2
P(O and N).
1
What about an answer of ?
4
P(L and O) or P(D and O).
• Q3 (H) I take just the hearts out of the pack of cards and shuffle them. I then turn them over one by one. What is the
probability I turn over the ace, then the 2, then …, then 10, J, Q, K?
One in 13 factorial, which is approx. one in 6 billion. Note that this is approximately the population of the planet, so if
everyone tried this trick once, probably only one person would succeed.
Exercise 26E(F)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) Nico’s friend is on a different bus but amuses herself with the same game. She sees a road sign for LONDON.
1
What probability questions could have an answer of ?
2
P(O and N).
1
What about an answer of ?
4
P(L and O) or P(D and O).
• Q4 (F) Which is more likely, getting the word ‘bad’ or the word ‘dab’?
Equally likely.
• What if another A and/or another D were added to the tiles, what is the probability of getting the words ‘cad’, ‘bad’ or
‘dad’ now?
The answer will depend on which combination of letters are added and which word is being considered.
• Q7 (F) What is the probability of getting either green or orange?
8 2
or .
20 5
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 26F / 28H Probability – combined events

What is the probability of getting both green and orange?

1
.
20

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Project an image of a child’s stacking toy (rings that fit over a post that subsequently reduce in size). ‘My six-month-
old child managed to stack them correctly. Are they a child genius?’ Work through how many ways there are to select
the first ring, then the second, etc.
Plenaries
• Jake, what is the probability that it snows in your garden on Christmas day?
1
or any sensible fraction.
5
Donna, what is the probability that it snows in your garden on Christmas day?
About the same.
• So what is the probability that it snows at Jake’s house AND Donna’s?
1 1
Expect × .
5 5
1
Extend to more pupils, until we get that the class of 30 pupils all having a snowy Christmas day is to the power 30,
5
or smaller than one in a quintillion. This is clearly wrong: what have we done wrong here?
We all live close to each other so it snowing in our gardens is not independent.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Same Number!’. (nrich.maths.org)
• Consider why the PIN used for bank and credit cards is four digits long.
• Consider the infinite monkey theorem. Forget the entire works of Shakespeare, what is the probability that the first
line of a Shakespeare play could be typed randomly? Or even the first word?
Assessment ideas
• Design a lottery game (How many numbers? How many must you match?) so that every one of the 50 million adults
in the UK could have their own distinct ticket.
• (Higher only) Exercise 28C, Q7 considers the number of different wraps that can be made. A simple internet
search shows that there are millions of different possible sandwiches that can be made at a local sandwich shop.
Investigate: is this correct?

SECTION 3H: CONDITIONAL PROBABILITY

This Higher-only section focuses on conditional probability. Most students will find diagrams of enormous help here to
structure their work.

Prompting questions
Exercise 28E(H)
Whilst working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) How would you use your diagram to calculate the probability of one girl and one boy?
Need to calculate girl-then-boy and boy-then-girl and add them together.
• Q3 (H) If the probability of rain on Friday is 0.21, what is the probability of sun?
We cannot determine, e.g. since it can rain on a sunny day.
• All questions: Why use a tree diagram for this question, rather than a Venn diagram? (Or vice-versa.) What are the
hints in the situation that suggest you use that diagram.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and plenaries
• The tree diagram match up exercise, which can be downloaded from the TES website. Pupils match up pictures of
boxes of shapes, tree diagrams and probability statements, which are partially complete. After matching the cards
up, they need to fill in the missing information. This activity promotes discussion about independent or conditional
probabilities. (tes.co.uk)
• NRICH ‘One or Both’ is a short problem that really lends itself to using Venn diagrams and extending to ask, ‘What
is the probability of randomly selecting a pupil who got both questions correct?’ The question ‘Can you make a
question like this of your own?’ at the end will promote interesting ideas from students. (nrich.maths.org)
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Prize Giving’ and NRICH ‘Louis’ Ice Cream Business’ (nrich.maths.org)

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• This topic provides good practice of operations with percentages, fractions and decimals. In particular practicing
non-calculator methods with fractions (e.g. cancelling before multiplication) could be encouraged.
• Consider the similarities and differences between frequency trees and probability trees.

Future learning

• Venn diagrams are often used when calculating highest common factors or lowest common multiples after the prime
factor decomposition of two or more numbers.

Gateway to A level

• Combinations and permutations.

• Probability. The language of set notation is used for more complex questions involving conditional probabilities.
• Statistical techniques such as sampling and hypothesis testing.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, questions 14, 15, 21, 22 • Chapter 1, questions 4, 6, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
• Chapter 4, question 7 • Chapter 4, questions 6, 7
• Chapter 6, questions 15, 16 • Chapter 6, question 5
• Chapter 7, question 14 • Chapter 7, questions 4, 11
• Chapter 9, questions 17, 18 • Chapter 8, question 21
• Chapter 10, questions 16, 17 • Chapter 9, question 7
• Chapter 10, questions 11, 12, 13

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 26F / 28H Probability – combined events

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 26 • Chapter 28

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 6 (F) / 10 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 2 animated widgets
• 9 (F) / 12 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 2 (F) / 3 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 2 (F) / 3 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

27F / 29H Standard form

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to multiply and divide by powers of ten, applying their understanding of place value.
• How to use the four arithmetic operations to calculate efficiently with decimals.
• How to round to a given number of significant figures.
• That multiplication and division are commutative.
• How to use the index laws when multiplying and dividing.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To apply understanding of multiplying and dividing by • To apply understanding of multiplying and dividing
powers of ten to convert numbers to and from standard by powers of ten to convert numbers to and from
form. standard form.
Section 2 Section 2
• To use a scientific calculator efficiently for standard • To use a scientific calculator efficiently for standard
form calculations. form calculations.
Section 3 Section 3
• To apply the laws of indices to multiply and divide • To apply the laws of indices to multiply and divide
numbers in standard form without the use of a numbers in standard form without the use of a
calculator. calculator.
• To apply understanding of place value, and previously • To apply understanding of place value, and
learned conversion between standard form and previously learned conversion between standard
ordinary numbers, to add and subtract numbers in form and ordinary numbers, to add and subtract
standard form. numbers in standard form.
• To solve problems, including contextualised ones, • To solve problems, including contextualised ones,
involving standard form. involving standard form.

Vocabulary

Common misconceptions and other issues

• That you move the decimal point

• A × 10n + B × 10m = A + B × 10n+m (and likewise for subtraction).
Practise converting numbers back to ordinary form and then performing the calculations, to ensure students see that
this is not true.
• A × 10-n = −A × 10n.
Use the number line with continuing patterns, suggested in the general prompting questions for Section 1, to reinforce
that 10-n is not a negative value. Enter examples on calculators to verify this and also to provide extra calculator
practice.
• Students may still hold misconceptions related to the first index laws, thinking that 10n × 10m = 10nm rather than 10(n +
m)
and similar for division.
Again by encouraging students to see the patterns on the line in the general prompting sections, they can use these to
test what the product of pairs of powers of ten are and deduce the correct rule for themselves.

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 27F / 29H Standard form

• Some students may not fully appreciate the need for standard form, particularly in writing numbers such as 300 as 3
× 102.
‘The Scale of the Universe’ is a controllable applet that will allow students to appreciate use of standard form in the
context of our universe. (htwins.net/scale/)

Hooks

• Powers of Ten video (search online for ‘powers of ten sped up video’). This very short clip shows increasing distances
in metres by an extra power of ten moving out from a picnic cloth into the atmosphere and space beyond (some
versions also show smaller and smaller distances down to atomic level). There are other, longer, alternatives
available but this will give a good starting point for discussions about representing very large numbers.
• The Galaxy Song by Eric Idle. This song contains a plethora of facts about the universe, incorporating very large
numbers. Students could initially note down all the numbers they can from listening to the song. There are a range
of compound measures used that could provide an interesting exercise to compare values by converting them to the
same measure, for example miles per second and miles per day. They could also research to see if all the information
is accurate. Note: The original Monty Python version contains some images that are not really suitable for this age
group, and the final line of the song has one word you’d probably want to avoid. There are versions online that
simply show computer images of space to accompany the song. Alternatively you may wish to play the song without
showing the accompanying video.

SECTION 1F / 1H: EXPRESSING NUMBERS IN STANDARD FORM

This section introduces writing numbers in standard form and converting numbers in standard form back to ordinary
numbers.

Prompting questions
To check students’ grasp of working with indices and powers of ten before they work through the exercises, some good
prompts might be:
• Use a scale like the one below to develop understanding of powers of ten in index form and also to demonstrate that
negative powers involve division:
10 100 1000

102 103 104

Ask students:
• What patterns can you see in the diagram?
Increasing power by one for each move to the right, multiplying by ten each time. Going left, powers decrease by one
and each value is the previous value divided by ten.
• Can you add extra values?
1
Ensure 100 = 1 and 10–1 = etc. are added.
10
• What changes each time as you move along the diagram to the right?
Each new value is ten times bigger than the previous one. The power increases by one.
• What changes each time as you move along the diagram to the left?
Each new value is ten times smaller than the previous one. The power decreases by one.
• What are the rules for moving right or left?
Multiply/divide by ten.
Exercise 27A(F) / 29A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1j (F) / Q1j (H) Why is the solution to this not 3.5 × 10–3?
It’s key for students to recognise the importance of the place holding 0 between the three and five and see that as a
result the answer is 3.05 × 10–3.

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Exercise 27B(F) / 29A(H)

While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1c (F) / Q2c (H) Can you give a real-life example where this number might be used?
Obviously there are many responses to this, but since the number is × 103 this number could be an example of a metric
conversion of kg to g, km to m etc.
• Q2f & g (F) / Q4f & g (H) Using the two facts here, how far would the total journey from Jupiter to the sun and then
to Earth be?
Since this type of calculation will appear later in the chapter this could be a good point to see if students convert to
ordinary numbers first or try to use the standard form format. 7.78 × 108 + 1.5 × 1011 = 1.50778 x 1011.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and plenaries
• The introduction to the section describes how to write numbers in standard form. Ask students the names of
numbers such as 1 000 000, 1 000 000 000 and 1 000 000 000 000 first as a good way to check their knowledge of place
value for large numbers and introduce the structure of naming these numbers i.e. million, billion, trillion, quadrillion
etc. It can be interesting to discuss why the British system used to define one billion as one million × one million and
why we changed this.
• NRICH ‘A Question of Scale’. An interactive sorting activity to link physical objects with their length in powers of
ten. (nrich.maths.org)
• A quick starter: Write today’s date (or a birthdate etc.) in a creative way using index notation and standard form. For
1
example, my birthdate is 16 2 / 23 / 1.97 × 103.
Enrichment activities
• Improving Learning in Mathematics ‘Estimating Length Using Standard Form N4’, available from the National
STEM Centre Archive. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• Converting standard form to ordinary numbers. Research data for very large and small numbers such as the
diameter of an atom, size of the smallest virus, number of atoms in a human body, diameter of the Earth, …
• ‘Indices and Standard Form’ available at the National STEM Centre Archive. This excellent resource provides
additional ideas or consolidation of the suggestions above and the exercises in the chapter. (nationalstemcentre.org.
uk)

SECTION 2F / 2H: CALCULATORS AND STANDARD FORM

This section focuses on familiarising students with the buttons they need to use on their own scientific calculators.

Prompting questions
Exercise 27C(F) / 29B(H)
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• How do you enter numbers in standard form? Does anyone near you have a different style button to do this? (If so,
this is why being familiar with your own calculator is so important.) Does your calculator require the buttons to be
pressed in a different or surprising order?
The order of entry is dependent on whether students have modern line display calculators or older/cheaper varieties.
Stressing the importance that they find out how to use their calculator is vital.
• Is the answer the same if you use the standard form button as if you type in × 10n? Why?
In theory it should be but again this can depend on the calculator make and ensuring values are entered in the required
order for the operations.

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 27F / 29H Standard form

Exercise 27D(F) / 29C(H)

While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1a (F) / Q1a (H) What is the difference between 42166 and 4216 × 106?
(Interchanging between powers of ten and general use of indices may bring to light any lingering misconceptions and
confusion between these so it’s worth challenging at this point.)
8
• Q3c (F) / Q3c (H) Is 5.25 × 108 the same value as 5.25 ×10 ? Explain your answer.
The second version is rooting the power of ten, which will reduce the magnitude to × 104. This could link back to the
1
index laws: it is an example of the third law where (am)n = anm since square rooting is raising to the power of .
2

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Students draw a step by step ‘story board’ for entering a specific calculation on their calculator. These could be
displayed on a ‘working board’ for the duration of the topic.
• The Number Loving website has a selection of ‘catchphrase’, ‘top trumps’ ‘tick or trash’ and ‘collect a joke’
activities that could be used for group and class activities to consolidate and practise techniques beyond the
textbook exercises. (Use search criteria of Key Stage 4 and the topic ‘Integers, powers and roots’ to locate these
easily.) (numberloving.co.uk)

SECTION 3F / 3H: WORKING IN STANDARD FORM

This section applies the use of standard form to a range of situations.

Prompting questions
Exercise 27E(F) / 29D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1a (F) / Q1a (H) Explain why you can rearrange the terms of the question (2 × 1013) × (4 × 1017) to (2 × 4) × (1013 ×
1017)? Why is this method of calculation more efficient?
Multiplication is commutative, and this is useful as we can then see the application of index laws to work easily with
these numbers.
• Q3a (F) / Q3a (H) What makes the question (3 × 1012) × (4 × 1018) more challenging than (2 × 1013) × (4 × 1017)?
Since 3 × 4 gives 12 students may write an answer of 12 × 1030, so this will highlight any students not yet secure with the
precise format required when writing a number in standard form.
Exercise 27F(F) / 29E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Standard form is often used in conversions when using large and small units. How would you represent 1 megawatt
in watts?
The prefix mega means one million so this is 1 × 106 watts.
How would you represent 1 nm in metres?
nm are nanometres and the prefix nano means one billionth, so this is 1 × 10-9 metres.
Exercise 29F(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1a (H) If you round 230 to four significant figures, rather than three as requested, how does this affect the value?
1 073 741 824 to three significant figures is 1 070 000 000, and to four significant figures is 1 074 000 000, which makes a
difference of 4 000 000. This is a good example to get students to consider the potential impact of premature rounding
when working in standard form since 1.07 × 109 and 1.074 × 109 may appear deceptively similar. However, in the context
of calculations with other very large numbers, the rounding might not have a significant effect on the solution.
• Q4 (H) Google gives the speed of light as 299 792 458 metres per second. What is the difference between this and the
value given in this question?
3 × 108 − 299 792 458 = 207 542 m/s

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Starters or plenaries
• Before introducing the methods for multiplying and dividing numbers in standard form, it could be useful to give
students some revision exercises on using the first two index laws (for multiplying and dividing by powers of ten) if
they have not practised this for some time.
• A group task, done in silence to encourage awareness of others’ requirements and cooperative learning, where each
group member has to collect a set of four matching cards (one in ordinary form, one in standard form, one with
the same value as the solution from addition or subtraction of two numbers in standard form, and one that is the
solution from multiplication or division). 16 cards are dealt – four per person – and are laid in front of each person
for all to see. Each group member may hand a card to another, being given one in return, until all members have a
‘happy families’ set of cards i.e. matching ones of each category. An example matching set could be 50 000, 5 × 104,
5.04 × 104 – 4 × 102 and (2 × 107) ÷ (4 × 102). The aim is to be the first group to complete these successfully in the class.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Big and Small Numbers in the Living World’. Combining estimation and large numbers with problem-
solving skills to help contextualise the use of standard form. (nrich.maths.org)
• ‘Space Math’ from NASA, available from the National STEM Centre Archive, provides many activities and questions
in a space context that involve using standard form. Each of these booklets contains a table at the start showing
the content covered by each activity. Scientific notation features in many of them, particularly Space Math IV.
(nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
• ‘Little Green Men – The Long Way Round’, available from the National STEM Centre, requires students to make
calculations based on the distances in the galaxy. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
Assessment ideas
• MARS ‘A Million Dollars’. A useful written task to assess understanding. This is designed for an American audience
therefore the units are imperial, so brings in conversions between units such as yards to inches. (map.mathshell.org)
• MARS ‘Giantburgers’. A useful written task to assess understanding and problem-solving skills. (map.mathshell.
org)

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• Place value and rounding through Key Stages 2 and 3.

• Significant figures.
• Index laws for multiplication and division.

Future learning

• Speed of light (within compound measures, i.e. speed, distance and time).
• Further indices laws (fractional).

Gateway to A level

• Indices. These are reinforced early on in the Core topics and are used extensively throughout the course.
• Applications within physics, chemistry and biology.

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LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 7, question 20 • Chapter 2, question 27
• Chapter 10, question 18 • Chapter 8, question 22
• Chapter 10, question 14

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 27 • Chapter 29

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 3 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 2 animated widgets
• 7 interactive walkthroughs
• 2 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 2 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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27H Circles
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• The sum of angles on a straight line, interior angles of a polygon and around a point.
• How to calculate an exterior angle (and what it is).
• How to calculate the size of missing angles in geometry problems; including polygons and parallel lines.
• How to identify congruent and similar triangles. (Congruent triangles are covered in more detail in Chapter 31H
Congruence and similar triangles in Chapter 30H Similarity.)
• How to label the circumference and a diameter/radius of a circle.
• How to find the circumference and area of circles and arc length and area of sectors.
• How to add geometric reasoning to calculations that find missing angles.
• What a mathematical proof involves.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• What the words perpendicular and bisector mean.

• How to use Pythagoras’ theorem in a variety of settings.
• How to identify the different types of quadrilaterals.
• How to form and solve equations with an unknown from a given text.
• How to use mathematical formulae; either by substituting first and then solving for an unknown or by first changing
the subject and then substituting.

Learning outcomes
Section 1
• To review the names of parts of a circle.
• How to correctly label and refer to angles in a diagram involving a circle.
Section 2
• To learn how to prove the following circle theorems:
-- Angles subtended at centre and circumference.
-- Angles in a semicircle.
-- Angles in the same segment.
-- Angle between radius and chord.
-- Angle between the radius and tangent.
-- Two tangent theorem.
-- Alternate segment theorem.
-- Angles in a cyclic quadrilateral.
Section 3
• To be able to use the circle theorems.
• To be able to construct geometric ‘proofs’ using the circle theorems.

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Vocabulary
Subtended, cyclic quadrilateral

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Segment and sector: some students can confuse the terms segment and sector when labelling a circle. To address
this you could ensure that the correct terminology is used at all times and include references to these particular
parts of the circle in any questions you ask.
• Correctly labelling angles on diagrams: this is a particular issue that can propagate into A level mathematics. Make
sure you use correct referencing for angles on diagrams to reinforce good habits and never refer to an angle by the
vertex it appears at.
• Mathematical proof: students’ ideas of mathematical proof can be varied. Here, when asked to prove a geometric
property, a student needs a good model solution to know exactly what should be contained in a solution and exactly
how to reference the theorems they can use without proof. Some students find the idea of proof very challenging
and their lack of algebraic fluency prevents them being able to engage in the material properly. A way to help this
may be to remove the algebraic focus by using coloured dots to identify equal angles (being able to identify and
work with isosceles triangles can take students a long way). This use of colour can help students visualise the proof
and the coloured dots can be replaced by letters in the last stage when the proof is complete. Using interactive
whiteboard software to create these diagrams can also help students build proofs more easily.
• Angles subtended at centre and circumference: some students use this theorem incorrectly for diagrams where the
subtended angle is in the same minor arc as the two points we created the angle from. To find this angle, students
should use a combination of the angle subtended at centre and circumference theorem and the angles in a cyclic
quadrilateral theorem. To address this issue, you could provide two alternative solutions for the same problem, one
using the correct method and one not. The students would then be required to pick apart both solutions thereby
reinforcing the correct use of each theorem.
• Alternate segment theorem: this theorem often proves challenging for students. Continued exposure to this theorem
with questions involving it will help to reinforce which angles are being referred to in the theorem.
• Drawing additional diagrams: students don’t often feel they need to draw additional diagrams. However, when faced
with inscribed triangles and cyclic quadrilaterals it is sometimes useful to sketch an additional diagram to display all
the information they have been given or have derived from the circle theorems.

Hooks

• Initially, you can give a pegboard (either a physical one or use the NRICH ‘Virtual Geoboard’) to investigate what
shapes can be formed inside the circle and what can be said about the angles. You can gently direct students to then
consider certain shapes such as an arrow-head. (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 1H: REVIEW OF PARTS OF A CIRCLE

This section focuses on recapping the basic terminology students have already learnt in the context of circles.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Why do we need a convention for labelling angles?
Any vertex in a 2D shape will have at least two angles. We could say ‘the acute angle at this vertex’ for the case where
there are only two angles, but if we have more line segments meeting at this vertex we need a way to distinguish which
angle we are talking about.
Exercise 27A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) Can you draw a diagram for each of the statements?
Drawing diagrams may clarify the statement and help reinforce the names of the circle parts.

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• Q2 (H) How are angles labelled?

If we want to label the angle at B enclosed by the lines BO and BC we use ‘angle OBC’ or ‘∠OBC’.
• Q3 (H) What shapes are we looking at here?
Similar triangles.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Displaying a circle on the board or as a cut-out and asking students to place the correct labels on the diagram can be
used to recap previously learnt material before moving on to Section 2.
• A series of circles with inscribed labelled triangles could be displayed. The students need to correctly name the
angles highlighted in each diagram.
Plenaries
• Exercise 27A, question 1 could be used as a card sort or as a matching activity on the board to assess if the students
are ready to move on to new concepts.
Assessment ideas
• Students can construct a guide to the parts of the circle and swap with each another to comment on the content.
This can then be glued (after incorporating peer feedback) into their books and referred to in the future.

SECTION 2: CIRCLE THEOREMS AND PROOFS

This section focuses on the circle theorems, outlining them in the order given in the Learning Outcomes (above). Each
theorem is given with a proof, and on most occasions each proof makes use of the previous theorems.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Angles subtended at centre and circumference
-- How do you refer to the angles in the diagram?
If we want to label the angle at B enclosed by the lines BA and BC we use ‘angle ABC’.
-- If a triangle is inscribed in a circle with two radii, what type of triangle is it?
An isosceles triangle.
-- Which angles are the same?
The base angles of an isosceles triangle.
(Note: two radii and a chord will form an isosceles triangle but try to draw your triangles so it is obvious that the
base angles of one of the triangle are not the same as the other.)
• Angles in a semicircle
-- What is this theorem a special case of?
It is a special case of the angles subtended at centre and circumference theorem. (Note: you may wish to tell your
students that mathematicians would refer to this ‘theorem’ as a corollary of the first.)
• Angles in the same segment
-- What can be added to the diagram to give the same situation as the angles subtended at centre and
circumference theorem?
We can add in radii and then apply that theorem twice.
• Angle between radius and chord
-- What sort of triangle(s) do you get by adding radii OC and OA?
An isosceles triangle.
• Angle between the radius and tangent
-- What property does a tangent to a circle have?
It touches the circle only once

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• Two tangent theorem

-- What do you know about the two triangles ATO and TBO?
They are right-angled triangles and can be shown to be congruent.
• Alternate segment theorem
-- Which angle is in the major segment?
The angle PRQ.
-- Which previous theorems are being used in this proof?
Angles in a semicircle, angle between the radius and tangent, angles in the same segment.
• Angles in a cyclic quadrilateral
-- How can you split up a cyclic quadrilateral to enable you to apply a previous theorem?
We can add in radii to the centre from two opposite corners of the quadrilateral and apply the theorem: Angles
subtended at centre and circumference.
Exercise 27B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) Which circle theorem is this?
Angles subtended at centre and circumference.
• Q2 (H) Which circle theorem is this?
Angles subtended at centre and circumference or angles in a semicircle.
• Q3 (H) What do you need to add to the diagram to be able to give a proof?
Two radii OD and OC.
• Q4 (H) Which theorem can you apply?
Angles subtended at centre and circumference.
• Q5 (H) Which theorem do you need before you can look at the triangle ACB?
Angles in a semicircle.
• Q6 (H) Which theorem can you apply?
Angles subtended at centre and circumference twice.
Exercise 27C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What does the symbol ⊥ mean?
Perpendicular.
Exercise 27D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (H) What angles can you label in this diagram and why?
We can use the alternate segment theorem to help label angles ABC and ACB.
• Q3 (H) What do you know about angles in a semicircle and angles at a tangent?
We have right angles for the angles RPQ, SPB and SPA.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• A series of starters based on the circle theorems where the students need to reconstruct the proofs of each theorem
having been given an initial diagram. Adding prompts for each of the diagrams can differentiate this activity.
Plenaries
• A series of flash cards with circle theorem questions on them where the students need to identify which circle
theorems they can apply to the question.

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Enrichment activities
• There are several activities where the students can explore some of the theorems via examples. The following links
give GeoGebra files that can be given to students to explore the circle theorems. Each of these files can be used to
form an investigative approach to each circle theorem before bringing the class together to discuss how they could
prove each of the new ‘facts’ they have discovered.
-- GeoGebra Angles subtended at centre and circumference – Circle Theorem 19 and NRICH ‘Subtended
Angles’;
-- GeoGebra Angles in a semicircle and NRICH ‘Right Angles’;
-- GeoGebra Angles in the same segment – Circle Theorem 5 or alternatively GeoGebra Angles in the same
segment – Circle Theorem 3;
-- GeoGebra Angle between the radius and tangent;
-- GeoGebra Two tangent theorem – Circle Theorem 4 or alternatively GeoGebra Two tangent theorem –
Circle Theorem 6;
-- GeoGebra Alternate segment theorem – Circle Theorem 3 or alternatively Alternate segment theorem;
-- GeoGebra Angles in a cyclic quadrilateral – Circle Theorem 4 and NRICH ‘Pegboard Quads’.
(geogebra.org and nrich.maths.org)
• There are also some resources linked from the National Stem Centre. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)
Assessment ideas
• Students find it difficult to know how much information to include in their solutions to circle theorem questions.
Having a series of questions that are peer assessed in order for students to see what information their peers are
providing helps students realise what level of detail is needed for each question.
• Constructing a revision guide personal to the student that is peer assessed by another student or assessed by you
will help your students keep track of the circle theorems they will be required to know and provide a revision aid.

SECTION 3: APPLICATIONS OF CIRCLE THEOREMS

This section focuses on applying the circle theorems to answer questions. A problem-solving framework is outlined for
how to tackle questions that require multiple applications of the circle theorems.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• How can you organise your thoughts on the page when tackling circle theorem questions?
We can use the steps outlined in the problem-solving framework or/and we could produce a flow chart of steps to follow
stating each step of our argument for another person to follow. Every time we find a new angle in the diagram we can
add a new step to our flow chart with a justification using a theorem or a fact i.e. each step on the flow chart must be
notated with reasons.
Exercise 27E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What is the setup in this diagram?
We have an isosceles triangle (given with two radii) and a chord bisected by a radius.
• Q2 (H) What is the set up in this diagram?
We have the same set up as needed for the alternate segment theorem and a chord bisected by a radius.
• Q3 and 4 (H) What is the setup in this diagram?
We have two tangents meeting at an external point.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries or assessment ideas
• The ‘Work it out’ activity is great for students to assess their understanding of the circle theorems and to prompt
discussion about what information is required for each solution.
Enrichment activities
• Students are split into pairs and required to answer circle theorem questions on large pieces of paper around
the room. Each pair is only allowed one minute to look at the question before they are required to move on. This
activity promotes good written communication skills since the students are required to pick up a solution where the
previous pair left off and write answers to questions that they may have not necessarily started. When a solution is
complete, students can then mark the next one they move to.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
The students will have preciously studied material from Chapter 2F / 2H Shapes and solids and Chapter 25F / 26H Angles,
and will get a chance to apply this knowledge in the context of circle theorems.

Future learning
The students are now prepared to combine their knowledge of circle theorems and the work from Chapter 13F / 13H
Further algebra, and Chapter 14F / 15H Equations, to answer more complex questions.

Gateway to A level
Coordinate geometry of the circle forms a substantial part of A level mathematics and students will be required to know
the circle theorems to derive new information that they can use to solve questions involving new material.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
• Chapter 2, questions 19, 20
• Chapter 3, questions 6, 20

Homework Book
• Chapter 27

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF
• Lesson notes
• 11 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 5 animated widgets
• 8 interactive walkthroughs
• 3 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 3 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets
• Circle outlines

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28F / 30H Similarity

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to label angles correctly.

• What the symbols corresponding to parallel, perpendicular and equality look like on a diagram.
• How to prove that two triangles are congruent.
• How to solve simple linear equations.
• How to recognise numbers in equivalent ratios.
• (Higher only) How to calculate squares and cubes of rational numbers.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• How to work with ratio and proportion.

• Using coordinates to define an object in the plane.
• Definitions of the types of triangles and quadrilaterals.
• Multiplication and division by rational numbers.
• (Higher only) Calculating area and volume of 2D and 3D shapes.
• (Higher only) The dimensions that are needed for area and volume.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To know what is meant by the phrase ‘mathematically • To know what is meant by the phrase
similar’. ‘mathematically similar’.
• To be able to determine when two triangles are • To be able to determine when two triangles are
mathematically similar. mathematically similar.
• To use properties of similar shapes to calculate • To use properties of similar shapes to calculate
unknown lengths. unknown lengths.
Section 2 Section 2
• To know what is meant by a ‘mathematical • To know what is meant by a ‘mathematical
enlargement’. enlargement’.
• To be able to enlarge a shape given a positive rational • To be able to enlarge a shape given a positive
scale factor. rational scale factor.
• To know what the centre of enlargement is. • To know what the centre of enlargement is.
• To be able to enlarge a shape given a scale factor and • To be able to enlarge a shape given a scale factor
centre of enlargement. and centre of enlargement.
• To determine a given centre of enlargement and scale • To determine a given centre of enlargement and
factor from a diagram. scale factor from a diagram.
• To be able to enlarge a shape given a negative
rational scale factor.

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Section 3 Section 3
• To be able to determine similar polygons. • To be able to determine similar polygons.
• To be able to determine similar 3D shapes.
• To know the relationship between lengths, areas
and volumes of similar shapes.

Vocabulary
Enlargement, scale factor, centre of enlargement.

Common misconceptions and other issues

• All issues from Chapter 2F / 2H Shapes and solids, Chapter 19F Ratio / 20H Calculations with ratio and Chapter 25F /
26H Angles.
• Labelling: students need to be fluent in labelling triangles and general polygons in a consistent way. Poorly labelled
polygons mean that students cannot refer to the sides or angles in a precise way. To address this issue students
should be exposed to good practice that they can model and they should also be given opportunity to critique poor
labelling in a starter activity.
• Ratio and proportion: students do not always use the correct terminology. To address this, students should pay
particular attention to the ‘Problem-solving framework’ in each section. This should allow students to make the
connection between a ratio of side lengths and the proportion the triangles are in.
• Scale factor and centre of enlargement: students are generally quite happy with the concept and application of
simply enlarging by positive numbers greater than one. Issues arise when students are required to construct their
enlargements from a centre of enlargement. To address this with your students you could have a series of ‘student-
answered questions’ on the topic of centre of enlargement by a positive scale factor and students will then need to
determine if (i) the correct centre of enlargement has been used and (ii) the correct centre of enlargement has been
found. The students then read and critique these questions to identify common errors.
• Fractional scale factors: Some students find this hard simply because the word ‘enlargement’ is still used. To help
these students emphasising the word ‘enlargement’ when using fractional scale factors will help reinforce this idea.
• (Higher only) Negative scale factors: Students often can miss that the shape has been turned upside down. To
address this, you could refer to work covered in Chapter 22F / 23H Vectors. You can describe each vertex in your
diagram by a vector given from your centre of enlargement. To find the enlarged image you can simply multiply
each vector by the scale factor and the new vectors (using the centre of enlargement as the base point) will give the
location of the transformed vertices under the enlargement.
• (Higher only) Volume scale factor: students still struggle to see that multiplying the measurements of a 3D object
has a cubing effect on the volume. Students could start with some basic cuboids and work out the effect that
doubling and tripling the side lengths has on the area and volume of the cuboid.

Hooks

• NRICH ‘Similar Rectangles’ is a nice activity that allows students a way into similarity. Here the students are not
told what ‘similar’ means and can interpret what this must mean for a rectangle. You could start with the dimensions
of the object rectangle and give the area of the image rectangle and ask what the measurements of the image
rectangle could be, given that the rectangles are similar. This also allows for an early conversation about area scale
factors which is useful for Foundation students and essential for Higher students. (nrich.maths.org)
• Students are very happy to enlarge shapes. If one shape is an enlargement of the other, how much do they differ in
their properties? This allows you to introduce congruence as a special case, where the scale factor is one, and that all
other cases create ‘mathematically similar’ shapes.

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SECTION 1F / 1H: SIMILAR TRIANGLES

This section focuses on identifying when two triangles are mathematically similar. The section outlines a problem-
solving framework for determining unknown lengths for similar triangles using the ratio of their sides. This then uses
the fact that the proportion of each triangle is the same. The section ends with an extensive exercise.

Prompting questions

• While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What does mathematically similar mean?
Two objects are mathematically similar if they are enlargements of each other. Two triangles are mathematically
similar if they satisfy the criteria given at the start of Section 1.
• How do we name angles and sides in triangles?
We use the convention that, if ABC is a triangle then the internal angle at A is described as angle CAB (formed between
line segments AB and AC).
• How do we find ratios between triangles?
We need to compare the length of one side in the original triangle with the corresponding length in the enlarged
triangle.
• What does it mean for two triangles to be in proportion?
It means that the ratio 1 : n of corresponding sides has the same n for each pair of sides.
Exercise 28A(F) / 30A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H), Q4 (F) / Q4 (H), Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) and Q8 (F) / Q8 (H) What do the arrows on the line segments mean?
They denote parallel sides.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What conditions do we need for similar triangles?
See bullet points at start of Section 1.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Can you prove that a statement is false by providing an example to show this is the case?
If you believe a statement not to be true then you can construct a pair of triangles that do not satisfy it.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) Have we seen these side lengths before?
They are Pythagorean triples.
Some students may recognise these if met at KS3. If using this prompt, you could mention that this will be covered in
more detail in Chapter 30F / 32H Pythagoras’ theorem.
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) How do we calculate the proportion of each corresponding side?
We find the missing lengths using the same unity ratio 1 : n from the first triangle to the second.
• Q9 (F) Which sides cannot be which value?
The shorter lengths cannot be 10 or 12.

b
• Q10 (F) Which pairs of numbers (a, b) give the same fraction ?
a
b
(2, 6), (3, 9) and (4, 12) all give the same fraction .
a
• Q9 (H) and Q10 (H) How many triangles are we looking at?
We are looking at triangles ADC and AEB for Q9 (H), and for Q10 (H) we have AB (top of boat) and AC (top of lighthouse).

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Q9 and 10 (F) / Q9 and 10 (H) can be turned into an activity to start or finish a lesson by having a series of similar
questions that can be answered by students on mini whiteboards.

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Enrichment activities
• This NRICH ‘Folding Squares’ activity is a task that can be used to help students spot patterns and determine
which triangles are similar using properties of a square and angles around a point. (nrich.maths.org)
• This activity can then be followed up with NRICH ‘Take a Square II’. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Napkin’ is an open task involving similarity for students wanting to stretch their conjecturing skills.
(nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Sitting Pretty’ can be used to get students to form their own similar triangles that can be used (along
with some other ideas connected with triangles) to prove the algebraic statement. This activity shows how some
geometric properties can be used to prove something algebraic. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Two Ladders’ is a good activity for students to spot which triangles are similar and what scale factors they
have. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• A summary of how to determine if two triangles are similar can be made and students can store these away as future
revision resources.
• Students can create a problem-solving framework for finding unknown lengths in similar triangles. They can then
test their framework by letting another student use it to answer a question. The students can then compare their
frameworks and respond to comments.

SECTION 2F / 2H: ENLARGEMENTS

This section focuses on enlargements. The section is broken down into subsections: the centre of enlargement; a
fractional scale factor; (Higher only) negative scale factors; and describing enlargements.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What do we mean by ‘enlargement’?
See first line in Section 2.
• How can you find the centre of enlargement?
All vertices in the object have now been moved to a new place in the image by the same amount. We can connect the
corresponding vertices in the object and image and extend them until they intersect. Where they intersect is the centre
of enlargement.
• What does the image of your object look like when it is enlarged by a positive scale factor larger than one?
The image is larger than the object.
• What does the image of your object look like when it is enlarged by a positive scale factor less than one?
The image is smaller than the object.
• (Higher only) What does the image of your object look like when it is enlarged by a negative scale factor?
The image is rotated 180° in comparison with the object.
• (Higher only) How do you find the centre of enlargement when you have a negative scale factor?
You do exactly the same as when the scale factor is positive, but when finding corresponding vertices you must
remember that the image is rotated 180° in comparison with the object.
• What information do you always need to define an enlargement?
We need a scale factor and centre of enlargement.
Exercise 28B(F) / 30B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What do you expect will happen to the object to form the image for each part?
For parts a and c we expect the image to be larger than the object and for part b we expect the image to be smaller than
the object.

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Exercise 28C(F) / 30C(H)

While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H), Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) and Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) How do you enlarge from a point?
We need to draw line segments from the centre of enlargement O through the vertices of the object A, B, C, … and
extended past the vertices of the object by the distance OA multiplied by the scale factor.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) What do you expect the relationship of image to the object will be?
The image will be smaller than the object and will be positioned between the object and the centre of enlargement.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) How do you know you have used the correct scale factor?
The side lengths of the image will be 1.5 times the side lengths of the object.
Exercise 30D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What do you expect to happen to the object when it is enlarged by a scale factor of −1?
We expect the image to be upside down when compared with the object.
• Q2 (H) How far away will the vertices of the image be from the centre of enlargement?
They will be twice the distance the object’s vertices are from the centre of enlargement, but in the opposite direction.
• Q3 (H) What do negative scale factors greater than −1 do?
They give an image that is rotated 180° and smaller when compared to the object.
Exercise 28D(F) / 30E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q1 (H) How can you compare houses?
We can compare the lengths defined in each house.
• Q3 (F) / Q2 (H) How can you determine the centre of enlargement?
We can connect the corresponding vertices in each object and image, and extend these line segments to find the point of
intersection and hence the centre of enlargement.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Pairs of images can be flashed up and the students need to determine if they are enlargements or not (this can be
used with other forms of transformations).
• A sheet with randomly placed shapes from groups of similar shapes (scaled by a fractional scale factor) is given to
the students. They are required to group the shapes with the original shape that was used for each family and find
the fractional scale factors used to create the other shapes in the family. (This activity could be presented with a
selection of centres of enlargements as well and the students need to identify which centre of enlargement belongs
to which shape.)
Enrichment activities
• (Higher only) NRICH ‘Matter of Scale’ is a good task for students to consolidate their knowledge of enlargement.
The task requires students to prove the general case and determine another proof of Pythagoras’ theorem. It is
strongly recommended that you try this activity yourself and read the ‘Getting Started’ notes before doing this in
class. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Who is the Fairest of Them All?’ can be used to consolidate fractional scale factors, the need to describe
where an object is being enlarged from and combined transformations. (nrich.maths.org)
• (Higher only) The modern camera has been developed from the box camera or camera obscura. Light enters a dark
box through a small hole. This creates an enlargement of the scene being photographed with a negative scale factor
on the opposite side inside the box. Light sensitive film records the image.

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 28F / 30H Similarity

• This could provide a starting point for class discussion and students could be asked, ‘If you had a shoe box and used
it as a camera obscura, how far away from the Eiffel Tower would you need to be to photograph it? What scale factor
image would it produce?’
Assessment ideas
• A series of enlargement questions can be printed on A4/A3 squared paper and the students work to complete each
enlargement. Once done, the enlargements combine to make a word, which can then be checked. You can also
instruct students to make their own versions of these puzzles, which can be used in a later lesson and peer assessed.

SECTION 3F /3H: SIMILAR SHAPES / SIMILAR SHAPES AND OBJECTS

This section focuses on similarity for general polygons. The main point of the section is that for polygons with more
than three sides, equal angles by themselves are not sufficient to prove similarity.
(Higher only) The section also looks at the effect of scale factors on area of 2D and volume of 3D shapes.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Why could quadrilaterals with the same angles not be similar?
See worked example in Section 3.
• What do we need to check for similarity for general polygons?
We need all angles to be the same and their corresponding edges to be in proportion with each other.
• (Higher only) Why has the area changed for each scale factor in this way?
For an area we have two ‘lengths’ multiplied together. Thus, the area of the object will be scaled by the scale factor
squared in the image.
• (Higher only) Why has the volume changed for each scale factor in this way?
For a volume we have three ‘lengths’ multiplied together. Thus, the volume of the object will be scaled by the scale
factor cubed in the image.
Exercise 28E(F) / 30F(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) How can we decide which pairs of shapes are similar?
We can compare the proportion of each corresponding edge.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) What do we know about a shape that is an enlargement of another shape?
Enlarged images are mathematically similar to the object you started with.
• Q6 (H) What do we know about the number 512?
The cube root of 512 is 8.
• Q7 (H) How many 48s are in 588 and how does that help?
49 7
588 ÷ 48 = which is squared.
4 2
• Q8 (H) What formula can we use to help find the height?
Volume of a cylinder is πr2h. We can find the height of the smaller tin and use this to find the height of the larger one.

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

• Q9 (H) If you increase each measurement by a factor of three what will be the total factors that you will increase the
area and volume by?
32 for area and 33 for volume.
• Q10 (H) What is the formula for the surface area of a sphere and the volume of a sphere?
4 3
Surface area = 4pr2 and volume = πr . (These will be provided in an exam.)
3

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• A series of questions where pairs of polygons can be flashed up and the students need to determine if they are
similar or not.
• (Higher only) Two 3D shapes are displayed with some information (radius, height, side lengths, area and volume)
and a statement ‘similar’ or ‘not similar’. The students need to determine if the statement is correct and justify why
they think that.
Enrichment activities
• The NRICH ‘Growing Rectangles’ activity is a nice introduction to how scale factor affects area and volume. (nrich.
maths.org)
• A more complex extension to this activity is NRICH ‘Fit for Photocopying’. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Pent’ is a more complex similarity task where students need to break down what they want to find into
manageable chunks. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Look Before You Leap’ is a nice open task that can be addressed using similar triangles but can also be
addressed using a variety of other tools that are mentioned on the ‘Solution’ page. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘A Shade Crossed’ lets the students use similarity to assist their calculations involving area of a triangle.
(nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• Students study exam-style questions that have been answered incorrectly and critique the solutions. This
encourages students to think about their own responses to these types of questions.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
This chapter relies on Chapter 2F / 2H Shapes and solids, Chapter 25F / 26H Angles, and for Higher students, Chapter 3F /
3H 2D representations of 3D shapes, and Chapter 18H Volume and surface area. This chapter provides a good opportunity
to revisit some of this earlier material.
The language and calculations from Chapter 19F Ratio / 20H Calculations with ratio, are also used in this chapter.

Future learning
Later chapters in this book such as Chapter 30F / 32H Pythagoras’ theorem, Chapter 31F / 33H Trigonometry and Chapter
27H Circles, all use the material learnt in this chapter. For Pythagoras, students could explore the NRICH ‘Matter of
Scale’ activity to provide another proof of Pythagoras’ theorem. The notion of similar triangles is central to the ideas
of Trigonometry and used in some parts of the proofs of the circle theorems presented in Chapter 27H Circles. (nrich.
maths.org)

Gateway to A level
The effect of increasing a length by a factor and how that changes the area and volume is studied in the topic of
differentiation under rates of change.
In addition to this, matrices can be used to describe enlargements of objects described in two and three dimensions.

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LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, question 16 • Chapter 1, questions 8, 22, 23
• Chapter 2, question 15 • Chapter 5, question 17
• Chapter 3, question 6 • Chapter 8, question 23
• Chapter 8, questions 5, 16

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 28 • Chapter 30

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 8 (F) / 9 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 3 (F) / 5 (H) animated widgets
• 6 (F) / 9 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 3 (F) / 4 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 3 (F) / 4 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper
• 2 mm graph paper
• Axis grids from -10 to 10 in x and -10 to 10 in y

219 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

29F / 31H Congruence

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to label equal angles and edges in shapes.

• The basic angle facts, including polygons and parallel lines.
• How to justify geometric proofs using known geometric facts.
• The definitions and properties of triangles and quadrilaterals.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Constructions and loci.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To know what it means for two objects to be congruent. • To know what it means for two objects to be
congruent.
• To know the conditions for which congruence for a pair
of triangle is then implied: • To know the conditions for which congruence for a
pair of triangle is then implied:
-- SSS – three sides are the same in both triangles; -- SSS – three sides are the same in both triangles;
-- ASA – two corresponding angles and one side length -- ASA – two angles and one side length are the
are the same in both triangles. same in both triangles.
-- SAS – two sides and the angle between them are the -- SAS – two sides and the angle between them are
same in both triangles. the same in both triangles.
-- RHS – the hypotenuse and another side of a right- -- RHS – the hypotenuse and another side of
angled triangle are the same in both triangles. a right-angled triangle are the same in both
triangles.
Section 2 Section 2
• To be able to apply the conditions for congruency to a • To be able to apply the conditions for congruency to
variety of situations. a variety of situations.

Vocabulary
Foundation only Congruent.

Common misconceptions and other issues

• All issues from Chapter 2F / 2H Shapes and solids and Chapter 25F / 26H Angles.
• Notation:
-- Is labelling important? Congruence of triangles only makes sense when the triangles have been labelled. When we
say two triangles, say ABC and DEF, are congruent what we are saying is that we can identify the sides AB = DE, BC
= EF, CA = FD and the angles formed between pairs of equivalent sides. Therefore, we need to label the triangles
correctly and keep using the notation we have built up in Chapter 2F / 2H Shapes and solids and Chapter 25F / 26H
Angles.
-- Is ASA the same as SAA or AAS? There is a fundamental difference between ASA and SAA. This difference will not
mean you cannot determine if two triangles are congruent, however there is a difference in how the triangles look.
220 © Cambridge University Press, 2015
 29F / 31H Congruence

We can always find the

third angle using
the sum to 180° rule.

ASA triangle
(unique)
a1 a2
S

Using construction lines we can

find the unique point for the 3rd vertex.

SAA triangles are also unique. AAA

triangles are all similar – defining
a side therefore makes it unique.

Again, we can always a2

find this third angle.

a1

SAA triangle (AAS is just a

reflection in the vertical axis)

-- For ASA the triangle has a baseline that represents the side and the two angles are formed either end of the
baseline. For SAA triangles the side given is opposite one of the given angles so students will have to find the
third unknown angle to compare and form a correct argument for congruency, i.e. the triangles are not congruent
unless the side of equal length is between the same two angles.
-- Students can construct examples of these to convince themselves that a triangle defined by ASA may not be
congruent to a triangle defined by SAA unless the side of equal length is between the same two angles.
-- Is SSA (or ASS) the same as SAS? SSA triangle is the ambiguous case. Getting students to draw a baseline of length
S, then a circle of radius S at one end of the base and, finally, use a protractor to draw in a line at angle A at
the opposite end of the baseline. This line segment will intersect twice with the circle giving a triangle that can
be described by SSA, which has either an acute or obtuse angle. This is therefore not the same as SAS which
determines a unique triangle. However, SSA does determine a triangle uniquely when A is 90° (see activity below).
• Confusing congruence and similarity has the potential to become an issue. Introducing the concept of congruence
first and stressing that congruence is a way of determining if shapes are exactly the same will help reinforce these
ideas with the students. Occasional starters (once similarity is learnt) where pairs of triangles are displayed and the
students have to determine if they are congruent or not will also aid the distinction between these topics.
• Mathematical proof will become central when answering the questions in Section 2 that apply the knowledge
gained. Students can improve their presentation and style of mathematical proof by seeing model answers (either
on paper or demonstrated by the class teacher) and critiquing incomplete or unclear solutions. For many students it
is the different forms proofs can take and what constitutes a full proof that causes problems. Encouraging students
to rank proofs of the same problem from best to worst could help improve their awareness of what is required.

Hooks

• Congruence is a powerful mathematical concept and is at the core to one of the main reasons mathematicians do
research – to classify and understand. Knowing when two objects or (in the case here) two triangles are really the
same allows us to narrow down the information we need to move on with a task or problem.

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

• From Chapter 21F / 22H Construction and loci, we saw how to construct triangles from certain pieces of information.
Knowing which pieces of information we need to uniquely define a triangle gives us a mathematical way to classify
triangles. Once we know what information we require, we can compare triangles with the same information and
state if they are congruent.

SECTION 1F / 1H: CONGRUENT TRIANGLES

This section focuses on what congruence is for a triangle and what conditions need to be satisfied for two triangles to
be proven to be congruent. This information is displayed in a table that clearly describes each of the conditions with an
appropriate diagram.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What does orientation mean?
• The position in space the object has.
• How do we distinguish between pairs of sides with the same length?
• We can use a series of markings on the sides. Sides that are the same length get the same number of markings.
• How can we distinguish between angles that are the same?
• We can use colours to identify the angles using the same colour for the same angle or we can use arcs to highlight equal
angles, if more than set of equal angles exist, we can use multiple arcs to represent the sets.
Exercise 29A(F) / 31A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) How can we order our thoughts on the page?
We could form a table with the heading of each column one of SSS, SAS, ASA or RHS, then each pair of triangles can be
discussed and categorised.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Have we seen a picture like this before?
Tilting it so that the line segment AB is at the top gives a picture very similar to the one used for alternate angles
between parallel lines. If the two line segments AB and ED are joined by a line segment AD at the same angle to each of
the line segments AB and ED then AB and ED must be parallel. In addition to this, we have vertically opposite angles at
C.
• Q4−9 (F) / Q4−9 (H) What do we need for a mathematical proof?
We need to include reasons for each conclusion we come to.
• Q10 (F) / Q10 (H) What are the properties of a rhombus?
All four sides of a rhombus are the same length, opposite angles are equal and the diagonals intersect at a right angle.
• Q11 (H) How many ways can we prove this?
We could use the properties of tangents to circles or we could use the properties of circles and parallel lines, for
example.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• NRICH ‘Triangular Tantaliser’ can be used as an opening exercise to identify different triangles and the students
will have either:
-- Discounted triangles that are congruent without justification, then you could ask, ‘Why did you decide not to
include these other triangles?’ and ‘How do you know that they are basically the same?’
-- Or included triangles that are congruent, then you could ask the students to look at them carefully.
(nrich.maths.org)

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 29F / 31H Congruence

Starters or plenaries
• This can be used as an opening task or as a consolidation exercise. A series of descriptions and/or pictures of
triangles are displayed and the students are required to determine if there is enough information for each triangle to
determine a unique triangle.
Enrichment activities
• This activity can be used to reinforce the material learnt in construction and loci. Give the students a series of
pieces of information about a triangle, starting with every angle and every side and then gradually remove pieces
of information. The students are then required to draw each of the triangles described, if they can! The activity has
natural plenary questions: ‘Which triangles could be drawn?’, ‘Which triangles are determined uniquely?’, ‘How many
pieces of information do we need to determine a unique triangle and which groups of information?’
• Once the students have decided that ‘just three pieces of information’ are required to determine a triangle, you
could ask, ‘How many different arrangements of three pieces of information can we have and which are the ones that
determine a triangle uniquely?’ i.e. AAA, AAS, ASS etc. This brings in the ideas of combinations and you could even ask
the questions: ‘Is SAS the same as ASS?’ or ‘Is SSA or ASS the same as SAS?’
• The condition RHS for two triangles to be congruent is not in the same form as the other three, why?
It arises in the case of ASS triangles, where the angle A is 90° and thus there is no ambiguity normally associated with
ASS triangles that can have either obtuse or acute angles.
Assessment ideas
• Students can construct guides to congruence where they summarise the information from this section.
• Each student can construct their own simple ‘exam-style question’ on congruence for another pupil to answer. This
activity can reinforce the ideas from the section from the point of view of both the writer of the question (you must
be able to answer the question) and the student answering it.
• The first enrichment activity can be used in conjunction with this assessment idea. Once your students have
determined the minimum information needed to determine a unique triangle (SSS, SAS, ASA), they can be given
‘proofs’ that two triangles are the same. The students work through these ‘proofs’ and determine if they are correct.
Through this, students connect their knowledge of determining triangles uniquely with deciding if two given
triangles are congruent.

SECTION 2F / 2H: APPLYING CONGRUENCY

This section focuses on applying the new information learnt on congruency from Section 1 in a variety of situations.
Throughout this section, students are required to use material from Chapter 2F / 2H Shapes and solids and Chapter 21F /
22H Construction and loci as well as the new material. The section opens with a problem-solving framework that helps
to break down a question into steps.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• How many triangles can you see?
• Identifying which triangles the students are looking at will help clarify what each question is asking.
• How are the triangles labelled?
• Labelling is very important in this chapter and students need to be able to describe triangles in a diagram using the
correct labelling, in order to make comparisons.
Exercise 29B(F) / 31B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How many triangles can you see?
Two.
Draw the two triangles separately and label everything you can. Are there any lengths they share in common?
They share one common length in the diagram (JL) and given the conventions of labelling we also know that JM = JK.

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) How many triangles can you see?

We can see four smaller triangles and four larger triangles.
• What is the definition of parallelogram?
A parallelogram has two sets of parallel lines.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) How many triangles can you see?
Two.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) What is required for an isosceles triangle?
The base angles must be the same.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) How many triangles do we have in this diagram that contain the identified angles? What other angles
can we define in terms of what we already know?
We can describe the angles CEB and AEB using the angle fact that the sum of angles on a straight line is 180° so hence
both these angles are 180 − AED (= 180 – CED). Similar reasoning can be used to label angles EAB and ECB.
• Q6 (F) / Q7 (H) What do we know about the missing angles?
Angles ABC and ADC must be the same.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Display a diagram on the board where the students are required to prove a certain property. The students write a
solution and then exchange with another class member. The students then read through the solution and decide if it
is correct. The class teacher then asks for a possible solution and a student can describe the solution to the class.
• NRICH ‘Hex’ can be used as a quick starter. Once the students have found a solution, you can then ask which
triangles in the diagram are congruent and why. (nrich.maths.org)
Enrichment activities
• (Higher only) NRICH ‘Triangles in a Square’ can be used to help students apply their knowledge of congruence to
prove that two line segments are the same. Congruence might not be immediately evident in this task and thus it is
very useful for students who find the exercises straightforward. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Making Sixty’ can be used in the same way as the above task but can also be used with Foundation
students who can label on a physical piece of paper the triangles they can find and relate them to the conditions for
congruence. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘A Sameness Surely’ can be used as another task for students who find the exercises straightforward.
(nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• Exam questions posted around the room. The students, in pairs, have several minutes with each exam question and
they must continue to solve it from the point the proof has reached. This means that each successive pair continues
from where the previous pair left off and hence their working must be clearly labelled. This activity is often not
enjoyed by students the first time they do it but they do recognise quite quickly the importance of clear working and
labelling.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
Chapter 2F / 2H Shapes and solids and Chapter 25F / 26H Angles, are hugely useful for this chapter and recapping their
content, specifically for triangles, will allow students to draw connections.
Chapter 21F / 22H Construction and loci, give a way into this chapter; see hooks above for more details.
Labelling conventions, as used in Chapter 28F / 30H Similarity, are used here.

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 29F / 31H Congruence

Future learning
This chapter and the previous chapter (28F / 30H Similarity) provide opportunities for students to become conversant
with the correct labelling of angles and sides, which is helpful for working with Pythagoras’ theorem (Chapter 30F / 32H
Pythagoras’ theorem) and trigonometry (Chapter 31F / 33H Trigonometry).

Gateway to A level
Students will be expected to have the idea of mathematical congruence in their minds when they tackle geometry
questions. However, it is the mathematical proof skills that are consolidated and added to here that are essential to
students going onto A level mathematics. In addition work on proof will be further extended, including more advanced
algebraic proofs and reasoning.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, question 17 • Chapter 1, question 24
• Chapter 3, questions 7, 8 • Chapter 2, question 28
• Chapter 8, question 24 • Chapter 3, question 7

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 29 • Chapter 31

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 7 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 2 animated widgets
• 6 interactive walkthroughs
• 2 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 2 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

225 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

30F / 32H Pythagoras’ theorem

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• Understand how to correctly use labels in geometry particularly those that are unique to a triangle, e.g. vertices (A, B
…), sides (AB or, for triangles only, lowercase c as it is opposite vertex C), symbol for a right angle.
• How to use a calculator to find squares and square roots.
• How to round to a given accuracy (either significant figures or decimal places).
• (Higher only) How to work with exact and approximate values of surds.
• The properties and categories of triangles.
• How to substitute into and rearrange formulae including squares and square roots.
• (Higher only) The properties of polygons.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Conversion of metric units.

• Area and perimeter formulae of polygons and circles.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Derive Pythagoras’ theorem and use it to find the length • Know and use Pythagoras’ theorem to find any
of the hypotenuse in any right-angled triangle. missing length in a right-angled triangle.
Section 2 Section 2
• Know and use Pythagoras’ theorem to find any missing • Use Pythagoras’ theorem to show whether a triangle
length in a right-angled triangle. is right-angled or not.
• Apply Pythagoras’ theorem to 2D problems.
Section 3 Section 3
• Use Pythagoras’ theorem to show whether a triangle is • Apply Pythagoras’ theorem to 3D problems.
right-angled or not.
Section 4 Section 4
• Apply Pythagoras’ theorem to 2D problems. • Link Pythagoras’ theorem to real life skills for
industry.
• Link Pythagoras’ theorem to real life skills for industry.

Vocabulary
Hypotenuse, theorem, Pythagorean triples

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Identifying the hypotenuse incorrectly by mistaking the length that is the longest (often due to the orientation
of the triangle). Constantly reinforcing that the hypotenuse is the side opposite the right angle rather than just the
longest side may help as the longest side can be hard to identify in some right-angled triangles when the orientation is
misleading. An additional suggestion could be to rotate the page so that the right angle is paced at the bottom left or
right corner; this can help students identify the hypotenuse as the sloped side.

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 30F / 32H Pythagoras’ theorem

• Misunderstanding that the theorem connects the squares of the side lengths and forgetting to find the square root.
This may be because introducing Pythagoras’ theorem is often done through the exploration of connections in
square numbers. Reinforcing good practice such as always stating the theorem first, clearly setting out working in a
column and lining up the equality signs may help. This consistency will leave students with their length squared equal
to their answer, which can then be easily identified as an incomplete solution.
• Struggling to rearrange the formula to find a side other than the hypotenuse. Given that there is only ever one
unknown in these problems they can be solved through a series of ‘what number is needed to…’ statements rather than
formally rearranging the formula. For example, 100 =?2 + 64 so ‘what number is needed to make 100 when I add 64?’
This then gives?2 = 36 so asking ‘what number squared makes 36?’ leads to the answer of six.
• Applying (incorrectly) the theorem to non-right-angled triangles. This tends to be a bigger problem when students
are working with a combination of right-angled triangles and non-right-angled triangles, often after students have
worked on trigonometry. Formally defining Pythagoras’ theorem as ‘given a right-angled triangle the square of the
hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides’ may help prevent this problem if students know
this definition by heart. In addition, a series of tasks that encourage students to use the converse of this statement,
which is that any triangle where the sum of the squares of two sides equals the square of the third is a right-angled
triangle, can help reinforce this condition for the use of Pythagoras’ theorem.
• Confusing labels, e.g. side ‘a’ with the adjacent when later learning about trigonometry, or when triangles are
pre-labelled, for example ‘p’, ‘q’, ‘r’ rather than ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’. Students relying on the formula in the form a2 + b2 = c2
where ‘c’ is the hypotenuse can also cause problems where one of the other side lengths is labelled ‘c’ or when
the hypotenuse is labelled ‘a’ or ‘b’. Again, formally defining Pythagoras’ theorem as ‘given a right-angled triangle
the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides’ prevents problems related to
labelling alone. This way Pythagoras’ theorem can be written as a formula specific to the triangle given in the problem.

Hooks

• Pythagoras’ theorem can be introduced in many different ways but it is nice to let students discover it for themselves
to a certain extent. This can be done through the ‘Tilted squares’ investigational approach (detailed in the
Foundation version of Section 1). It may also be done through an exploration of patterns in squares; you can set
students the number problem: find square numbers that are the sum of two other square numbers. Students can
then construct SSS triangles using these three linked numbers and see what conclusions they can draw.

SECTION 1F: FINDING THE LENGTH OF THE HYPOTENUSE

For Foundation students, Section 1 introduces Pythagoras’ theorem through an investigational approach that requires
students to find the areas of tilted squares. Students then explore right-angled triangles and the square formed from
each of its sides to deduce a pattern that is given by Pythagoras’ theorem. The main focus of the chapter is then how the
theorem is used to find the hypotenuse given the other two sides in a right-angled triangle.

Prompting questions
Exercise 30A(F)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• How do you calculate the area of a square?
Base multiplied by height or base squared etc.
• What is meant by a tilted square?
A square where the side lengths do not lie on the grid but the vertices still do.
• How can you break up a tilted square to help you calculate its area?
There are two simple ways to find the area of the tilted square: find the area of the non-tilted square it sits inside and
subtract the area of the four equally sized triangles or break the tilted square up into a smaller square and four equally
sized triangles.
• Could you have broken the shape up in any other ways?
See comment above, there are many ways to split the shape, but these are most beneficial in pattern spotting.

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• How can you calculate the area of a new square that is tilted upwards by one?
Fixing the problem to focusing on squares with a tilt of one forms a pattern that pupils normally spot quite quickly and
that is when tilting a square of length n by 1 the area of the tilted square is (n + 1)2 2n = n2 + 1 i.e. one more than the area
of the square when flat on the grid. From this pupils may conjecture patterns for a tilt of two, three and so on that can be
explored.
• How can you calculate the area of a new square that is tilted upwards by two?
We can calculate the area in the same way as before and also test our new theorem.
• Can you predict the area of a new square that is tilted upwards by three, four etc?
• How can you find the length of one of the square sides from this?
The side length of the tilted square can be found by finding the square root of the area. This can be used to deduce
Pythagoras’ theorem based on the right-angled triangle formed by the tilt.
Exercise 30B(F)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) Which side is the hypotenuse?
The one opposite the right angle.
• Q3 (F) What do we know about the sides of a triangle from constructions?
The sum of the two shorter sides must exceed the sum of the longest side or they won’t meet.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Writing a list of numbers from 1 to 25 squared to improve mental accuracy and recognition when dealing with
squares.
Starters and plenaries
• Spotting Pythagorean triples given a list of the first 25 square numbers. This could be a continuation of the task
above.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Tilted Squares’ has interactive resources available to explore tilted squares and methods for calculating
their area in detail that may be of use to you. Students sometimes struggle with the idea of a tilted square and the
supporting animations make the idea very clear. Using dotted squared paper rather than standard squared paper
may also make things easier. These tilted squares can be used to derive and prove Pythagoras’ theorem in different
ways should you wish to extend the most able students. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• Pupils could produce an information booklet aimed at describing what Pythagoras’ theorem is and how they would
use it.

SECTION 1H / 2F: UNDERSTANDING PYTHAGORAS’ THEOREM / FINDING THE LENGTH OF ANY SIDE

The Higher chapter recaps what Pythagoras’ theorem for right-angled triangles states and applies it to finding missing
lengths in right-angled triangles.
The Foundation chapter extends the Section 1 content to finding the length of any given side of a right-angled triangle.
For students less confident with algebraic manipulation, an alternative approach might be to draw diagrams similar to
that shown below and fill in the gaps. This can be used to encourage students to check their answer is sensible (e.g. that
the hypotenuse is the longest side).

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 30F / 32H Pythagoras’ theorem

102  100 100  64  36

10 36
8

36  6

82  64

Four tips for success in working with Pythagoras’ theorem are offered in the Higher chapter:
• Write the formula. • Sketch the problem.
• Show full workings. • Round your answer to the given degree of accuracy.
Students should be encouraged to follow this advice, particularly for the contextual problems in this chapter.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Once you’ve found the missing side, how can you check your answer is sensible?
The hypotenuse is always the longest length and the sum of the two shorter sides must exceed the largest.
• If you square root both sides of a2 + b2 = c2 why don’t you get a + b = c?
• How could you convince someone in Year 8 about this?
Students may want to offer a counter-example or may instead wish to show that if a + b = c then (a + b)2 = c2 and expand
the brackets with an explanation that both sides of the equation must remain balanced.
• Does it matter which side is labelled ‘a’, ‘b’ or ‘c’?
No, you can use any letters you wish but the theorem must be adapted so that the sum always gives the hypotenuse
squared, whatever letters you choose.
• If Pythagoras’ theorem for a particular triangle gives you ‘u2 + v2 = s2’ what does the triangle look like?
The important thing is that the hypotenuse must be labelled s.
• What about if the equation was ‘x2 − y2 = w2’?
Here students will need to rearrange first and hence deduce that the hypotenuse is labelled x.
Exercise 30C(F) / 32A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1–2 (H) Which side is the hypotenuse?
The one opposite the right angle.
• Q2 (F) / Q1−2 (H) Does it matter which of the other two sides is a and which is b?
No, they can have either label.
• Q1i & j (F) What do you need to use Pythagoras’ theorem?
A right-angled triangle and two side lengths so you will have to apply the theorem twice to find this information for the
right-angled triangle with the missing side labelled.
• Q3 (F) and Q4 (F) Sketch the right-angled triangle involved in the word problem, which length is the unknown?
The most important thing here is identifying whether the unknown length is the hypotenuse or not.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• (Foundation only) Exercise 30C Q5 matching exercise could be produced as a card sort (either in electronic form or
as a hard copy).
Plenaries
• Sorting a series of Pythagoras’ theorem problems into finding the hypotenuse and finding the length of a shorter
side. This could also be used as an assessment task.
Enrichment activities
• Once pupils are confident using Pythagoras’ theorem an appropriate extension might be to consider different ways
in which the theorem can be proved. There are multiple ways the theorem can be proved and you can search for
these proofs online. For example, NRICH ‘Pythagoras Proofs’, the first of which comes from the tilted squares
problem. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Nicely Similar’ is a problem students will have to think carefully about what information they have been
given and label the lengths of the two right-angled triangles in their sketch carefully. They will need to compare the
three triangles they know and appropriately form and solve the equations to find the missing lengths. This problem
can be used to revise similarity. (nrich.maths.org)
• Pupils can explore what irrational values look like and their approximate size when working with surds by
considering the right-angled triangle that has that length as a hypotenuse. E.g. what does 2 look like on square
dotted paper? How does it compare to 1 and 2? They can also use their work on similarity alongside their knowledge
of right-angled triangles to simplify surds.
• Having done the above activity students may then wish to explore spirals such as the following. If you start with a
1 cm by 1 cm right-angled triangle and draw it carefully the root 16 line should be 4 cm long. It is not as easy as it
sounds to get it right.
1

4 3
5 2 1
6 1
17
7
16
8
15
9
14
10 13
11 12

Assessment ideas
• Students get pieces of ‘incorrect homework’. They need to identify the mistakes and correct the homework.

SECTION 2H: USING PYTHAGORAS’ THEOREM AND SECTION 3F: PROVING WHETHER A TRIANGLE IS RIGHT-ANGLED

This section considers the sets of numbers called Pythagorean triples. These numbers are used alongside the converse
of Pythagoras’ theorem, which allows us to decide if a triangle is right-angled.
(Higher only) For Higher pupils this section is extended to calculating missing lengths in order to calculate the
perimeter or area of polygons.

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Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• A 3, 4, 5 triangle is right-angled. If you make each side longer by one, you have a 4, 5, 6 triangle. Is that triangle right-
angled?
No, triangles are only similar if linked by a scale factor, so these triangles are not similar and so the 4, 5, 6 triangle
cannot be right-angled.
• Is it possible to draw a right-angled triangle with side lengths 4, 11 and 15?
No, the sum of the two smaller sides must exceed the largest, here we have a line because they are equal.
• How many triples (a, b, c) of numbers less than 100 can you have such that a2 + b2 = c2? How many can you find that
are not multiples of each other?
Lists can be found online for Pythagorean triples.
• How is the triple (3, 4, 5) connected to (12, 16, 20)? How are the two right-angled triangles with these side lengths
connected?
They are similar and linked by a scale factor of four.
Exercise 30D(F) / 32B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q1 (H) How do we know which length is the hypotenuse?
The hypotenuse will always be the longest length so we can assume the largest value is the hypotenuse.
Exercise 32C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• How many right-angled isosceles are there?
An infinite number, but they are all similar to each other as the other two angles must be 45°.
• Q6−7 (H) Sketch the right-angled triangle you are applying Pythagoras’ theorem to separately and label all sides to
prevent errors.
• Q8−9 (H) Double check the question, are you finding the area or perimeter of the shape? Does this change how you
are using Pythagoras’ theorem?
No, because it is still a length that is missing, it is what you then do with that length that changes.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Plenaries
• A ‘tick or trash’ powerpoint. Students are shown pictures of triangles and either ‘tick’ if it’s a right-angled triangle or
‘trash’ if it’s not. This could be done with mini whiteboards or with two different coloured cards.
Enrichment activities
• Get a piece of string and tie 12 equally-spaced knots in it. Can you make a right-angled triangle where a knot is a
vertex? Why is it possible to do this with 12 knots but not 3? What other possible arrangements of knots can we
have?
• In The Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow announces that ‘the sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles
triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side’. Is the Scarecrow always, sometimes, or never correct?
• An idea from the Cambridge Mathematics Education Project (CMEP) is to give students sets of 3 coordinate pairs.
Students then need to determine what kind of triangle the coordinates will make.
• NRICH ‘Liethagoras’ activity: in which an alternative theorem based on right-angled triangles is offered for students
to prove or disprove. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• (Higher only) The questions in Exercise 32C(H) can be enlarged to A3 sheets for students to work on the problems
together. They can then peer assess the model solutions using the check points for using Pythagoras’ theorem given
in Exercise 32A(H).

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SECTION 3H: PYTHAGORAS IN THREE DIMENSIONS

This section extends the work on Pythagoras to problems in three dimensions, mainly looking at the length of diagonals
of solids.

Prompting questions
Exercise 32D(H)
• While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Sketch the right-angled triangle you are working with, what lengths do you know?
The answer will vary according to the question being worked on.
• Does this sketch have to be in 3D?
No because a right-angled triangle is a 2D shape.
• If you do not know at least two of the lengths of the right-angled triangle can you form another right-angled triangle
to find one of those lengths? (In other words will you have to apply Pythagoras’ theorem twice?)
The answer will vary according to the question being worked on.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Enrichment activities
• The NRICH ‘Rectangular Pyramids’ activity gives the students a chance to work with Pythagoras’ Theorem in 2D
and then extend it to 3D. (nrich.maths.org)
• (Higher only) Once students have successfully mastered the application of Pythagoras’ theorem, the NRICH ‘The
Spider and the Fly’ activity makes a nice assessment task when the knowledge is combined with nets of shapes. A
possible extension to this task that extends to 3D is: given that the fly is airborne and can take a more direct route,
what is the shortest distance from the fly to the spider? (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• Again, the questions in Exercise 32D(H) can be enlarged to A3 sheets for students to work on the problems together.
They can then peer assess the model solutions using the check points for using Pythagoras’ theorem in given in
Exercise 32A(H).

SECTION 4F / 4H: USING PYTHAGORAS’ THEOREM TO SOLVE PROBLEMS / USING PYTHAGORAS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

For Foundation students this section starts with an exercise containing similar problems to Higher Exercise 32B(H). For
both tiers, Section 4 goes on to use Pythagoras’ theorem to solve problems in real life contexts.

Prompting questions
Exercise 30E(F)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What properties does an isosceles triangle have?
It has two sides of equal length.
• How many right-angled isosceles triangles are there?
An infinite number, but they are all similar to each other as the other two angles must be 45°.
• Q3−4 (F) Sketch the right-angled triangle you are applying Pythagoras’ theorem to separately and label all sides to
prevent errors.
• Q5 (F) Double check the question, are you finding the area or perimeter of the shape? Does this change how you are
using Pythagoras’ theorem?
No, because it is still a length that is missing, it is what you then do with that length that changes.

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 30F / 32H Pythagoras’ theorem

Exercise 30F(F) / 32E(H)

While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Why are we doing step n in the six step problem-solving approach? Why is it important?
It produces solutions that you have thought about and considered every piece of information to decide what you have
to do. It also produces a solution that you can follow if distracted from your working and more importantly an examiner
can follow in case of errors.
• Sketch the right-angled triangle you are working with, what lengths do you know?
The answer will vary according to the question being worked on.
• If you do not know at least two of the lengths of the right-angled triangle can you form another right-angled triangle
to find one of those lengths? (In other words will you have to apply Pythagoras’ theorem twice?)
The answer will vary according to the question being worked on.
• Q12 (H) Design another piece of art work based on right-angled triangles for a classmate to investigate.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starter or Plenary
• Any of the problems in the exercise can be presented as a starter or plenary and more emphasis can be given to good
practice in quality of written communication.
Enrichment activities
• We are going to build a skate park with some ramps and need some pieces of wood to make the right-angled triangle
ends for the ramps. We can only order the pieces of wood online with the length dimensions 3 m, 4 m, 5 m, 13 m and
15 m. We can add the pieces together, e.g. 4 m + 4 m = 8 m but we cannot saw any off! What are the lengths of the
sides of the right-angled triangles can we make with these pieces?
Assessment ideas
• A3 blown-up questions. The students answer the question and then swap with another group who then use a
mark scheme to assess the students’ work. Collect all the questions at the end and discuss common errors and the
structure of some solutions.
• The questions from Exercise 30F(F) / 32E(H) could be photocopied onto card or paper and used as a relay for
pairs where students work together and only get to move on to the next question once they have correctly solved
the problem they are on. This is a suitable activity if your aim is improving efficiency and fluency with Pythagoras
problems.
• An assessed piece of homework could also be used to create a ‘spot the errors’ sheet if pupils need additional
support. This could be formed from a collection of errors identified in assessed work that can be compiled and
shared with the class before handing back their work. Alternatively a ‘bad’ homework could be created for students
to mark.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
The ‘standard’ diagram to demonstrate Pythagoras’ theorem shows three squares on the sides of the right-angled
triangle. If these squares were replaced with semicircles, does it still work? Is the area of a semicircle on the hypotenuse
equal to the sums of the semicircles on the other two sides? By exploring this problem you can link back to work on area
of circle sectors in Chapter 12F / 12H Area. There are also many opportunities that are used in this chapter to explore
area and perimeter problems for regular and composite shapes now pupils are better equipped with skills to find
missing lengths associated with right-angled triangles.

Future learning
Chapter 31F / 33H Trigonometry, will increase students’ knowledge of right-angled triangles and opportunities for pupils
to solve problems that involve both trigonometry and/or Pythagoras’ theorem will be presented. For many students this
will present additional challenge as they will have to select the most efficient method without direction. Pythagoras’

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theorem will also be applied in indirect right-angled triangle problems such as finding the distance between two points
given their coordinates in two- and three-dimensions.

Gateway to A level
At A level, Pythagoras’ theorem will be employed in many different ways. The most obvious of those is in coordinate
geometry where pupils will use Pythagoras’ theorem to find the length of line segments in 2D and 3D as well as finding
the radius of a circle given the centre and a point on the curve and deducing the equation of the circle. Less direct is
sinθ
its application to deriving trigonometric identities, notably: = tanθ and its use in deriving the compound angle
cosθ
formulae.
It will also be used to calculate the magnitude of vectors in 2D and 3D, and hence many other values associated with
compound measures.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 3, question 15 • Chapter 1, question 27
• Chapter 4, questions 8, 9 • Chapter 2, question 29
• Chapter 5, question 12 • Chapter 3, questions 8, 13, 14, 21
• Chapter 6, questions 17, 21 • Chapter 4, questions 8, 15
• Chapter 7, question 21 • Chapter 5, question 12
• Chapter 8, questions 6, 17 • Chapter 6, questions 17, 18
• Chapter 9, questions 19, 20 • Chapter 7, question 12
• Chapter 8, questions 7, 29, 30
• Chapter 9, question 13
• Chapter 10, question 15

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 30 • Chapter 32

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 9 (F) / 8 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 4 animated widgets
• 10 interactive walkthroughs
• 4 (F) / 3 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 4 (F) / 3 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• Square dotted paper

• Foundation exercise 31A question 1 diagram

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 31F / 33H Trigonometry

31F / 33H Trigonometry

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• Properties of triangles including notation conventions for angles and sides.

• How to round to a given accuracy and recognise the effect of rounding.
• What it means for triangles to be similar and how to use scale factors to calculate side lengths.
• How to identify and apply knowledge of alternate angles in parallel lines.
• How to apply Pythagoras’ theorem to calculate unknown lengths.
• (Higher only) Properties of 3D solids.
• (Higher only) Know the formula for calculating the area of a triangle.

Additional useful prior knowledge

3 3
• How to calculate with surds including manipulating expressions e.g. + .
3 4

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Use the trigonometric ratios given by the sine, cosine • Use the trigonometric ratios given by the sine,
and tangent functions to find unknown lengths and cosine and tangent functions to find unknown
angles in 2D right-angled triangles. lengths and angles in 2D right-angled triangles.
Section 2 Section 2
• Know the exact ratios given by sine and cosine of 0°, • Know the exact ratios given by sine and cosine of 0°,
30°, 45°, 60° and 90° and the exact ratios given by the 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° and the exact ratios given by
tangent function for 0°, 30°, 45° and 60°. the tangent function for 0°, 30°, 45° and 60°.
Section 3 Section 3
• Know the difference between an angle of depression • Use the sine, cosine and sine area rules to solve
and an angle of elevation. problems relating to unknown sides, angles and
areas in non-right-angled triangles.
• Identify when the trigonometric ratios must be used
instead of Pythagoras’ theorem to solve 2D problems
relating to right-angled triangles, including contextual
problems.
Section 4
• Know the difference between an angle of depression
and an angle of elevation.
• Identify when the trigonometric ratios must be
used instead of Pythagoras’ theorem to solve 2D
and 3D problems relating to right-angled triangles,
including contextual problems.

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Vocabulary
Angle of elevation, angle of depression

Common misconceptions and other issues

• See notes on misconceptions and issues in Chapter 25F / 26H Angles. In addition, these ideas can be explored for
notation explicitly used for triangles where the label of a vertex (capital) is used to label the opposite side (lowercase
same letter) and why this system may be more useful in certain cases.
• Identifying the hypotenuse incorrectly. (See Chapter 30F / 32H Pythagoras’ theorem.)
• Students struggle to identify and label the adjacent and opposite sides because they don’t realise it depends on
where the given angle is. Reinforcing the use of diagrams and asking students to label every scenario as a first step
may help (as may using more than one diagram when more than one angle is used).
• Students confuse the ratios and struggle to identify which function should be used. To combat this it is often worth
considering how the material is introduced to students in the first case, as it is hard to pinpoint whether their
problem relates to identifying the correct function, labelling the sides correctly or something else. If students are
exposed to only one ratio initially and use it to calculate missing lengths and angles it is then easy to go back to a
right-angled triangle and discuss the other combinations of sides that could be used.
Other ideas could be using mnemonics such as SOHCAHTOA, which can be written as SOHCAHTOA, to tie in to the use
of formula triangles that, along with labelled triangles, can be used to identify the correct function.
An additional, perhaps more radical, way is to ignore the three separate functions and instead encourage students to
use the sine rule for non-right-angled triangles in all cases.
• Students work with the wrong mode for angle inputs on their calculator. When students are working with their own
calculators it is worth doing an initial check by asking them to type in sinx (or any other function for any value of x) to
check everyone gets the same value. Note: non-exact values often work better here.
• Students struggle to rearrange the trig formulae. Using formula triangles to support memorisation of the formulae
may help. Encourage students to write the formula triangle down and, by covering the variable they are solving for,
write down the formula they will use.
• Students struggle to work with formulae triangles and do not understand how they are used. To assist students in
gaining this understanding the form they are written in can be adapted, as shown in the diagram, to include more
information.

Opp
÷ ÷
× Adj

• Students struggle to remember exact values for certain trig ratios. This material may form part of a non-calculator
paper or may be tested in other ways that require it to be memorised. There are patterns in the ratios that may help
with the memorisation.

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Pattern (The square Pattern

Angle è (°) root of 0 to 4 Sinè (Reverses Cosè Pattern Tanè
quarters) pattern for Sinè)

0 4
0 0 1 0
4 4

1 1 3 3 1 3
30 sin q =
4 2 4 2 3 3
cos q
this can be
2 2 2 2 found by
45 1
4 2 4 2 exploring
the links
3 3 1 1 between
60 the ratios 3
4 2 4 2

4 0
90 1 0 undefined
4 4

• (Higher only) Students need to recall the sine, cosine and area formulae for use in the exam as they will no longer
appear on the formulae sheet. Some ways to help with this are:
-- Students could match the formulae with the title of the rule.
-- Students could play a game of true or false when presented with the formulae.
-- Students could be tested on the values like a spelling test and asked to write down the formulae.
-- Students could learn how to derive the formulae (though this is probably more time consuming for most).

Hooks

• Similar triangles are used to explain where the trigonometric ratios come from at the beginning of Section 1. This
idea can be developed in class by asking students to draw an angle of e.g. 20°; create three right-angled triangles
from this and calculate the perpendicular height divided by the base length for each triangle. This can lead to a
discussion on similar triangles and why the ratio should always be the same. Students can then repeat this, finding
the ratio for different sized angles, and use these values to solve standard trigonometry problems. This can really
help students understand what the trigonometric functions are. You can then go on to explore the other ratios and
explain how to find these values on a calculator.
• You could introduce trigonometry by looking at practical applications, e.g. looking at airplanes coming in to land on
a runway and angles of elevation and depression.

SECTION 1F / 1H: TRIGONOMETRY IN RIGHT-ANGLED TRIANGLES

This section introduces the trigonometric ratios found in right-angled triangles. The first subsection focuses on where
these ratios come from and where these values are stored using the trigonometric functions on their calculator (see first
hook for possible activity). Following this, the ratios are used to calculate missing lengths in right-angled triangles. The
second subsection focuses on using the inverse functions to calculate missing angles. The use of formula triangles is
suggested to support students in identifying the function to be used.

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Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What is the hypotenuse always opposite?
The right angle.
• Which side labels depend on the given angle?
The opposite and the adjacent. The hypotenuse never changes.
• Sketch and label all triangles you are working on. Which two side lengths are involved and so which function will you
need for this triangle?
We suggest you point students in the direction of the formulae triangles to help with this.
• How can you identify the hypotenuse in the triangle?
It is the side opposite the right angle.
• Make sure you include the units in all solutions.
• How do you find the angle if you know the ratio of the side lengths?
You use the inverse functions to ‘undo’ the function and find the angle the ratio relates to.
• How do you use the inverse function on your calculator?
Use the second function button or shift (this is the most common way).
• How can you check that your answers are sensible?
Use knowledge such as the longest length in a right-angled triangle is the hypotenuse – is this still the case in yours?
Draw a rough sketch of your triangle, do the dimensions seem right to you? (Note: this will rely on students having good
estimation skills when working with angles.)

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• An initial activity to reinforce labelling could involve students labelling the adjacent, hypotenuse and opposite sides
of right-angled triangles given an angle other than the right angle. You could then go on to discuss how labelling
would work if all three angles are given (in this case it is often sensible to draw and label different versions of the
same triangle or use different colours depending on which angle is being considered). This task could also be tied
into a similar task based on revising standard notation for labelling sides and vertices (similar to the example given
in the Foundation notes).
Given the later material on non-right-angled triangles, it may be appropriate to discuss with Higher students the
notation explicitly used for triangles where the label of a vertex (capital) is used to label the opposite side (lowercase
same letter) and why this system may be more useful in certain cases.
• To help students identify the correct function to use when finding missing lengths and angles you could provide
problems for students to sort into those requiring sine, cosine or tangent ratios. Alternatively, students could sort
them into problems in which the side length is required and those where the angle is required. (Note, these two
tasks can be combined or you could simply ask students to categorise them and give them no guidance). Exercise
31C Q5–6(F) / Exercise 33B Q6–7(H) would be ideal for this task and the questions can be produced as cards which
give space below for students to sketch the triangles before making a decision.
Plenaries
• True or false task in which problems have been matched to the function required to solve them. Students have to
identify whether the correct function has been chosen or not.
Enrichment activities
• See first hook above.
• Consider different types of right-angled triangles, where different information is given (e.g. one angle, two sides, an
angle and a side and so on). You can then ask students to discuss what can and can’t be found, using trigonometry
or Pythagoras’ theorem. This can be used to help students see how both techniques can be used interchangeably
based on the problem given and how more than one application of an idea can get you to the same solution in
the end. This can prevent students worrying about making the correct initial decision. For Higher students these

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sin x
ideas can also be used to derive the trigonometric identities sin2x + cos2x = 1 and ≡ tan
tanx x, which will be used by
cos x
students at A level.
• NRICH ‘Where Is the Dot?’ is an animation that could be used to explore what the trig functions store for angles
greater than 90°. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• Students can create a ‘how to’ guide for using trigonometry in right-angled triangles. These can be assessed by you
or their peers and kept for future revision or duplicated to provide notes for the class or a display.
• Students mark an example of work (either a fictitious homework or assessment) and identify the errors that
have been made before correcting the solutions. The work should include many of the errors identified in the
misconceptions section above.

SECTION 2F / 2H: EXACT VALUES OF TRIGONOMETRIC RATIOS

This section focuses on the values of the exact ratios given by sine and cosine of 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° and the ratios
given by the tangent of 0°, 30°, 45° and 60° through the exploration of isosceles and equilateral triangles (and an implicit
understanding of similarity).
This section also shows that Foundation students need a more explicit knowledge of surds than we have seen so
far in this book. Explain that some side lengths will be given as surds and hence for many triangles the ratios will
be irrational. An exploration of products of irrational numbers could be given here as an extension task.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What are the different types of triangle we can have?
Equilateral, isosceles, scalene, right-angled, right-angled scalene and right-angled isosceles.
• Which types of triangle form a single family of similar triangles?
Equilateral and right-angled isosceles triangles are always similar to others because they obey the AAA rule.
• Which angles are always present in these triangles?
Angles of 60° in equilateral triangles, and angles of 90° and 45° in a right-angled isosceles triangle.
Angles of 60°:
• What type of triangle has all angles of 60°?
Equilateral and every equilateral triangle is similar to another.
• How can we split this triangle to form a right-angled triangle?
By cutting the triangle into two halves.
• How can we find the lengths of the sides of this right-angled triangle?
Knowledge of the equilateral triangle it came from and Pythagoras’ theorem.
• What other angles are present in this right-angled triangle?
A right angle and an angle of 30°.
Angles of 45°:
• What type of triangle has two angles of 45°?
A right-angled isosceles triangle.
• How can we find the lengths of the sides of this right-angled triangle?
Knowledge of Pythagoras’ theorem.
Exercise 33C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (H) What three ratios can be found given a right-angled triangle?
opposite adjacent opposite
The ratios given by sine, cosine and tangent i.e. , and . Given that you know the ratio in
hypotenuse hypotenuse adjacent
its exact form, try forming equations using the formula triangles that can then be solved to find the unknown value.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Students need to know these values and for some the best option may be to drill the values through regular tests.
Starters or plenaries could be used in different ways:
-- Students could fill in a blank grid like the one given in the textbook.
-- Students could match the trig function with input to its ratio.
-- Students could play a game of true or false when presented with ratios and their trig function with input.
-- Students could be tested on the values like a spelling test and asked to write down the ratio given the trig
function and input.
• If this reveals students find it easier to remember the ratios in tabular form, they could be encouraged to replicate
the table in any exam situation to read off when required.
Enrichment activities
• (Higher only) Why will some of the ratios be irrational? What is it about the right-angled triangles they are formed
by that gives an irrational scale factor? Students can explore the different results of products involving irrational
numbers and consider their results. This can be extended to consider proofs of these rules with a revision of fraction
operation rules.
• Students can explore different equilateral and right-angled isosceles triangles to identify that the ratios will always
be equal regardless of the side length values they choose. You may wish to discuss why this is the case and why the
values chosen in the textbook are perhaps the best choice.
Assessment ideas
• See ideas for starters and plenaries above to test students’ knowledge.
• Again, ‘how to’ guides can be very useful in getting students to engage with the material and supporting the class in
remembering what is required by giving you material that can be duplicated for the class.

SECTION 3H: THE SINE, COSINE AND AREA RULES

This section focuses on forming and using formulae to find unknown lengths, angles and areas in non-right-angled
triangles.

Prompting questions
Exercise 33D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What would you use the sine rule for?
To find an unknown angle or length in a non-right-angled triangle when you have at least three pieces of information
including an angle and the length of the side opposite it. Note: sometimes the sine rule will need to be used more than
once to find a missing length or angle (or knowledge of angle properties will be required).

a b c sinA sinB sinC

• When is it better to use the formulae = = than the rearranged form = = ?
sinA sinB sinC a b c
When you are finding a length rather than an angle.
• Q2 (H) Sketch and label the sides of the triangle, do you have enough information to apply the sine rule?
Yes, opposite angles and side lengths are always given.
• Q3 (H) Sketch and label the sides of the triangle, do you have enough information to apply the sine rule?
Yes.
• Q4 (H) Do you need to use the sine rule to calculate the size of the third angle in the triangle?
No, you can just use the fact that angles in a triangle sum to 180°.

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Exercise 33E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What would you use the cosine rule for?
To find an unknown angle given three sides of the triangle or an unknown length given two sides and the included
angle.
• Q4 (H) Can you solve this problem in more than one way?
Yes, the cosine rule will work but the angle AVB needs to be calculated first. However, right-angled trig followed by a
sum of the lengths AO and OB will also work.
(You may wish to encourage students to try both methods and compare their solutions.)
Exercise 33F(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• When can you use the sine area formula for calculating the area of a triangle?
When we have the length of two sides and the included angle.

• Label your triangle carefully to use the formula Area = 12 ab sinC , which vertex should be labelled C?
The one with the included angle.
• Q3 (H) How can you use the area formula to find the missing length XZ?
By filling in the information you know and solving to find the unknown length.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• An extended starter that can nicely introduce the sine rule for area is to give students a series of triangles to find the
area of with different information e.g.
-- Q1 – Right-angled triangle with base and hypotenuse lengths given so students need to use Pythagoras’ theorem.
-- Q2 – Right-angled triangle with height and hypotenuse lengths given.
-- Q3 – Isosceles triangle with base and slant height given.
-- Q4 – Scalene triangle with base, angle (at either end of base) and slant height labelled as well as the
perpendicular height shown dotted. They need to use the sine ratio to work out perpendicular height.
-- Q5 – Scalene triangle with base, angle (at either end of base) and slant height labelled but not the perpendicular
height shown dotted.
-- Further questions are in the same format as question 5 but in different orientations.
• This helps students identify patterns in the calculations and hence helps the class arrive at a formula for the area of a
non-right-angled triangle.
Enrichment activities
• For students who have used knowledge of triangles to deduce trig identities you could attempt to derive the cosine
formulae with support by sorting a series of cards based on a derivation involving trigonometry and Pythagoras’
theorem.
Assessment ideas
• Students will probably find identifying which formulae to use to solve a problem challenging. Giving students a
series of problems to solve and asking them to categorise them by method of solving could help students improve
this skill.
• Again, ‘how to’ guides can be very useful in getting students to engage with the material and supporting the class
in remembering what is required by giving you material that can be duplicated for the class. These guides could
include advice on which formula to use when and an example of each formula being used to calculate the length of a
side or angle (or area).

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SECTION 3F / 4H: SOLVING PROBLEMS USING TRIGONOMETRY / USING TRIGONOMETRY TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

This section goes on to consider contextual problems requiring trigonometry to solve them. The idea of an angle of
elevation and angle of depression is introduced and used. A similar problem-solving structure to other geometry
chapters is offered for students to follow and the exercise brings in other concepts such as Pythagoras’ theorem.

Prompting questions
Exercise 31E(F) / 33G(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) What makes the angle an angle of elevation/depression?
When the angle we are looking at from our horizontal position is above/below the horizontal.
• Q2 (F) What other angles can you label in diagram A?
The angle of depression is also the angle of elevation from the point of view of the boat (alternate angles) The third
angle in the triangle can also be found using basic angle facts.
• Q3 (F) Which side lengths do you have in diagram D?
The hypotenuse.
• Q5,6,10 (F) / Q1,2,6 (H) Can you draw a right-angled triangle to model this situation?
Yes, it is possible to draw a right-angled triangle for each situation.
• Q3 (H) How many right-angled triangles can you draw to model this situation?
Two.
Can you find the height directly?
No, we need to consider the height and distance from the base of the lighthouse to the first boat as unknowns and set
up a pair of simultaneous equations.
• Q7 (F) / Q4 (H) For part b, what new right-angled triangle can you now draw?
One where the base is 25 m and the height is the answer to part a.
• Q8 (F) / Q5 (H) What information can you add to the diagram to give a right-angled triangle that you can use to find
length DC?
We can add length DB and use the tangent function to find DC.
• Q10 (F) / Q7 (H) How can Q7 (F) / Q4 (H) help here?
We are in the same situation, but this time we must clearly show how we do each calculation.
• Q8 (H) How do you write bearings?
Use three digits and measure clockwise from north.
What does the phrase ‘shortest distance’ mean?
It means the perpendicular line segment between the two parallel sides.
• Q9 (H) Split the pentagon into equally-sized isosceles triangles. What information is required to calculate the area of
each of these triangles?
1 360
We can use the ab sin C area rule so we need to know the angle at the centre ( ) and the length of the line
2 5
extending from the centre of the pentagon to each vertex.
How might we find the length of the line from the centre to each vertex?
By cutting each isosceles triangle in half to form two congruent right-angled triangles and using right-angled
trigonometry.
(Note: there are other ways of approaching this problem and sketches should be encouraged.)
• Q10 (H) How can you model this situation?
We need to find two sides of the triangle SBD to be able to use trigonometry to find angle SBD.
• Q11 (H) What right-angled triangles in the diagram will help with this?
Triangle DAB and triangle ENB.

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• Q12 (H) How can you use right-angled triangles to help here?
The same method as in Q11 can be used here
(Note: Having found the angle each face makes with the base students may try to use the full power of trigonometry
again to find the apex angle of a face of the pyramid. However, it is a useful exercise to see who did that and who simply
subtracted their part a answer from 90°.)

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Have a series of slides with ‘real-world problems’ on them. Students have to sketch a right-angled triangle that
would help answer the question. Students could also be required to write down a relevant calculation.
Enrichment activities
• Take Q9 (H) as a starting point. Given a circle of radius 5 cm, what is the area of an equilateral triangle with vertices
on the circle? You can then ask what the area of a square (regular pentagon, regular hexagon etc.) with vertices on
the circle will be. What happens to the area of the regular polygon as we increase the number of sides in comparison
with the area of the circle?
• Students can make their own clinometers using NRICH ‘Making Maths: Clinometer’ (nrich.maths.org) or MEP:
Trigonometry Unit 4: Activity 4.3 Clinometers (cimt.plymouth.ac.uk).
• A further enrichment task to connect ideas of trigonometry and construction could be to get the students to draw a
triangle, draw on the medians to find a centre point and use this to draw the circumcircle. If they then apply the sine
a b c
rule for any ratio the value will always be the diameter of the circumcircle. = =
sinA sinB sinC
Assessment ideas
• Getting students to construct their own questions that require the application of the trigonometric functions more
than once and/or Pythagoras’ theorem allows them to see how more complicated questions can be constructed
from the ideas they have now learnt. Students can then exchange their questions and form model solutions.
• Critiquing answers to exam-style questions can be used to form ‘how to’ guides on the types of exam questions the
students may come across.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
There are many opportunities to combine previous concepts covered at GCSE and connect geometric ideas.
Opportunities should be taken to look at general problems based on right-angled triangles to encourage students to
identify the different methods available to them in solving and what information is required to apply each one.
Higher students have considered the graphical representation of each function and explored what it means to extend
the angle beyond 90° in Chapter 24F / 25H Graphs of Functions and equations.

Gateway to A level
Trigonometry forms a large part of the A level syllabus. Alongside the 2D and 3D problem-solving applications, students
will explore the domain and range of each function in detail considering the features of each one. Students will learn
to solve more complicated equations involving trigonometric functions and list all solutions in a possible domain.
Knowledge of identities will be used to manipulate expressions and reciprocal functions will be used to extend these
ideas.

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LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 3, questions 16, 17 • Chapter 3, questions 15, 22
• Chapter 10, question 19 • Chapter 6, question 19
• Chapter 8, question 31
• Chapter 10, questions 6, 18

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 31 • Chapter 33

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 9 (F) / 18 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 6 (F) / 10 (H) animated widgets
• 14 (F) / 27 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 5 (F) / 9 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 5 (F) / 9 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

244 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 32F / 34H Growth and decay

32F / 34H Growth and decay

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to convert percentages to decimals.

• How to find a percentage of a quantity using multiplication.
• How to increase or decrease a quantity by a given percentage by multiplying by a suitable decimal.
• (Higher only) How to plot and interpret functions of the form y = abx, where b is a positive number and a, x are real
numbers.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• How to extract information regarding percentage increase or decrease from a word problem.
• How to substitute values into a formula.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To be able to calculate with simple growth, such as • To be able to calculate with simple growth, such as
simple interest rates. simple interest rates.
• To be able to calculate with compound growth, such as • To be able to calculate with compound growth, such
compound interest rates. as compound interest rates.
• To be able to solve word problems using simple and/or • To be able to solve word problems using simple and/
compound growth. or compound growth.
• To be able to use the formula y = a(1 + r)n for
compound growth.
Section 2 Section 2
• To be able to calculate with simple decay. • To be able to calculate with simple decay.
• To be able to calculate with compound decay, such as • To be able to calculate with compound decay, such
depreciation. as depreciation.
• To be able to solve word problems using simple and/or • To be able to solve word problems using simple and/
compound decay. or compound decay.
• To be able to use the formula y = a(1 − r)n for
compound decay.

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Simple versus compound interest: Some students find it hard to remember what these two types of interest are.
To combat this, linking the words to their literal meaning (simple because it is the simpler calculation, compound
because the multiplier is being compounded each year) helps some. For others, associating the words with a
physical process can help:
-- For simple interest, do one calculation to find the interest and then add multiples of that to the original amount.
-- For compound interest, set up a table with column headings ‘amount at the start of the year’ and ‘amount at the
end of the year’.
• Knowing if you need a percentage increase or decrease: For students where literacy is an issue, there are lots of
terms to use in this chapter. Having a vocabulary board with an explanation of interest, growth, depreciation, decay
and exponential would allow students to access the material more easily.

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• Calculating a percentage increase or decrease: For some students calculating the amount of interest or decay first
and then adding or subtracting seems the most sensible way. However, other students will be very happy with
the concept of multiplying by 1.05 to increase an amount by 5 per cent. Letting students find and use the way
that makes sense to them does, on the whole, help with recalling this material in exam situations. Calculating the
initial amount given a percentage increase/decrease and a final amount: Working backwards often causes issues
for students, especially in this topic where being able to rearrange formulae helps enormously. The most common
misconception is that to find the original price after a 10 per cent depreciation, you just add on 10 per cent of the
new price. To demonstrate that this does not work, have a series of examples that are ‘incorrect’. Substituting
the incorrect answer back into the question will reinforce that this does not work. In addition, always referring to
amounts as a percentage of the original can help e.g. when increasing by 10 per cent you are finding 100% + 10% =
110% of the original amount. When you have the price depreciated by 10 per cent you have 100% − 10% = 90% of the
original amount. Connecting these ideas with unitary methods for scaling can also help students identify what to do
in a question as the setup is always the same.

Hooks

• Investments: a high-profile billionaire wants to invest their money in a project but does not know which one will give
the best rewards. Each project has varying amounts of interest, initial cost and maintenance costs. How can we help
to advise what projects he or she should take?
• Bacteria and epidemics: given enough food, bacteria grow at an exponential rate. Show a piece of footage of bacteria
growing and discuss with students how they think the bacteria are multiplying.

SECTION 1F / 1H: SIMPLE AND COMPOUND GROWTH

This section focuses on simple and compound growth through the main example of interest rates. For Higher students
the generic compound growth formula a(1 + r)n (initial investment a, growth rate or interest rate in a decimal form r and
the number of years n) is used and exponential growth is discussed.

Prompting questions
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
Exercise 32A(F) / 34A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) How do you calculate simple interest?
Simple interest is interest paid on the original amount and the same interest is paid for each time period.
• Q2 (F) How can you set out workings for this question?
We can make a table, with the column titles ‘amount at start of year’ and ‘amount at end of year’. For compound interest
we use the amount at the end of the previous year as the starting amount for the next year.
• Q3 (F) How would you label the axes?
Time on the horizontal axis and total money in the account on vertical axis.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) What is the multiplier for a growth rate of 4 per cent?
1.04.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) What does the word ‘inhabitants’ mean?
The people that live in that place.
What does the term ‘model’ mean?
A mathematical model, which is a description of a situation using mathematical terms and concepts.
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) Is inflation going to be treated as simple or compound growth?
Compound.
• Q11 (F) / Q12 (H) What is the increase in price and what is that as a percentage of the original amount?
Increases by 40p and so a percentage increase of 160%.
• Q15 (F) / Q16 (H) There is no starting value, does this matter?
No. Since we just want the number of hours for a colony of bacteria to double we could choose any number to start with.
For example we could use an initial value of 1 and find out the how many times you have to multiply 1 by 1.05 to make 2.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and plenaries
• A ‘find the best deal’ activity, such as the one in Exercise 32A(F) Q14 / 34A(H) Q15. This will allow students to find
the answers to each of the deals after which a whole-class discussion can take place to justify their choice.
Enrichment activities
• Growth rate is a huge part of mathematical modeling. Having a task based on epidemics (such as the ones from the
motivate website or the summary on NRICH ‘Investigating Epidemics’,) is a nice way to look at growth and, for
Higher students, exponential growth. (motivate.maths.org) (nrich.maths.org)
• Taking a series of interest rate deals from various banks and getting the students to analyse which deal is best.
Assessment ideas
• Students mark and evaluate ‘student answers’ (formed from either a collection of assessed work or imitation
student answers) to exam questions. In particular, the answers provided should highlight some of the
misconceptions and issues given above.

SECTION 2F / 2H: DEPRECIATION AND DECAY / SIMPLE AND COMPOUND DECAY

This section focuses on simple and compound decay, through the main example of depreciation. For Higher students
the generic compound decay formula a(1 − r)n (initial investment a, decay rate or depreciation rate in a decimal form r
and the number of years n) is used and exponential decay is discussed.

Prompting questions
While working through the exercise, good prompts for students might be:
Exercise 32B(F) / 34B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How could you set this question out on the page?
We can make a table, with the column titles ‘amount at start of year’ and ‘amount at end of year’. For compound
depreciation we use the amount at the end of the previous year as the starting amount for the next year.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) Which one of the graphs can it definitely not be and why?
Graph C because it is increasing as time goes on.
• Q5 (F) / Q5 (H) How do you calculate this percentage decrease?
We need to know how much the original amount has decreased by and use this to calculate the percentage decrease
amount decreased
using × 100.
original amount
• Q8 (F) / Q9 (H) Which value do you need to find two-thirds of?
The current value, £342.95.
• Q8 (H) How can you work backwards to find the initial cost for row three, can you just add on 11 per cent of the Year
1 value?
$30260
We cannot just add on 11 per cent of the Year 1 amount. This is because I × (1 − 0.11)1 = $30 260. Therefore, I = .
0.89

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Display a series of different types of cars made in different years, with different depreciations e.g. a classic car and a
model made a couple of years ago. The students need to calculate the current price of each of the cars.
Enrichment activities
• This short activity for Higher students, or slightly longer activity for Foundation students, NRICH ‘Weekly Challenge
48: Quorum-sensing’ gives a novel question about decay. (nrich.maths.org)
• Radioactivity is a natural occurrence of exponential decay and the students could look at data for a selection of
radioactive materials, then use it to answer a series of questions related to the age of an object.

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Assessment ideas
• Students mark and evaluate ‘student answers’ (formed from either a collection of assessed work or imitation
student answers) to exam questions. In particular, the answers provided should highlight some of the
misconceptions and issues given above.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
Foundation and Higher students will be using their knowledge fractions, decimals and percentages (Chapter 6F / 6H
Fractions, Chapter 7F / 7H Decimals and Chapter 18F / 19H Percentages). The graphs that are used in this chapter have
been seen in their most basic form in graphs of equations and functions (Chapter 24F / 25H Graphs of functions and
equations).

Future learning
For the remaining chapters in this GCSE book we have the general concept of direct and inverse proportion (Chapter 33F
/ 35H Proportion) for both Foundation and Higher students. For Higher students there is chapter on interpreting graphs
(Chapter 39H Interpretation of graphs), where the idea of gradient and real world graphs come in (making links back to
the graphs showing growth and decay rates).

Gateway to A level
Rate of change is the motivation behind differentiation and is used extensively at A level. In addition to this, exponential
growth is studied in more detail and leads to the exponential function (based on Euler’s number e).

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 4, question 3
• Chapter 5, question 5
• Chapter 8, question 8
• Chapter 9, question 14

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 32 • Chapter 34

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 4 (F) / 5 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 1 animated widget
• 11 (F) / 18 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 3 / 4 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 3 / 4 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

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 33F / 35H Proportion

33F / 35H Proportion

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to work with numbers including extensive fractions work.

• How to write ratios and interpret them.
• How many minutes there are in fractions of an hour.
• How to perform a substitution into a formula.
• What a reciprocal is.
• (Higher only) How to square and square root numbers.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• How money works and different currencies.

• Clear understanding of speed, distance and time.
• Highest common factor and lowest common multiple.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To be able to use direct proportion to solve problems. • To be able to use direct proportion to solve
problems.
• To be able to use the unitary method to solve
proportion problems. • To be able to use the unitary method to solve
proportion problems.
Section 2 Section 2
• To be able to solve direct proportion questions • To be able to solve direct proportion questions
graphically. graphically.
• To be able to solve direct proportion questions using • To be able to solve direct proportion questions using
algebraic manipulation. algebraic manipulation.
Section 3 Section 3
• To be able to solve inverse proportion questions, based • To be able to solve direct proportion problems
1 involving the square or square root of a variable.
on y = .
x

Section 4
• To be able to solve inverse proportion questions,
1
based on y = .
x

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Vocabulary
(Foundation only) ratio, direct proportion, inverse proportion

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Not knowing what a ratio is and how to use it: some students will still not be comfortable with what a ratio is and
that it relates to multiplication/division rather than addition/subtraction. To address this issue allow students to
make the error (e.g. 3 : 4 is the same as 2 : 3) and then show them pictorially that this does not make any sense.
• Not understanding that the constant of proportionality is the same for all parts of the question. Providing a longer
exam-style question that requires them to keep using the constant they found in the first part of the question can
expose this misconception and you can then address it through questioning. ‘Is this the same situation as in part a?
What does this mean for our equation relating our two variables?’
• Confusion between the words ratio and proportion: this NRICH ‘Ratio or Proportion?’ article discusses some of
the misconceptions and issues surrounding these two words for KS3 and KS4 students. (Note: the article is written to
increase awareness of the issues rather than to offer clarification to students.) (nrich.maths.org)
• Rounding too early when using the unitary method: this often occurs when students lack confidence in using
fractions. Give an ‘example’ where the student rounded in the first calculation leading to large errors in the final
answer to demonstrate the effect rounding has.
• Concentration calculations: students can often get lost in the language used to set up a word problem for this use
of proportionality. Looking at the ‘proportion of each liquid used’ and the ‘ratio of the liquids in each container’ can
get confusing. Having concrete examples, where the students draw pictures to represent each situation, will help the
students to address this issue over time.

Hooks

• Start with a times table, select a random part of it (e.g. the eighth term is 88 and the twelfth term is 132) and ask
students to find the first term and the fifth term. Follow this with the question, ‘What is the relationship between the
term number and the value?’ This is something students will have seen before, but now we can use the terminology
of directly proportional and constant of proportionality.
• Take an example from the similarity chapter involving similar rectangles and ask, ‘All these rectangles are similar;
how can we relate the length of each rectangle to the height?’

SECTION 1F / 1H: DIRECT PROPORTION

This section focuses on direct proportion and problems that arise as a result of two quantities varying but remaining in
the same ratio.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• What is a ratio?
A ratio is the relationship between two or more groups or amounts explaining how much bigger one is than another.
• Can you write down any ratios for the given situation?
General question for supporting students when making a start.
Exercise 33A(F) / 35A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q4 (F) / Q3 (H) How can you use the ratio of £1.20 : 100 g to help find the weight of jelly beans you can buy with
£4.20?
100 1
We can create a new ratio, for £0.01 : g and use a multiple of .
1.2 2
An alternative is that both 1.20 and 4.20 have a common factor of 0.60. Divide 1.20 by two and then multiply by
seven to get 4.20, and do the same to 100 g to find the weight. This method leads students to consider the highest
common factor aspect of the question.

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• Q5 (F) / Q4 (H) How can you compare the two calls for best value?
We need to find ratios for each situation with the same number of minutes to be able to compare the costs. The easiest
way is to find how much a one-minute call will cost each person.
• Q5 (H) How could you approach this question?
One strategy is to find out how much you can make based on 500 g of plain flour, since that is the easiest scaling to start
with.
Why?
It is five times as much. Another strategy could be to work out which ingredient is the limiting factor.
• Q5 (F) You need to find the new amounts for different numbers of people, how can you do this efficiently?
Since we need to find a variety of different variations of the same recipe, we could find how much we need for one
person and then multiply by the number of people we need. We do need to be careful and should keep the amounts for
one person in the form of a fraction – do not round at this stage.
• Q7,Q8 (F) What are units of time in each case?
Prompting question to make students think about the material from Chapter 10 Mensuration: that all units must be
equal when calculating with values.
Exercise 33B(F) / 35B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) How can you calculate pounds from the number of dollars?
If we know how many dollars one pound is, we can divide the given number of dollars by this number to calculate the
number of pounds.
• Q4 (F) / Q3 (H) (not the same question, but the same idea for each): What unit of volume would be useful to help
calculate the price per litre for each part?
If we look at the price of 250ml, that is £18 ÷ 6 = £3 per 0.25 litres, we can then use this to help calculate the prices for the
other paint tins.
• Q7 (F) / Q6 (H) How can you use the graph to convert between pounds and Lev?
We could find the £10 on the axis, then move vertically up to the line on the graph and then read across to find the
number of Lev at that point. Dividing by ten will then tell us the number of Lev in one pound.
• Q9 (F) / Q9 (H) What does the word ‘crowdedness’ mean?
It means the number of people found in a given amount of space.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Collect the ratios: a set of cards containing ratios (each one having a matching card with an equivalent ratio) are
placed face down. The students reveal two cards at a time and must match pairs of equivalent ratios.
• A ‘fill in the table’ activity, where students are given a table, similar to question 6 in Exercise 33A(F), with different
amounts of information filled in. For students requiring more help you could fill in all the rows for the first column,
i.e. eight people. To make this more challenging you can fill in different parts of the table (not the first column, but
random cells in the table) and the students need to fill in the rest.
• (Higher only) A series of quick fire ‘do I have enough?’ questions (based on question 5 in Exercise 35A(H)).
Enrichment activities
• Having a context to calculate direct proportion allows for fluency exercises to take place without pages of exercises.
An activity based on NRICH ‘Triathlon and Fitness’ provides a good challenge to work with the concepts of this
section as well as mathematical modelling. You may even wish to get your class involved and produce your own data
to use for this activity. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH ‘Dilution Series Calculator’, can be used to help students deal with the complications that arise when
looking at concentrations for liquids. (nrich.maths.org)
• Having a question with three variables, such as, ‘If it takes eight men three days to build ten metres of wall, how long
will it take five men to build 12 metres of wall?’

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Assessment ideas
• Students can design their own exam-style question, complete with mark scheme, and get another student to try it.
The activity will make those designing the question think about what information is required in a question and make
those who answer it consider how they set out their workings.

SECTION 2F / 2H: ALGEBRAIC AND GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATIONS

This section focuses on direct proportion problems given graphically or generalised through the use of algebra, i.e. use
of a formula.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• When considering questions involving proportionality, what are the units for each of the objects involved?
Encourage students to identify in each case the units that are given in the question. For example, this can cause
problems when you are moving between hours, minutes and seconds.
Exercise 33C(F) / 35C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How do you know which runner is going faster?
The graph for the faster runner is steeper than the other.
• Q3 (F) How can you write ‘the number of cars being produced is directly proportional to the number of days the
factory stays open’ using algebra?
n = kd.
• Q5 (F) / Q4 (H) What does it mean for p and q to be directly proportional?
p = kq or q = kp.
Does this help find a formula?
Yes, we can use the given numbers to find a value of k for our formula.
• Q6 (F) / Q5 (H) What initial ratio can you set up in this situation?
4 : 60.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• The questions and activity in Work it out 33.1 and 33.2 (F) (and in 35.1 and 35.2 (H)) would make an excellent starter.
• A word problem is given for two variables that are directly proportional to each other. The students need to extract
the correct information and write a formula for doing further calculations.
Enrichment activities
• The students make a hypothesis for two things that they think are directly proportional. They then collect the data in
order to provide evidence for/against their hypothesis. This activity gets the students thinking about the data cycle,
as well as the properties needed for two things to be directly proportional to each other.
Assessment ideas
• Students can design their own exam-style question, complete with mark scheme, and get another student to try it.
The activity will make those designing the question think about what information is required in a question and make
those who answer it consider how they set out their workings.

SECTION 3H: DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO THE SQUARE, SQUARE ROOT AND OTHER EXPRESSIONS

The Higher version Section 3 focuses on directly proportional relationships that are non-linear, i.e. square and square
root.

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Prompting questions
Exercise 35D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• General question: Why is an initial set of values given in the opening for each question? When we say ‘y is directly
proportional to the something of x’ we mean that for pairs of values (x, y), y is equal to a constant multiplied by the
something of x. To find this constant we need some ‘initial values’ or ‘initial conditions’.
• Q1, Q5 (H) What index do we use when we say something is cubed?
3.
• Q2, Q4 (H) What index do we use when we say something is square rooted?
1
.
2
Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas
Starters or plenaries
• Displaying a series of tables with data in them and asking (possibly using mini whiteboards) what the relationship is
between the variables. You could also ask your students to give a formula for each situation.
• Display a series of word problems that describe directly proportional situations. Students need to write down a
formula representing the situation.
Enrichment activities
• As indicated in the introduction to this section in the student book, the distance travelled by an object dropped from
rest is proportional to the square of the time taken. This can be used as a base for a practical activity where students
collect data by dropping an object from different heights. This can then be graphed and analysed to either discover
this relationship or find the ‘constant of proportionality’ for this formula.
Assessment ideas
• Students can design their own exam-style question, complete with mark scheme, and get another student to try it.
The activity will make those designing the question think about the information that is required in a question and
make those who answer it consider how they set out their workings.

SECTION 3F / 4H: INVERSE PROPORTION

Section 3F / 4H focuses on inverse proportion. More explanation is given in the Foundation book for Work it out 33.3.

Prompting questions (answers / possible pupil responses given in italics)

Exercise 33D(F) / 35E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) If fewer (or more) people do the job, will the time it takes to paint increase / decrease / stay the same?
If you use fewer (or more) people, the time it takes to paint should increase (or decrease).
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) What does this question have to do with inverse proportion?
Look back at Work it out 33.3(F) / 35.3(H), we fixed the area of the rectangle and varied one of the lengths. In this
question, we have fixed the total spend but are varying the price of the souvenirs. The more expensive the souvenir the
fewer we can buy.
• Q3 (F) What does 180 in the formula mean?
The distance to Cambridge in miles.
• Q3 (H) Given that we are told speed is inversely proportional to time, what is simplest equation that we can write
k
down connecting these two variables? s = . What does the ‘k’ part of our formula represent?
t
Since ‘k’ is a constant, the only thing we are keeping constant is the distance.

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• Q5 (F) / Q4 (H) How can you use the graph to help answer the questions?
We can use the scale on the horizontal axis to help with part a. For part b, we need to look at a single point on the graph
and use that to work backwards to find the total prize fund. Once we have the answer to part b, we know that our
constant ‘k’ for our inverse proportion relationship will be the total prize fund.
• Q6 (H) What does ‘a is inversely proportional to the square of b’ actually mean?
1
This means that a and 2 differ by a single constant for any given connected values of a and b.
b
• Q7 (H) What does ‘r is inversely proportional to the square root of m’ actually mean?
1
This means that r and differ by a single constant for any given connected values of r and m.
m
Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas
Starters or plenaries
• Now that the students have seen situations where variables are directly linked or inversely linked, you can display
a series of tables of data and ask (possibly using mini whiteboards) if the variables are directly proportional or
inversely proportional. To add an extra level of complication, you could ask students to give a formula.
Enrichment activities
• An enrichment activity for Section 2 and a good review before moving on to Section 3 could be to use NRICH ‘Zin
Obelisk’. This activity gets students to think about the types of information that have been given and then use their
knowledge of proportion to answer the question. (nrich.maths.org)
• Allow students to collect their own data for variables that are inversely proportional to each other and then get them
to try and discover the relationship or formulae. Speed and time or tasks where the number of people reduces the
time to complete a task might be good starting points.
Assessment ideas
• Give students a series of graphs with a mixture of direct and inverse proportional variables. Students need to sort
them into the correct type and then provide a physical situation where that graph might occur. This can be displayed
as a poster and other students can comment on the ‘realistic’ nature of the situations described and on the labelling
as directly or inversely proportional.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
Students will have looked at ratio and proportion at KS3, but may have not used mathematical language to describe
the situation. At GCSE, students will have used this language to describe ratio (in Chapter 19F Ratio / 20H Calculations
with ratio), similarity (in Chapter 28F / 30H Similarity) and will also have used it for trigonometry (in Chapter 31F / 33H
Trigonometry).
Through the GCSE content students will have encountered the various types of graphs and equations that arise here
and this chapter provides a good opportunity to revisit straight-line and curved graphs.
In addition to the above, this chapter can be used to refresh ideas of data collection and representation, and also revise
the language of sequences to help analyse the proportionality relationship between variables.

Future learning
Higher tier students will see use the notion of gradient in Chapter 39H Interpretation of graphs; links can be made back
to the terminology and representations used in this chapter.

Gateway to A level
Students who go on to A level mathematics will encounter proportionality in the description of rates of change and thus
in differential equations.

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LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 6, question 22 • Chapter 2, question 22
• Chapter 7, question 7 • Chapter 7, questions 5, 13

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 33 • Chapter 35

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 7 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 5 animated widgets
• 6 interactive walkthroughs
• 3 auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 3 auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper
• 2 mm graph paper
• Axis grids from -10 to 10 in x and -10 to 10 in y

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GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

34F / 36H Algebraic inequalities

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to solve linear equations.

• (Foundation only) How to rank numbers in ascending or descending order.
• (Foundation only) How to use the rules for operations with negative numbers.
• (Higher only) How to solve quadratic equations.
• (Higher only) How to use linear graphs.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• (Higher only) How to factorise quadratic equations allowing quick sketches to be drawn.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Understanding and interpreting inequalities and using • Using the correct symbols to express inequalities.
the correct symbols to express inequalities.
Section 2 Section 2
• Using a number line to represent an inequality. • Using a number line and set notation to represent
an inequality.
Section 3 Section 3
• Solving linear inequalities in one variable and • Solving linear inequalities in one variable and
representing the solution set on a number line. representing the solution set on a number line and
in set notation.
Section 4 Section 4
• Solving problems involving inequalities. • Solving quadratic inequalities.
Section 5
• Solving (several) linear inequalities in two variables,
representing the solution set on a graph.

Vocabulary
Inequality, number line.
(Higher only) set, equalities.

Common misconceptions and other issues

• When being asked to list integers that satisfy an inequality, students frequently leave out zero. They should be told
that integers are the whole numbers and their negatives, including zero. A large number line on the wall may help to
remind students of the existence of zero.
• Students may find it difficult to appreciate that −3 < x is the same as x > −3, but reminding them that the x is on the
‘big’ side of the inequality sign should help.
• Many pupils struggle to remember whether they should ‘fill in the dot’ at the limits. It may help them to remember
that the more ink there is in the inequality sign, the more ink there is in the dot (i.e. ≤ has more ink than <).

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• (Higher only) Students often find it difficult to work out which inequalities signs to use for the solution of a
quadratic inequality. Remind students to keep the original inequality in their calculations until the point where they
have a factorised inequality of the form (x + a)(x + b) > 0 (for example). At this point, it may be helpful for students
to test a value of x between a and b to determine which inequality sign is appropriate for each of the factors.
Considering the graph may also be helpful, as it visually demonstrates where the function changes from positive to
negative (i.e. when crossing the x-axis).
• (Higher only) As with ‘dots’ on number lines, when graphing linear inequalities many students easily forget whether
a line should be broken or solid. Again, the idea of ‘more ink in the sign’ matching up to the line helps here: ≥ has
more ink, so needs to be a solid line (versus > and a broken line).

Hooks

• Get students to draw a first quadrant grid, with both axes going from zero to five. Give students the following
instructions, allowing time for them to mark off possible locations on their grid.
-- ‘My treasure is buried at a place with whole number coordinates.’
-- The x- and y-coordinates add up to a prime number. How many possible places might be treasure be buried?
17 points on the lines x + y = 2, x + y = 3, x + y = 5, x + y = 7.
-- The x-coordinate is between 2 and 4.
Now nine possible points.
-- The y-coordinate is greater than 3. How many places might my treasure be buried?
Two at (2, 5) and (3, 4).
-- Give me a rule that would limit the locations to just one.
For example, the y-coordinate is three more than the x-coordinate (or y = 2x + 1, y > 5, x < 3, etc.)

SECTION 1F / 1H: EXPRESSING INEQUALITIES

This section focuses on expressing inequalities using mathematical symbols.

Prompting questions
While introducing the concept of inequalities, good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• How are the inequalities x > 6 and x ≥ 6 different?
x ≥ 6 includes the number six, whereas x > 6 does not.
• What numbers satisfy the inequality x > −3?
−2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, …
Do these also satisfy −x < 3?
Yes! It is the same inequality.
• What happens to an inequality when you multiply or divide by a negative number?
The inequality sign changes. This can be shown by adding/subtracting the terms to swap them to the other side of the
inequality (i.e. moving the terms, rather than changing the symbol). For example, for –x < 3, add x to both sides to get 0 <
x + 3, then subtract three from both sides to get −3 < x, which is the same as x > −3.
Exercise 34A(F) / 36A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What has happened to the expression on the left side?
For example a) add four.
Has the same happened to the right side?
For example a) yes.
Then what happens to the inequality sign?
For example a) it stays the same.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What happens when you multiply or divide by a negative number?
The inequality sign changes.

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• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) What does the inequality symbol ≥ mean?

Greater than or equal to.
• Q6 (F) / Q6 (H) If you can only use integers or halves, how many values can x take?
9.
• Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) If 6 > x, what is the biggest whole number x could be?
5.
• If x > 2, what is the smallest whole number x could be?
3.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Since solving linear inequalities relies heavily on the skills used in solving linear equations, students could start this
topic with some practice. To match up to the questions in the section, it would be useful for students to identify the
steps to ‘build’ an equation. For example, they could be given a ‘starting equation’ like x = 5, and need to identify the
steps necessary to turn the equation into 1 = 11 − 2x.
Starters or plenaries
• Distribute numbers to each student (or ask them to write a number between, say, −20 and 20). Call out / display
inequalities and ask students to stand up if they have a number that satisfies the inequality given.
Plenaries
• Write an inequality on the board and ask students to come up with equivalent inequalities. For example with x > 4 on
the board, students could write x + 1 > 5, x − 6 > −2, −2x < −8.
• Give pupils a ‘starting inequality’ (e.g. x > 5) and a ‘finishing inequality’ (e.g. 9 < 2x − 1). Pupils should work out what
has happened to get from one to the other.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Inequalities’ activity uses inequalities in the formulation of a problem involving marbles that can be solved
by logical thinking (nrich.maths.org).

SECTION 2F: NUMBER LINES AND SECTION 2H: NUMBER LINES AND SET NOTATION

This section focuses on using number lines to illustrate inequalities. It is worth explaining to students that we only
draw the relevant section of the number line and the arrows at the end of the line show the line continues, so we aren’t
forgetting the rest of the numbers.
If an inequality is closed, i.e. there is an upper and lower limit to the range, then a dot should be drawn on each end.
Students may find it helpful to think about it as having arrows pointing towards each other (originating from the dots)
but the second dot acts as a barrier to the arrow progressing.
The Higher version of this section also introduces set notation. This should not be a challenging idea for students, but
may be unfamiliar and so will need a careful and precise introduction.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section a good prompt for promoting discussion may be:
1
• What could be a good scale for showing the inequality x > 2 ?
0, 1, 2, 3, … with 1 marked on, or 0, 1 , 1 1 , 2, …. A scale of 0, 5, 10, 15, … would be inappropriate because it is difficult
2 2 2
1
to accurately mark on it.
2
Exercise 34B(F) / 36B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) Where are you going to draw the dot? Is it open or solid? Which way does the arrow point?
Answers will depend on which question part is being answered.

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• Q3 (F) What is the lower limit of the inequality? What is the upper limit of the inequality? Are the dots open or solid?
Answers will depend on which question part is being answered.
• Q3a (H) Are there different ways we could write this inequality?
Yes, e.g. {x: 7 < x ≤ 11} or {x: 11 ≥ x > 7}.
Would {x: 14 < 2x ≤ 22} also be valid?
Yes, but it is usually best to write an inequality in its simplest form.
• Q3d (H) Which integers satisfy the inequality?
{−1, 0, 1, 2}

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• The ‘Inequalities and paper hats’ activity from the Association of Teachers of Mathematics gets each member of
the class to make a paper hat and then write a distinct integer on it. The class line up in numerical order and then
stand up or sit down based on a particular inequality. This is a nice visual way to illustrate an inequality and feeds
nicely into using number lines for this purpose, especially for ‘double’ inequalities such as 7 < x ≤ 11. (atm.org.uk)
Plenaries
• The use of a number line for inequalities is a good opportunity to reinforce that real numbers all have a position on
the number line. Display a number line, say, for −4 ≤ x < 3. Then ask students whether these numbers satisfy the
8
inequality: x = 9 , x = 8 , x = (−2)2, x = −p, x = − , etc.
2
Assessment ideas
• Call out inequalities and ask students to draw a number line (or, for Higher, use set notation) to represent them.

SECTION 3F / 3H: SOLVING INEQUALITIES / SOLVING LINEAR INEQUALITIES

This section focuses on solving linear inequalities. Students are encouraged to use the same methods that are used for
solving linear equations, but it is vital to reiterate the rules from Section 1 involving multiplying/dividing by negative
numbers and swapping the sides of an inequality.
In worked example 1c, students must apply the same operation to all three sections of the inequality. Some students
may find it difficult to solve the problem in this way, so they could alternatively consider the question as two separate
inequalities and solve each of them separately before considering how they can re-form to make the final combined
inequality solution. i.e. solving 5 ≤ 3x + 4 and 3x + 4 ≤ 13 should lead to −3 ≤ x and x ≤ 3, which combine to make −3 ≤ x ≤
3.
The Higher version of the section also includes solving word problems involving linear inequalities.

Prompting questions
Exercise 34C(F) / 36C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1m (F) How did you remove the fractions on both sides?
Multiply through by two.
What would you do if one fraction had two as a denominator and the other had three?
Multiply through by six.
• Q1b (H) Show that two ways of solving this inequality give the same result.
Get students to demonstrate dividing by negative 10 (and reversing the sign) versus adding 10x and subtracting 130.
• Q3c (F) Expand the brackets but write +2 rather than −2 when expanding the second bracket and ask, ‘What have I
done wrong here?’
• Q8a (H) A student scored 20 marks on the second test. Is it possible for them to have passed?
No, since they would need 110 marks on test 1, which is impossible.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• A starter refreshing students’ memories of solving linear equations may be useful leading into this section. This could
be something as straightforward as a set of five linear equations, including questions with negative coefficients of x,
brackets, x terms on both sides of the equals sign and fractions. Negative coefficients (e.g. 5 − 2x = 7) can provide a
way into a productive discussion about methods of ‘dealing’ with the negative coefficient. (Some students will move
the −2x to the RHS, others will divide through by negative 2.)
Plenaries
• ‘Write five inequalities that all simplify to give x ≤ 3. At least one should have brackets, one should have a negative
coefficient of x.’
• Does the inequality 3 < x < −3 make sense?
No, there is no number that satisfies it: this is probably a poor combination of x < −3 and x > 3.
Enrichment activities
• Ask students to consider what values of x would satisfy a double inequality such as 6 < 5x + 3 < 15. Students can
approach this by using the same operation on each of the three sections simultaneously, e.g. subtract three leads to
3 < 5x < 12, then divide each section by five giving 3/5 < x < 12/5. Alternatively students can break the problem down
into its two constituent inequalities: 6 < 5x + 3 and 5x + 3 < 15, which can be solved as previously outlined.

SECTION 4F: WORKING WITH INEQUALITIES

At Foundation level, Section 4 focuses on working with inequalities and word problems. Students may struggle to
identify the inequality necessary to represent ‘at least’. By rephrasing this as ‘the same or more than’, students should
be able to recognise it is asking for values higher than the given number.

Prompting questions
Exercise 34D(F)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) What numbers are prime?
2, 3, 5, 7
Which of these numbers are even?
2. (This should go in the overlap of the ‘prime’ and ‘even’ circles.)
Which of the even numbers are square numbers?
4 (so this should go in the overlap of the ‘even’ and ‘square’ circles).
• Q3 (F) These questions require students to think carefully about how to write the inequalities before solving them. They
may need help to interpret the questions.
For example d)
What happens first to a? And then what happens?
Three is added, then it is multiplied by two, so we write a + 3, then two lots of this is 2(a + 3).
• Q4 (F) What is 25 per cent of £12? £3. If this is how much you can save per hour, and you call the number of hours h,
how can you write the total amount saved?
3h. (This question could also be answered by considering if you want to save £75, then you would need to earn £75 × 4 =
£300, so the inequality could be written as 12h ≥ 300).

SECTION 4H: SOLVING QUADRATIC INEQUALITIES

The Higher version of Section 4 focuses on quadratic inequalities. Students may find it helpful to sketch the graph for
each quadratic, noting where it cuts the x-axis and when the line is above/below the x-axis (i.e. where the answer to the
quadratic is positive/negative as required for the question).

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Exercise 36D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2b (H) Can we join the two inequalities x ≤ 2 and x ≥ 6 into a ‘double inequality’ e.g. 2 ≥ x ≥ 6?
No, because there is no number x that satisfies both inequalities.
• Q3d (H) What are the two x-axis intercepts for x(x + 3) = y?
It can be written as (x + 0)(x + 3) = y. The x-axis intercepts are at x = 0 and at x = −3.
• Q4d (H) How can you make the coefficient of x2 positive?
Multiply through by negative 1, but ensure the inequality sign is reversed giving x2 + 3x − 40 < 0.
• Q5 (H) What are the boundaries for each part of the inequality (i.e. where are the dots?) How can you write an
inequality for each section of the line?
E.g. a) x > 3, x < −2.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Go through different ways of writing inequalities in words. For example, ‘at most’, ‘no more than’, ‘at least’, ‘more
than’, ‘fewer/less than’.
• Write some numbers on the board (lower than 100). Ask students to write down the numbers that are (a) square
numbers, (b) cube numbers, (c) prime, (d) composite, etc.
Plenaries
• Have some worded examples for which students must decide whether solutions should be limited to integer values.
For example, ‘there must be more than five people for the training course to run’, ‘I hope to raise at least £5000 for
charity’ or ‘I want to lose at least 1 kg on my diet this week.’

SECTION 5H: GRAPHING LINEAR INEQUALITIES

(Higher only) Section 5 focuses on graphing linear inequalities in two variables. This is the basis for linear
programming, in which a number of constraints can be graphed and the optimal solution discovered.

Prompting questions
Exercise 36E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) Is the line in part (c) ‘steeper’ or ‘shallower’ than that in part (a)?
Shallower since 1 is a smaller gradient than 1.
2
• Q3 (H) Which point did you test?
Students might be encouraged to choose points that are straightforward to substitute, e.g. the origin (0, 0) or (1, 1).
However, they should avoid any points on the boundaries of shaded regions.
Exercise 36F(H)

While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (H) Is (8, 0) in the shaded region?
No, since the blue line is broken it doesn’t include the point.
• Q5 (H) Which points with integer coordinates are in the shaded region?
(3, −3), (4, −2), (5, −1), (6, 0), (5, −2), (4, −4), (3, −4), (4, −3).

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• A review of how to efficiently sketch linear equations would be a good way into this topic. In particular, ensuring that
students don’t confuse x = 3 (vertical line) and y = 3 (horizontal line) is essential.

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Plenaries
• Given three inequalities, students could compare the two approaches of (a) shading ‘in’ the region satisfied by each
inequality and (b) shading ‘out’ the region that does not satisfy the inequality. They can compare the relative merits
of each method.
Enrichment activities
• Students could investigate simple linear programming problems that use graphical representations of inequalities.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• This topic relies heavily on skills learnt in previous topics. Most notably, pupils should be secure in their ability to
solve and draw linear equations. These methods were covered in Chapter 14F / 15H Equations and Chapter 23F / 24H
Straight-line graphs. (Higher only) Students need to be able to factorise quadratics, Chapter 5F / 5H Introduction to
algebra and Chapter 13H Further algebra.

Gateway to A level

• In Decision Maths, linear programming extends the work on graphing linear inequalities to find optimal solutions
given a number of constraints.
• Inequalities feature in many A level questions and quadratic inequalities have much greater prominence.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 2, question 16 • Chapter 6, question 20
• Chapter 10, question 16

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 34 • Chapter 36

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 4 (F) / 8 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 3 (F) / 5 (H) animated widgets
• 6 (F) / 11 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 2 (F) / 4 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 2 (F) / 4 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper
• 2 mm graph paper
• Axis grids from -10 to 10 in x and -10 to 10 in y

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 35F / 37H Sampling and representing data

35F / 37H Sampling and representing data

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to divide (360) by a given number and then multiply, possibly rounding the result.
• How to draw a circle using a pair of compasses.
• How to accurately measure angles.
• How to draw and label axes, including choosing appropriate scales.
• (Higher only) How to use inequality notation for class intervals.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• To be able to infer properties of populations or • To be able to infer properties of populations or
distributions from a sample, while knowing the distributions from a sample, while knowing the
limitations of sampling. limitations of sampling.
Section 2 Section 2
• To be able to interpret and construct tables, charts • To be able to interpret and construct tables,
and diagrams, including frequency tables, bar charts charts and diagrams, including frequency tables,
(simple, multiple and composite) and pictograms for bar charts (simple, multiple and composite) and
categorical data, vertical line charts for ungrouped pictograms for categorical data, vertical line charts
discrete numerical data. for ungrouped discrete numerical data.
Section 3 Section 3
• To be able to construct and read data from pie charts. • To be able to construct and read data from pie
charts.
Section 4 Section 4
• To be able to draw and read line graphs for time series • To be able to interpret and construct histograms and
data and know their appropriate use. cumulative frequency curves for continuous data
and know their appropriate use.
Section 5
• To be able to draw and read line graphs for time
series data and know their appropriate use.

Vocabulary
Population, sample, representative sample, discrete data, categorical data, continuous data
(Higher only) class intervals, cumulative frequency, grouped data, histogram

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Difficulties drawing obtuse angles using a protractor.

Encouraging students to ‘sense-check’ their angle, e.g. an angle of 170° should be bigger than a right angle, can ensure
they have used the correct scale on their protractor.
• Incorrectly drawing axes, in particular inconsistent scales on an axis.
While providing students with pre-prepared axes can enable a greater variety of questions to be undertaken in a lesson,
there is a clear need for students to practise drawing axes for themselves as many find it a challenge. Projecting some
badly drawn graphs and asking what has gone wrong can be a powerful plenary.

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• A common error in exams is misreading scales, so practice with different scaled axes and a variety of data is useful.
• Using everyday meanings of words that have precise statistical meanings, for example, ‘population’.
Some students will have difficulties with the idea that, for example, if we are interested in the feelings of Year 7
students about the girls’ toilets that our population is just Year 7 girls. Using non-human examples can help here. If
we are interested in the strength of climbing ropes we make in our factory, the population is all the climbing ropes we
manufacture. This context also demonstrates the purpose of sampling: if we test every climbing rope until it breaks, we
wouldn’t have anything to sell!
• (Higher only) Plotting cumulative frequency at midpoint of class intervals.
If the class intervals represent money (e.g. a class of £10–£15, with cumulative frequency 12) it can be helpful to think,
‘The only thing we know for sure is that if I have £15 I could buy 12 of those things’. If I have £14, I cannot be sure what I
can buy. Hence we plot at the end point of each class.
• (Higher only) Drawing histograms with frequency as height (rather than area).
Students should be reminded that histograms with bars of unequal width would be unrepresentative if their height
represented frequency.

Hooks

• The classic photograph of a happy man holding a paper whose headline proclaims DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN can be
an excellent introduction to bias in sampling. A variety of versions of this photograph are available on the Internet
by searching for the headline. Students naturally assume that the happy man must be Dewey (not the re-elected
President Truman). They quickly come up with a variety of valid, historical reasons (typically ‘telephone surveys in
the 40s would only include rich people who didn’t vote democrat’) for the biased sample.

SECTION 1F / 1H: POPULATIONS AND SAMPLES

Note: while particular methods of sampling have been dropped from GCSE specifications, with a renewed emphasis
on proportional reasoning it seems reasonable that structured questions might be set on stratified sampling. It seems
a shame for there not to be a problem-solving question in this section. Similarly with capture-recapture that appeared
on a GCSE mathematics paper a few years ago to much shock and horror of teachers (despite being in the SAMs for
Edexcel); this is just proportional reasoning, after all.
This section introduces the ideas of population and sampling and discusses some sampling methods. Students are
likely to be familiar with the term ‘sample’ if they’ve ever been offered a free sample at a supermarket. They’re not
allowed to eat the whole thing, just have a taste to see what it’s like.

Prompting questions
These questions should prompt open-ended discussion between students:
• I want to interview 20 people in a town, so I put a map up on the wall and throw a dart at it 20 times. I interview
whoever lives at the place the dart lands. Is this fair?
• I want to interview 10 people who live in Birmingham, so I dial 0121 and seven random digits. Is this fair?
Exercise 35A(F) / 37A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2b (H) / Q2b (F) How would your answer change if one fewer/more person said they were interested.
It would change to 680 or 720.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
2
• Reviewing fractional methods is useful here. For example, ‘quick fire’ questions like ‘what is of 30?’ could be
5
completed on mini whiteboards.

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Plenaries
• Discussing real uses of sampling is a useful way to end a lesson. For example, how could customs / police officers
decide who to stop? (A discussion to be handled with great care, but an important one in our present security
climate.)
• Most students will be familiar with claims in advertising along the lines of, ‘9 out of 10 owners prefer…’. In the small
print, the sample size will be shown. Do they think that, say, 45 people is enough to justify this claim?
Enrichment activities
• The 100 people website presents some thought provoking statistics. Students could collect some data from their
class and use proportional methods to increase them to 100 people. (100people.org)
• A similar mistake to ‘DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN’ with Landon and Roosevelt was made by many pollsters, but not by
George Gallup whose name will be familiar to many. Students could investigate Gallup’s method.

SECTION 2F / 2H: TABLES AND GRAPHS

This section focuses on different ways that data can be displayed to help with understanding and interpretation.
Students can sometimes be complacent about this topic as they have seen bar charts repeatedly since primary school
and in other subjects. Using the ‘Assess your starting point’ section will help establish a need to revisit the topic. Also
asking students to criticise misleading or badly drawn bar charts is a useful way to check for misconceptions and
emphasise key learning points.
Please draw your students’ attention to the example pictogram. It is very similar to the bar chart and vertical line
graph as the pictures are stacked vertically, however most pictograms in past paper GCSE questions are displayed
horizontally.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Why is it important that the bars are the same width in a bar chart?
• Why is it important that the pictures in a pictogram are the same size?
• Why is it important to have a uniform scale?
• Why are graphs formatted so that they could be misleading?
Exercise 35B(F) / 37B(H)
While working through the exercise, a good prompt for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How should you label your axes?
The vertical axis will be the ‘frequency’ (‘f’ can be used). The horizontal axis will have the main label ‘colour’ (or ‘colour
of hair’) with the individual colours at the bottom of each line.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Which of the columns would you use for the vertical axis?
Percentage of people, this represents the frequency of those using the modes of transport and frequency is usually
shown as the vertical axis.
Exercise 35C(F) / 37C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) What other diagram could be used to show the proportion of sales for the four companies.
A series of pie charts.
What benefits do these bar charts have?
Comparing sizes of the four categories between companies is more straightforward.
• Q5 (H) Dana claims that more boys than girls got A*, so boys did better. Hannah claims that more boys than girls got
D, so the boys did worse. Who is correct?
This is not straightforward to answer, even with a stacked bar chart. The boys got a higher proportion of the very
highest grades, but the girls got more Bs.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• ‘Spot the mistake’ activities or similar, where students assess, criticise and identify errors. This promotes useful
discussion of common mistakes and encourages students to reflect on their own presentation of bar charts and
pictograms. An example of this could be a hand-drawn bar chart that has been drawn without a ruler, where the
axes have not been drawn on the grid lines of the squared/graph paper, where the scale on the y-axis is not uniform,
spaces between the bars are not equal, etc. Another example could be a pictogram where the key is not interpreted
correctly for a partial picture, where there is no key or where the pictures are of different sizes.
Plenaries
• From the same set of data, get students to create three or four different bar charts with all but one of the bar charts
drawn to be misleading. Graphs can be made misleading by changing the scale on the y-axis, not starting the scale
at zero or having unequal bar widths (introduction to histograms). If different parties want to use the same data to
support their opposing views, consider which of these bar charts they would prefer to use.
Enrichment
More interpretation questions would be useful, including asking pupils to work out averages, range, percentage
proportion or probability from data presented in a bar chart or pictogram.
Assessment ideas
• The S5 section of the standards unit ‘Interpreting bar charts, pie charts, box and whisker plots’ from Great
Maths Teaching Ideas has a card sort activity to match up bar charts and pie charts (and box plots). This could be
adapted to include pictograms, frequency tables or lists of data. It is useful to have some cards that do not match or
some incomplete cards (greatmathsteachingideas.com).
• Students draw flow charts to show what types of diagram might be reasonably constructed for a particular data
set. They should consider both the type of data (discrete, etc.) as well as the purpose of the diagram (comparison,
computation of statistics, etc.).

SECTION 3F / 3H: PIE CHARTS

This section focuses on interpreting and drawing pie charts. Pie charts show proportions, and so are a great way to
reinforce multiplicative methods such as the unitary method.

Prompting questions
While working on the material in this section good prompts for promoting discussion may be:
• Is it important to always start the first sector at 12 o’clock? Does the order of segments matter?
Generally no, but the convention is usually to start at 12 o’clock and proceed clockwise in order.
• Draw two nearly identical pie charts to represent two countries A and B showing that around 20 per cent of adults
smoke (and 80 per cent do not). Which country (A or B) has more smokers? Replacing ‘A’ with, for example, China
and ‘B’ with a country with a small population (such as Belgium) should reinforce the point that pie charts show
proportion not numbers.
Exercise 35D(F) / 37D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Did the angles you calculated add up to 360°?
No.
Why not?
Because of rounding.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Which country has the biggest population?
You can’t tell from the pie chart because pie charts show proportions not actual numbers.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) I interview another 30 students and every one of them says their favourite leisure activity is reading.
How would this change the pie chart?
The reading sector would get bigger and the others smaller.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Plenaries
• Students to be given a pie chart (without numerical labels) and the size of population. They should work backwards
to find the frequency of each sector. This will raise issues of bounds and accuracy.
Starters or plenaries
• These three pie charts illustrate how difficult it is to compare two sectors of a pie chart and how, generally, a bar
chart is a better representation of data. Hiding the bar charts and getting students to order the sectors is an effective
way to use this graph (later revealing the bar charts). (wikipedia.org)
Enrichment activities
• As an extension activity, students could devise a method to draw comparative pie charts (for two data sets) where
the area is proportional to the size of the population. Doubling the population does not double the radius…

SECTION 4H: CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY CURVES AND HISTOGRAMS

This Higher only section starts with a discussion of cumulative frequency curves. One possible way of introducing
cumulative frequency is described below as a starter activity.
Histograms are a form of diagram that most students struggle to interpret and to draw. Working with unequal classes
can sometimes confuse students. These are covered in chapter 37 Worked Example 2 and chapter 37 review question 5
in the Higher Student book, and also in Chapter 37 Review question 3 in the Higher Homework Book.

Prompting questions
Histograms
• Is it still a histogram if the bars are the same width?
Yes! Most histograms used in reality (but not in GCSE maths exams) have classes with equal width.
• How would we plot a histogram where the final class doesn’t have a specified end point (e.g. ages, where the final
age is stated as 80+)?
Exercise 37E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) How many classes did you group the data into? What were your boundaries? How did you decide on the
boundaries?
The text suggests five to ten classes, ranging roughly from 150−350, therefore class widths of about 20 is appropriate for
ten classes (or wider if fewer classes).
• Q2 (H) Why do we plot cumulative frequency points at the (right hand) end of the class interval? To include all
possible temperatures in that class interval.
• Q2 (H) What difference does it make if the points of a cumulative frequency diagram are joined up with a straight line
compared to a curve (an ‘ogive’)?
Any predictions we make might be different. Joining with straight lines ‘linearly interpolates’ within each group.
• Q3 (H) How can cumulative frequency curves be used to estimate the median value and the quartiles?
There are 60 results so the median will be the 30th one. Draw a horizontal line from the cumulative frequency of 30 across
to the graph. Then go vertically down to find the median time. For quartiles, do the same for the 15th and 45th results.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters

By Price
£0 − £50 (31)
£50 − £100 (16)
£100 − £500 (17)
£500 − £1000 (42)
As an introduction to cumulative frequency, online shopping websites can provide a nice starter. For example, B&Q’s
website has a filter to narrow searches by price: it shows how many items in each price band (in the example to the
right it is kitchen worktops). Project the filter for one particular category, and ask students questions like ‘How many
worktops can I buy if I have £50’ (31) ‘How about if I have £49’ (we don’t know, because those 31 might all cost £50).
There are also issues with overlapping boundaries, for example if a worktop does cost £50, does it appear in the first or
second class? (diy.com)
Plenaries
• Deciles are like quartiles but there are ten and not four. How could we use a cumulative frequency curve to estimate
the seventh decile? What might a centile be? What does the tallest bar of a histogram represent? Strangely, it is the
modal class. When could this differ from the modal class we would calculate from a frequency table? See Ask Dr.
Math. (mathforum.org)
Enrichment activities
• Provide students with a partially completed frequency table and histogram (for example, with only one row and one
bar given) and ask them to complete both.
• Provide students with an unlabelled histogram (no scale on the y-axis) and its total frequency, and ask them to work
out the frequency of one bar.
Assessment ideas
• Students construct model answers for examination questions on histograms, showing their working clearly.

SECTION 4F / 5H: LINE GRAPHS FOR TIME SERIES DATA

This section is introduced by an example of a line graph showing daily temperature. Line graphs are used frequently
in science and geography, so this topic creates an opportunity for cross-curricular links. Students sometimes have
difficulty recognising which chart or graph is required in the context of other subjects.

Prompting questions
Exercise 35E(F) / 37F(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) Look at the graph. What would it look like if the y-axis started at zero?
The detail would be very small since it would be squashed in the very top of the graph. Using ‘index numbers’ like this
question does is one situation where it is permissible to have the y-axis not starting at zero.
• Q7 (F) / Q7 (H) Use this same graph to predict what will happen to the numbers of buses and coaches over the next
ten years.
The general trend is one of decrease, but there have been points over the last ten years when the number of buses and
coaches was higher than in 2002. We cannot be sure, but a steady decrease would be the most likely scenario.

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Ask colleagues for data from a science experiment that students in your school have recently completed. This data
could be represented using the techniques being developed in maths, which will generally differ from those used
in science subjects. Graphs that will also be used in a recent or subsequent topic in another subject can also be
displayed and discussed (e.g. for geography, graphs of things such as population, weather etc.)
Plenaries
• Consider several predictions made from a time series graph, discuss the relative merit of each statement and state
which predictions will be more likely to be correct.
Starters or plenaries
• Time series graphs are used regularly in the media. Students could be asked to bring in an example of a time series
graph and make up their own questions based on it. Another student could then attempt to answer these questions
and then make up some more of their own. Examples of time series graphs found in the media regularly include
petrol prices, stock prices, or exam results (number of students achieving 5 A* to C at GCSE).
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘What’s the Weather Like?’ provides data for three different UK towns over the last 50 years and
suggestions for suitable research questions. (nrich.maths.org)
This data was taken from the Met Office website, so this investigation could easily be adapted to your local area.
(metoffice.gov.uk)
• (Higher only) Q7 gives traffic volume as an index number, which is the percentage change in traffic volume from
2002. An extension would be to examine index numbers, including RPI.
• (Higher only) Another extension, and a thought provoking exercise, is to examine a time series graph of world
population and link it to exponential growth.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• Ideas from Probability in Chapter 26F / 28H Probability – combined events are important to take into consideration
when considering methods of sampling and potential bias.

Future learning

• Methods of analysing data, for example averages, are covered in Chapter 36F / 38H Data analysis.

Gateway to A level
• Histograms at A level introduce added complexities. Firstly, end points may be less obvious and students may need
to consider bounds. Secondly, the area of the bars becomes proportional to frequency rather than equal to it.
• The idea of area below a curve representing (or being proportional to) frequency becomes increasingly important as
students begin considering distributions such as the normal.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, questions 5, 18 • Chapter 1, question 9
• Chapter 4, question 13 • Chapter 7, question 14
• Chapter 7, questions 8, 15, 16

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Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 35 • Chapter 37

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF
• Lesson notes
• 16 / 19 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 7 (F) / 9 (H) animated widgets
• 7 (F) / 14 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 5 (F) / 8 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 5 (F) / 8 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets
• 1 cm squared paper
• 2 mm graph paper
• Axis grids from -10 to 10 in x and -10 to 10 in y
• Circle outlines (for plotting pie charts)

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36F / 38H Data analysis

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to use their calculator accurately to perform calculations, especially how to divide using brackets for the
dividend (numerator) or the fraction key.
• How to find the mean, median, mode and range of a set of data.
• How to plot coordinates on a set of axes.
• How to decide whether a gradient is positive or negative.
• (Higher only) How to construct cumulative frequency diagrams.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Inequality notation for class intervals.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Calculate summary statistics from raw and grouped • Calculate summary statistics from raw and grouped
data. data.
• Compare two or more sets of data, including use of • Compare two or more sets of data, including use of
interquartile range. box plots.
• Estimate quartiles from a cumulative frequency
diagram.
Section 2 Section 2
• Identify why a graph may be misleading. • Identify why a graph may be misleading.
Section 3 Section 3
• Construct scatter diagrams. • Construct scatter diagrams.
• Describe correlation. • Describe correlation.
• Draw a line of best fit. • Draw a line of best fit.
• Identify outliers. • Identify outliers.

Vocabulary
Bivariate data, correlation, dependent variable, outlier

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Not realising that modal is the adjective form of mode.

• When using a calculator to work out the mean, typing (for example) 14 + 15 + 15 ÷ 3 rather than (14 + 15 + 15) ÷ 3.
Use these numbers as the money that three friends each have. The incorrect mean of £34 is clearly nonsense.
• When calculating the mean from a frequency table there are several common errors:
-- Dividing by the number of classes rather than the total frequency.
Draw a frequency table showing the number of passengers (from one to five) in 100 taxis. If dividing by five rather
than 100, the average number of people in a taxi will be nonsense.

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-- Simply adding up the frequencies and dividing by the number of classes.

For the frequency table showing the number of passengers in 100 taxis, if students add up the values in the
frequency column they will arrive at the total of 100. Dividing 100 by five (the number of classes) gives an answer of
20, which is clearly nonsense if the maximum number of passengers is five.
-- Adding up the values in the class column and dividing by the number of classes.
In our taxi example, (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5) ÷ 5. The answer won’t be so obviously wrong.
-- For a grouped frequency table, the student adds up the midpoints instead.
• Forgetting to order values before finding the median.
• Forgetting what to do if there are two numbers when working out averages: if the mode, we give both; if the median,
we find their midpoint.
Justify that we can’t find the midpoint of vanilla and strawberry ice cream.
• Students thinking that the range is a type of average.
The range is a measure of spread and puts the average into context, especially when comparing data.
• (Higher only) When working out quartiles, giving ‘15’ as the lower quartile if there are 60 items rather than the value
of the 15th item.

Hooks

• Hans Rosling’s 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes video shows wonderfully animated scatter diagrams that
describe the wealth and health of nations through the past two centuries. This chapter describes how graphical
representations can be used to make sense of real world sets of data and this video really shows the power of
such visualisations. In our notes on Section 3 we describe how students can create such graphs for themselves.
(gapminder.org)
• Students always engage more readily if the data they are analysing means something to them. Generate some data
for the class to use such as the percentage scores from a recent homework or test (with names removed). Analyse if
they are improving their scores or find out if there is any correlation between their score on a number-based topic
compared to an algebra-based topic.
• Challenge students to answer 60 times table or other basic numeracy questions faster than teachers. Present the
teachers’ data in a frequency table to then compare to the generated raw data for the students.

SECTION 1F / 1H: SUMMARY STATISTICS

This section reviews the three averages students must learn for GCSE. Many students struggle to remember which is
which; most classes will have a variety of good mnemonics that students will be keen to share. Students studying for
Higher tier will also need to learn about quartiles. (Teachers should be aware that methods to work out quartiles are not
well defined, with at least seven different methods.)

Prompting questions
Exercise 36A(F) / 38A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Why is it an estimate of the mean/median/range rather than the actual value?
Because the data is grouped, we don’t know the actual values.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) The midpoint × frequency for the first row is 37.5. What does this number actually represent?
An estimate that those 15 people together had a total of 37.5 days absent from work.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) If the company had a few members of staff signed off sick for longer periods of time, they might
record this in a class with interval d > 25. How would you deal with this class when calculating an estimate of the
mean?
We would have to choose a sensible midpoint. To do this accurately you would need more information about the length
of absences.

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• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Why did you choose the class intervals you did? How will the estimated mean be affected if you made
the class intervals bigger/smaller/unequal?
The answer to this will depend on the student, but should lead to some discussion.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) How does your estimate of the range differ from the true range?
It is an overestimate.
Will the estimate always be an overestimate?
Yes, unless there is a piece of data at the lowest and highest endpoints of class intervals.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) If I gave you another table with the same data, but written in cm rather than m, what would happen
to the mean/mode/range?
It would be multiplied by 100.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Oh no! The health club’s height measurer is found to always give readings 2 cm too short. We add 2
cm to every height to compensate. What would happen to the mean?
Increase by 2 cm.
What would happen to the range?
Stay the same.
Exercise 38B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) If there are 30 members of a bingo club, which person(s) is the median?
The 15th and 16th.
Why is it alright to just read off the 15th value from the graph?
Because the data are grouped, we are making an estimate. With a large number of people it
would make little difference.
• Q3 (H) How many trains took longer than the upper quartile?
24.
How many took less time than the median?
16.
• What advantage does the IQR have over the range?
It is unaffected by any outliers.
Exercise 36B(F) / 38C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) If Ahmed and Bill’s data wasn’t about runs in cricket but was the number of strokes in golf, how would
your conclusions change?
In golf a lower number is better so the position would be reversed.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Which would you rather take: a bus that takes on average ten minutes with a range of 20 or a bus that
takes on average 12 minutes with a range of one?
This question should prompt discussion between students.
• Q7 (H) The mean of these salaries is £93 300 as compared to the median of £81 500. Why is the mean so much
higher?
The median does not take direct account of the two people who earn very (very) high salaries: £256 000 and £345 000.
The mean, however, does.
Is the mode a useful measure for this data?
No, not really because most values only occur once. (Grouping the data and finding the modal class may be useful.)

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• The textbook’s earnings example could be extended with some other occupations. Each of these could be written on
a card and given to ten students. For the median, the students could arrange themselves in salary order. Students
could also work out the mean. It should be clear to students that the ‘workers’ will want to use the mean in any
argument to justify a pay rise, but that the median may be a more representative measure. Indeed, it can be helpful
to think of the median as the ‘wage of the average worker’, rather than the ‘average wage’.

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Plenaries
• Amazon, and other shopping websites, allow customers to rate products on a discrete scale, typically 1 − 5. From
these ratings they calculate an average rating, usually rounded to the nearest half star. If you project the bar graph
for a product students are interested in (music? film? game?), but hide the average rating, students could calculate
the average. This also allows students to think carefully about rounding to an unfamiliar degree of accuracy: halves.
When do they round up / round down?

5 star: (5)

4 star: (29)

3 star: (31)

2 star: (18)

1 star: (8)

• Show the class four different versions of a solution for the estimated mean from a grouped frequency table. Three
of the solutions are incorrect and each highlight one of the common errors discussed earlier. Ask students to
spot which solution is correct and explain what the mistakes were in the other examples. This could be done as a
class discussion or students could work together to annotate a paper copy, which could then be displayed in the
classroom for future reference/as a reminder.
• The TV show 2point4 children is named after a statistic that suggested the average number of children per family was
2.4. Are any of the students’ families ‘average’? Is it possible to be ‘average’? You could calculate the average number
of children in your class’s families and see how close it is to the current quoted average: 1.6 or so.
Enrichment activities
• Students could look at recent news stories that report on data to see whether the type of average is specified (it
rarely is!). They could then go to the source of the data, to find for themselves how the analysis was actually done.
• Pick a future sporting event (it could be for a school team, football championship or an international event such as
the Olympics). There is only one spot left on the team and the coach is unsure which player to choose. Give students
the statistics for several players and tell them that, in a group, they need to use this data to present a case for one of
the players. Each group has a different player to represent.
Assessment ideas
• The processes introduced in this section give lots of scope for calculation errors. Presenting students with ‘answers’
to questions that contain subtle mistakes is a good way of assessing their understanding of the processes and ideas
in use.

SECTION 2F / 2H: MISLEADING GRAPHS

This section explains different ways that graphs may be constructed that do not give a true representation of the
underlying data. In some cases this may be through naiveté. In others, it may be an intentional distortion to enhance
the claims of a product or service, or to justify a policy.

Prompting questions
Exercise 36C(F) / 38D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) If you don’t have crime rate data for 2001 − 2004, how could you legitimately draw the graph? Is it
valid to join up the line?
It is probably not justified to join up the points as they imply a trend that may (or may not) be present. A graph with
three data points over ten years isn’t very convincing!

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• The internet is a rich source of poor graphs, with many websites set up to dissect their failings. One with some good
examples is ‘Misleading Graphs: Real Life Examples’ at Statistics How To. Students are generally quick to spot
how the graphs may mislead, which can then be covered more formally using the introduction and questions in the
textbook. (statisticshowto.com)
Plenaries
• Q1 shows what most people expect crime rates to do: go up. Showing the true data (e.g. search for ‘UK crime rates’
on the internet) can be surprising for many students (and teachers!).
Enrichment activities
• Students could seek out misleading graphs on the internet and present their favourite. The ‘junkcharts’ website is a
good starting point.
• Give the class a data set, e.g. traffic accidents over the past few years. They should aim to create a graph that
overemphasises the trend using the techniques they have learnt.

SECTION 3F / 3H: SCATTER DIAGRAMS

This section introduces one of the most powerful statistical diagrams: the scatter diagram. At GCSE, lines of best fit are
still done ‘by eye’.
Finally, an informal idea of an outlier is discussed.
Note that more detailed discussion of interpolation and extrapolation is available in GCSE Mathematics Online.

Prompting questions
Exercise 36D(F) / 38E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) I am looking to buy a car with a 1.5 litre engine. How many miles per gallon would you expect?
58.5… from graph.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) I am looking to buy a Hummer H1 with a 6.2 litre engine. Can you use the graph to predict its mpg?
Not accurately since there are no data bigger than 3 litres; we would be extrapolating.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Which is the independent variable?
The temperature.
Which axis should this go on?
The horizontal (x) axis.
Exercise 36E(F) / 38F(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Which of the test scores did you decide is an outlier?
The 85.
What explanations are there for this result?
It might be real! It could be recorded incorrectly (e.g. it was actually 58 but the digits were transposed). Lots more
possibilities!
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) National Rail consider trains to be ‘late’ if they arrive more than ten minutes after the published
arrival time. If the normal time for the journey is 115 minutes, how many of these trains would be considered as late?
Five.
What is this as a percentage of the trains?
25 per cent.
Nationally 91 per cent of trains are ‘on time’. Should the company running the train in the question be concerned?
Yes!

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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters and enrichment activities
• Students can use the Gapminder World website to produce similar graphs to Hans Rosling’s 200 Countries,
200 Years, 4 Minutes video described earlier. They are able to do this for a whole host of other variables. Higher
attaining students can also experiment with logarithmic scales. (gapminder.org)
Plenaries
• Anscombe’s quartet consists of four sets of data that look very different when plotted on a scatter diagram, yet
have identical statistical properties (such as line of best fit, correlation coefficient, mean, etc.) Groups of students
could calculate these for just one of the four data sets. This quartet demonstrates the usefulness of graphical
techniques even with statistical packages that can calculate summary statistics from raw data. (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Spurious correlations website at tylervigen.com is a great way to demonstrate the adage correlation does
not imply causation. This shows a variety of sets of data that show high correlation but with no obvious causal link
(e.g. ‘marriage rate in Washington DC’ against ‘number of video games sold in the UK’ is negatively correlated with
r = −0.995). However, the data sets do not have scatter diagrams so students might draw these and create spurious
predictions. Marcus du Sautoy explains another few examples of correlation vs causation at the end of the ‘Painting
with Numbers’ video from the TES website, including the story of a US governor who believed that having books
in the house would make a child smarter. (tes.co.uk)
• For a well-plotted scatter diagram (e.g. printed for students), students should draw a line of best fit. They should
then all make a prediction from their graph. What is the range of values within the class?
• Show some very wrong looking lines of best fit, including one drawn through the origin when there is a negative
correlation. Ask students to explain what is going wrong.
Assessment ideas
• If students can make sense of the XKCD correlation cartoon at the XKCD website, they probably understand the
difference between correlation and causation! (xkcd.com)
Enrichment activities
• Make links with the science department. Is there an experiment that students have done recently that would utilise
a scatter diagram with a linear line of best fit? If students have drawn scatter diagrams in science, they could be
scanned and then peer- / self-assessment could be used in maths lessons.

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• After the introduction of grouped frequency tables (Chapter 37H Sampling and representing data), this is a good
opportunity to construct some cumulative frequency diagrams. Many students fall into the habit of plotting the
cumulative frequency diagram at the midpoint of each class (like when estimating the median) rather than the end
points.
• The skills of graph drawing (Chapter 23F / 24H Straight-line graphs and Chapter 24F / 25H Graphs of functions and
equations) are called upon heavily here.

Future learning

• Although it is rarely assessed, pupils could find the equation of the line of best fit and use this equation to predict
data values, especially extrapolated data.

Gateway to A level

• Standard deviation: a more sophisticated measure of spread (like range and IQR).
• Linear regression: the process of creating an equation to represent a line of best fit that can be quickly used to make
predictions.

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LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, question 6 • Chapter 1, questions 10, 25
• Chapter 2, question 6 • Chapter 2, question 11
• Chapter 6, question 18 • Chapter 5, question 13
• Chapter 7, question 17 • Chapter 6, questions 6, 7, 21
• Chapter 8, question 7 • Chapter 7, questions 6, 18
• Chapter 10, question 11 • Chapter 9, question 9
• Chapter 10, question 7, 8, 17

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 36 • Chapter 38

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 6 (F) / 10 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 2 (F) / 4 (H) animated widgets
• 6 (F) / 11 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 3 (F) / 5 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 3 (F) / 5 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper
• 2 mm graph paper
• Axis grids from -10 to 10 in x and -10 to 10 in y

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37F / 39H Interpretation of graphs

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to distinguish between direct and inverse proportion.

• How to calculate the gradient of a straight line.
• How to calculate the area of composite shapes.

Additional useful prior knowledge

distance
Speed = .
time
speed
Acceleration = .
time
Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Constructing and interpreting graphs in real world • Constructing and interpreting graphs in real world
contexts. contexts.
Section 2 Section 2
• Interpreting the gradient of a straight-line graph as a • Interpreting the gradient of a straight-line graph as a
rate of change. rate of change.
• Finding and interpreting the gradient at a point on a
curve as the instantaneous rate of change.
Section 3
• Calculating and interpreting the area under a graph.

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Transposing the numerator and denominator when calculating gradient. Most students will be happy with the idea
that a horizontal line has zero gradient: this is only possible when the (zero) change of y is the numerator (otherwise
it would lead to division by zero).
• Inability to read correctly from graphs, especially those with unequal scales. Ensuring that students are exposed to
such graphs is important: they should make it their first step, when presented with a graph, to ensure they properly
consider the detail of the axes.
• Difficulty in plotting tangents to curves. Imagining a surf board on a wave can often help.
• Problems dealing with scales graduated in time (hours and minutes) and working with such quantities. Starters
getting pupils to work with time in the form hh:mm can help: ‘What is 0:55 + 0:12?’, ‘What is 11:23 − 2:51?’

Hooks

• The videos on the Graphing Stories website are a nice visual prompt to get pupils to consider how things (heights,
speeds, distances, counts, etc.) change over time. (graphingstories.com)

SECTION 1: GRAPHS OF REAL WORLD CONTEXTS

This section focuses on interpreting and constructing graphs with a real world context, notably distance-time and
conversion graphs.
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 37F / 39H Interpretation of graphs

Prompting questions
Exercise 37A(F) / 39A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) When was the car travelling fastest?
Between 100 and 120 minutes. How do you know? The graph is steepest in that section.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) What does the negative gradient between 100 and 120 minutes signify?
The taxi is travelling towards the starting point.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) How do you think Monica was travelling? Walking, running, cycling or by car?
People typically walk at about 4 km per hour, i.e. 1 km takes 15 minutes. She travelled 1.2 km in ten minutes, so she is
going faster than walking. But probably not fast enough to be in a car, so she’s running or cycling or walking briskly.
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) The first section of the graph is a straight line. What does this signify?
Monica is travelling at a constant speed.
Is this realistic?
Probably not!
• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) Is there an alternative explanation for the horizontal line, rather than Monica remaining in the same
place?
She is getting no further away from home, so she could be walking in a circle with her home as the centre.
• Q4 (F) / Q4 (H) You get a message from central government that further help cannot reach the disaster centre for 14
days. How many people could you support?
Approximately 343. [days = 4800 ÷ people]

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Draw a distance-time graph on the board with two different coloured lines (e.g. red and blue) to represent two
different car journeys. Make the lines different (starting at different points on the y-axis, always increasing but with
varying gradients). Get students to write and then read out descriptions of the journeys of two cars.
Starters or plenaries
• Students could be challenged to draw graphs representing the videos on the Graphing Stories website.
(graphingstories.com)
• The NRICH ‘Mathsjam Jars’ activity asks students to work out which of ten differently shaped jars will fill up at the
same time (given a constant rate of jam pouring). (nrich.maths.org)
Plenaries
• Given freezing and boiling point in Celsius (0 and 100) and Fahrenheit (32 and 212), students could draw a conversion
graph that they can use to convert weather forecasts. If allowed to extend to negative temperatures, students could
be asked ‘at what temperature is the number in Celsius and Fahrenheit the same?’ (–40°.)
• It is useful for students to have a ‘feel’ for the speeds of various forms of transport. This could be phrased in the form
‘which of these is a sensible answer for a question that asked you to calculate the speed of a jumbo jet: 1000 mph,
500 mph, 200 mph, 100 mph, 10 mph’. Working in various units (eg mph, km/hr, m/s) should be encouraged.
Enrichment activities
• Students could make their own video in the style of those on the Graphing Stories website. Videos could involve
multiple students for example one crawling, one running and one hopping (perhaps in different directions).
(graphingstories.com)
• If any members of staff have recently run a marathon, their split times (usually downloadable after the event) could
be used as the source of a distance-time graph. When did they ‘hit the wall’?
Assessment ideas
• The Standard’s Unit ‘Interpreting Distance-Time Graphs A6’ from the National STEM Centre can be used to assess
students’ ability to move between multiple representations of situations that might be represented by a distance-
time graph. (nationalstemcentre.org.uk)

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SECTION 2: GRADIENTS

This section focuses on interpreting the gradient within the context of the problem: what do different magnitudes
mean? What does a negative gradient suggest?
(Higher only) Students are then introduced to the idea of using a tangent to the curve to approximate the gradient at a
point.

Prompting questions
Exercise 37B(F) / 39B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Which tanks show the graphs being filled?
a and c.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Which tanks show the graphs being emptied?
d, e and f.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Which graph shows the tank being emptied, initially quite quickly then steadily slowing to a trickle?
e.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) If you are dividing a change in height by a change in time, what unit could be used for the gradient of
these graphs?
Metres per second, centimetres per minute, furlongs per fortnight, or some other length/time unit.
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) When does the parachutist reach ‘terminal velocity’?
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) When does the parachutist open the parachute?
• Q3 (F) / Q3 (H) Imagine their parachute catastrophically failed. It takes them three seconds to open their reserve
‘chute. What would the new graph look like?
The first phase onwards would happen again.
Exercise 39C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What are the units of gradient on this graph?
Metres per second, confirming that the gradient represents speed.
• Q1 (H) Was it easier to accurately draw a tangent at 0.5 seconds or 3.5 seconds?
Probably 3.5 seconds since it is not at the edge of the graph.
• Q2 (H) At what time would you expect the next low tide?
About 5 am since they occur roughly every 12.5 hours.
• Q3 (H) What are the units of gradient?
km/h2.
What does the gradient represent?
Acceleration.
• Q3 (H)What does a negative gradient represent?
The person slowing down, i.e. ‘deceleration’ or negative acceleration.
• Q4 (H) If you continue the graph to the right (that is, x increases) how do you expect the gradient will change?
It will increase, since the graph gets steeper.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Ask students to plot a distance-time or speed-time graph of their day so far. They should have periods of time
when they are not moving (i.e. during lessons), times when they are walking, and possibly times when they are
moving faster (e.g. on a bus, cycling to school, running at a sports club). A couple of students’ graphs could then be
presented to the class who could hypothesise about what the students were doing at different times.

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Plenaries
• With mini whiteboards, get students to draw blank distance-time axes. Ask questions such as ‘Draw a graph that
shows: (a) speeding up, (b) moving at a constant speed, (c) slowing down’ etc.
Enrichment activities
• Students could calculate the gradient at various points on the graph of x2 and notice that it is always double the
x-coordinate. This could lead into a discussion about differentiation.

SECTION 3H: AREAS UNDER GRAPHS

This section focuses on calculating and interpreting the area under graphs.

Prompting questions
Exercise 39D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What shape would you use to work out the area under graphs a and b?
A (right-angled) triangle.
• Q1 (H) On graph c, how would you work out the area under the graph between 1.5 and 3 hours?
Either a triangle with a rectangle, or a trapezium. [links to the trapezium rule]
• Q1 (H) If we drew a single triangle from zero to four hours to approximate the curve in part d with a straight line,
would it be an overestimate or an underestimate of the true area?
An overestimate.
How could we improve our estimate?
Use additional triangles (well, trapezia).
• Q1 (H) We are finding the area of shapes whose heights are measured in km/hr and widths in hr. If we multiply these
two units together, what do we get?
Kilometres, confirming that the area represents distance.
• Q2 (H) For the period between 30 and 45 minutes, is there an efficient way to work out the area?
Since it is a straight line, treat it as a single trapezium.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Get students to calculate the areas of triangles, rectangles and trapezia. Extend this to compound shapes built from
these shapes.
Plenaries
• This section uses speed-time graphs, since the area under a distance-time graph (‘absement’) is rather more difficult
to interpret. Students could attempt to draw distance-time graphs from the given speed-time graphs.
Enrichment activities
• NRICH ‘Speedo’ has a defined distance the car has travelled and pupils are given information on the speed of the
car in different scenarios. This problem could also be solved by using the equations of motion (taught at A level) so
provides an opportunity to introduce/discuss them. (nrich.maths.org)
• Derive the equations of motion from a speed-time graph. Students now know that the area under a speed-time
1
graph is the distance travelled. By considering a straight-line segment of the graph, the formula s = 2 (u + v)t can be
found (where u and v are the initial and final velocities respectively). Secondly, the gradient of a speed-time graph is
the acceleration, resulting in the formula v = u + at. From these two equations, the remaining three equations can be
derived by eliminating a variable in three different ways. (e.g. eliminating t from the two equations gives v2 = u2 +
2as).

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TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning

• Features of straight lines, such as the concept of gradient, were discussed in Chapter 24H Straight-line graphs.
• Proportional methods from Chapter 35H Proportion are used, e.g. ‘how many Indian rupees would you get for
US$600?’ in the worked example in Section 1.
• Methods from Chapter 10H Mensuration are important, including working with time, e.g. calculating speed in miles
per hour when a distance of 15 miles is covered in 20 minutes.
• Practice in finding areas, in particular by breaking down compound shapes into rectangles, triangles and trapezia.
These were covered in Chapter 12H Area.

Gateway to A level

• Differentiation, finding the gradient at a point on a curve.

• Integration, finding the area under curves.
• Equations of motion.
• Regression, fitting a (often linear) model to a set of data.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, questions 19, 20, 23 • Chapter 1, questions 11, 26
• Chapter 3, question 9 • Chapter 3, question 16
• Chapter 4, questions 10, 14 • Chapter 4, question 9
• Chapter 6, questions 19, 20 • Chapter 6, questions 8, 9
• Chapter 8, question 18 • Chapter 7, questions 15, 16, 17
• Chapter 8, question 9

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 37 • Chapter 39

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF
• Lesson notes
• 5 (F) / 6 (H) worksheets (+ solutions)
• 3 animated widgets
• 9 (F) / 10 (H) interactive walkthroughs
• 2 (F) / 3 (H) auto-marked quickfire quizzes
• 2 (F) / 3 (H) auto-marked question sets, each with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets
• 1 cm squared paper
• 2 mm graph paper
• Axis grids from -10 to 10 in x and -10 to 10 in y

282 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 38F / 40H Transformations

38F / 40H Transformations

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• What angles of 90°, 180° and 270° look like.

• Which way a clockwise and which way an anticlockwise movement goes.
• How to fluently use the (x, y) coordinates in a 2D-plane.
• How to plot straight lines of the form x = c, y = c and y = x (where c is any number).
• What a column vector is, i.e. that it describes movement in the x and y directions.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Basic number skills for translations.

• The names of polygons, their definitions and properties.

Learning outcomes
Foundation Higher
Section 1 Section 1
• Carry out, identify and describe reflections. • Carry out, identify and describe reflections.
Section 2 Section 2
• Carry out, identify and describe translations using • Carry out, identify and describe translations using
column vectors. column vectors.
Section 3 Section 3
• Carry out, identify and describe rotations. • Carry out, identify and describe rotations.
• Find the centre of rotation by construction.
Section 4
• Carry out, identify and describe combined
transformations.

Vocabulary
(Foundation only) object, image, mirror line, perpendicular bisector, orientation.

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Confusing the directions clockwise and anticlockwise. Comparing these instructions to an analogue clock supports
pupils in picturing this movement.
• Assuming that a reflection (mirror) line cannot cover part of a shape (see Foundation Ex 38A, Q3).
• Mixing up the x- and y-axes. Phrases like ‘x is a cross’ and ‘y to the sky’ may be helpful in supporting students with
this.
• Having problems when a reflection line is a diagonal, i.e. y = x in the xy-plane. Directing students to turn the page so
that the line of reflection is vertical makes this type of reflection far easier. In addition students may ask for tracing
paper in the exam, which can be very useful in supporting less able students.
• Confusing column vector notation with coordinates.

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• Misremembering which part of a column vector controls the x-direction movement and which controls the
y-direction movement. Asking students which value comes first in a coordinate can help with their memory of which
part of a column vector controls the horizontal and vertical movement.
• Finding it difficult to remember what pieces of information are required for each transformation, i.e. a rotation needs
a centre from which to rotate and an angle with a direction. Often the number of marks in an exam question can help
with this and students should aim to give one piece of information for each mark.

Hooks

• The mirroring of movement is a nice way to introduce reflections. Placing a metre ruler between pairs, get the one of
the pair to ‘mirror’ the movement of their partner. You could start with the teacher mirroring a student.
• The idea of a translation could be introduced by starting with a city in a grid layout (like New York) and overlaying a
flat xy-grid. Ask the students, ‘How could we describe moving around a city like this?’
• Illustrate rotation by photographing a ball on the end of a piece of string rotating around (or perhaps using a
swingball). Display pictures of the ball in different positions. They are all pictures of the same ball and you can
highlight that, although in different positions in each image, the ball is always equal distance away from the centre
of rotation. (The animation from GeoGebra may also help illustrate this. (tube.geogebra.org))

SECTION 1F / 1H: REFLECTIONS

This section focuses on reflections and introduces the idea of congruent shapes. The section uses the idea that
reflections are mirror images of the object you start with.
The idea above in the hooks section could be used to introduce this idea and the students could describe what things
stay the same in a reflection and what is different between the object and the image.
While preparing the students for answering questions that involve performing reflections or finding equations of
reflection lines, you could revisit some of the ideas in Chapter 23F / 24H Straight-line graphs, on describing horizontal
and vertical lines.

Prompting questions
Exercise 38A(F)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• What do we require to reflect an object to give an image?
We need to know where the reflection/mirror line is.
• Q3 (F) What happens if the reflection/mirror line goes through the shape? Answer dependent on the shape but
students sometimes struggle with this.
Exercise 38B(F) / 40A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q2 (F) What do the lines y = x and y = −x look like?
They are diagonal lines with gradient one and negative one going through the origin.
• Q2 (H) What do the lines y = x and y = 1 − x look like?
One is a diagonal line with gradient one going through the origin and the other has a gradient of negative one with a
y-intercept of one.
• Q4 (H) What are definitions of a hexagon and octagon?
A hexagon has six sides and an octagon has eight sides.
Exercise 38C(F) / 40B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) Does it matter which shape is the object and which is the image?
No.
Why? Look back through your examples of reflections; does relabeling the object and image change the reflection/
mirror line?
No.
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• Q2 (F) / Q2 (H) How can we determine where the reflection/mirror line must be?
You can draw lines from the ‘corners’ or ‘vertices’ of the object to the ‘corners’ or ‘vertices’ of the image. The mirror line
must be a perpendicular bisector for all the construction lines you have drawn.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• NRICH ‘Mirror, Mirror…’ is useful as a starter activity before starting other Section 2 Transformations. The follow
up task to this ‘...on the Wall’, is useful and could form the main part of a lesson if you wanted to follow on from the
‘Mirror, Mirror…’ starter and not go into transformations. (nrich.maths.org)
• NRICH Weekly Problem 34 – 2009 could also be used as starter for the material covered before Exercise 37B(F) /
40A(H). (nrich.maths.org)
Plenaries
• A ‘reflection game’ for use with an interactive whiteboard. Students can be challenged to shade in parts of different
shapes using a given reflection/mirror line to create a correct reflection. This could be used as a plenary.
Enrichment activities
• Finding symmetric objects around the school and discussing their properties. Students could be sent away with
cameras to capture these images and share them with the class.
• (Foundation only) Take photographs of students’ faces and split the picture in half. They are then required to mirror
their face. Extension problem NRICH ‘One Reflection Implies Another’. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• A consolidation exercise where reflecting rectangles in specific reflection/mirror lines forms a word.

SECTION 2F / 2H: TRANSLATIONS

This section introduces the idea of a translation as a slide of the shape from an object to an image. The section stresses
at the beginning that a translated shape has the same orientation and we achieve translations by using vectors. Fluency
with Chapter 22F / 23H Vectors, is hugely beneficial here and it may be advisable to start with a diagnostic starter
(something along the lines of the Work it out multiple choice question) on vectors.

Prompting questions
Exercise 38D(F)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Why can’t we use the word ‘across’ when trying to describe a horizontal translation?
It does not indicate whether it is moving left or right.
• Does it matter if you move in the horizontal direction first or the vertical?
No, as long as, when the translation is written as a vector, you don’t try to use the horizontal (top) value as the vertical
movement and the vertical (bottom) value as the horizontal movement.
Exercise 38E(F) / 40C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) Which part of the vector controls the movement in the x-direction? Which part of the vector controls the
movement in the y-direction?
The top number in the vector controls movement in the x-direction and the bottom number controls movement in the
y-direction.
Exercise 38F(F) / 40D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1,2 (F) and Q1,2 (H) How do you move between each?
We have a movement in the x-direction and in the y-direction.
• Q1,2 (F) and Q1,2 (H) If you are moving in the negative x-direction how do you represent that in the vector?
Negative number in the top part of the vector.
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Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries,
• An activity based on Q2 in Ex 38F(F) / 40D(H), where students come up with their own picture and instructions, is a
great way to allow students to consolidate their knowledge of translations and provide scope for paired work. Once
students think they have a vectors jigsaw, they give it to someone else to try.
Enrichment activities
• Following on from the NRICH activities mentioned in Section 1 (NRICH ‘Mirror, Mirror…’ and ‘...on the Wall’), two
consecutive reflections give a translation. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• Consolidation exercise where a word is formed by translating rectangles by different vectors to make letters. The
word could be one of the key vocabulary for this section, for example ‘orientation’.

SECTION 3F / 3H: ROTATIONS

This section focuses on rotations and introduces the idea that a rotation does not preserve orientation but does
preserve congruence. The section opens with the three main pieces of information you need to define a rotation of an
object to form an image: a given centre, an angle and a direction. The Work it out question can be used to determine if
your students need a recap of 2D coordinates and the terms: clockwise and anticlockwise before starting this section.
Exercise 37G(F) / 40E(H) can then be used as a consolidation exercise.

Prompting questions
Exercise 38G(F) / 40E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) When is it acceptable to give only two pieces of information for rotating a shape?
When you rotate by 180°, you do not require a direction to your rotation.
• Q5 (F) / Q3 (H) If you rotate a shape 270° anticlockwise, how far do you rotate in the clockwise direction?
90°.
Exercise 38H(F) / 40F(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) When describing rotations what pieces of information do we need and why?
Centre of rotation to know where to rotate the object from, an angle of rotation to know how far to rotate it and a
direction to the rotation so you know which way to rotate.
• Q1 (F) / Q1 (H) How can tracing paper help find the centre of rotation?
You can use the tracing paper because the image is congruent to the object. You can use trial and improvement by
tracing over the object and trying different centres of rotation.
• Q3 (H) How can you find the centre of rotation?
Firstly, connect two pairs of corresponding points on the object and image. Secondly, use a pair of compasses to find the
perpendicular bisector for each of the two lines given by connecting each pair of corresponding points. Finally, the place
where the perpendicular bisectors meet is the centre of rotation.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starter or plenary
• A spot the transformation set of slides (used as a starter or plenary) based on the idea of the Work it out multiple
choice question before Exercise 38H(F) / 40F(H).
Plenary
• A suitable plenary is playing noughts and crosses with key vocabulary. Pupils form two teams and pick a word on the
noughts and crosses grid to define. If they get it correct they get to place a ‘nought’ or ‘cross’ in that grid. It can be a
good idea to place a challenging word to define in the centre spot!

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Enrichment ideas
• GeoGebra is a useful tool when teaching rotations (geogebra.org). A lesson where students explore making patterns
(NRICH ‘Attractive Rotations’) via rotations of a shape provides opportunities to consolidate knowledge of
rotations. In addition, the patterns can be printed and swapped with another student so that they can determine
how each shape was made, for example which rotations have been performed and where the centre of rotation was.
(nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• Consolidation exercise where rotating rectangles with different centres and by different angles forms a word. The
word could be one of the key vocabulary terms for this section, e.g. ‘angle’.

SECTION 4H: COMBINED TRANSFORMATIONS

This section brings all the ideas of the chapter together and introduces Higher tier students to combining a series of
transformations and describing the single transformation that could be made to take the object to the final image.
Exercise 40G(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q4 (H) This a chance to get the pupils to ask their own questions about how to distinguish between transformations.
Some questions that could help this process are:
-- What can you see straightaway has happened to your image?
It cannot be a rotation if the image has the same orientation as the object.
-- How far away are the corresponding corners of your object and image?
If all corresponding corners are the same vector away then we can describe the transformation as a translation. For
some objects, where the corners have not been pre-labelled, this method could yield a reflection.
-- If you had some tracing paper, what could you do?
This could be useful to help with translating your object to the image or you can use it to help find a centre of
rotation.
-- What are the pieces of information that you need to write down in each case?
Rotation: centre, angle and direction. Translation: vector. Reflection: reflection/mirror line.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Plenaries
• Consolidation exercise where a word is formed by the transformation of rectangles by different transformations.
• The NRICH ‘Transformation Game’ is a good way to consolidate the chapter’s material, however it does also
contain enlargements (which occur in Chapter 28F / 30H Similarity). (nrich.maths.org)
Enrichment activities
• A treasure map on a grid. You are given a list of instructions to perform transformations on a cross X to find the
treasure.
• NRICH ‘A Roll of Patterned Paper’ combined with ‘One Reflection Implies Another’ and ‘Rotations Are Not
Single Round Here’ provide good extension material. The NRICH ‘Paint Rollers for Frieze Patterns’ page has an
exposition on some of the ideas behind each of these problems. (nrich.maths.org)
Assessment ideas
• A good, challenging assessment task is to ask pupils to create their own transformations jigsaws like the ones found
online. You could set a student task to create a puzzle called ‘Bazinga!’ for a class who are particularly fond of The
Big Bang Theory. Collect in students’ puzzles and then pick the best to share with the class for them to complete.
These are rarely flawless and getting pupils to correct their mistakes is just as valuable as a perfect jigsaw.

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TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
Throughout this chapter students will be using some of the skills they developed in Chapter 2F / 2H Shapes and solids,
Chapter 25F / 26H Angles, Chapter 23F / 24H Straight-line graphs and Chapter 22F / 23H Vectors.
They will have met a more detailed treatment of the idea of congruence in Chapter 29F / 31H Congruence.

Future learning
Transformations of curves are covered at Higher tier in Chapter 41H Transforming curves, where being able to describe a
reflection/mirror line and a rotation will be useful.

Gateway to A level
Matrices are the next level of transformations and appear at A level. Matrices can be used to describe all the
transformations mentioned in this chapter and some further types of transformations studied in higher level
mathematics.

LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 1, question 24 • Chapter 1, question 29
• Chapter 5, question 13 • Chapter 5, question 14
• Chapter 8, questions 8, 25 • Chapter 8, questions 10, 24
• Chapter 10, question 12 • Chapter 10, question 19

Homework Book
Foundation Higher
• Chapter 38 • Chapter 40

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 4 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 2 animated widgets
• 3 interactive walkthroughs
• 1 auto-marked quickfire quiz
• 1 auto-marked question set, with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

Time-saving sheets

• 1 cm squared paper
• 2 mm graph paper
• Axis grids from -10 to 10 in x and -10 to 10 in y

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 41H Transforming curves

41H Transforming curves

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

What your students need to know

• How to recognise the graphs of linear, quadratic and reciprocal functions.

• How to sketch the trigonometric functions: y = sinx, y = cosx and y = tanx and recognise the features of each including
the period and amplitude.
• How to manipulate quadratic expressions to factorised form and completed square form.

Additional useful prior knowledge

• Language for features of quadratic functions including roots and turning point/vertex.
• Knowledge of graphing software such as Geogebra or Desmos (freely available) to plot functions.
• Index laws including a0 = 1.

Learning outcomes
Section 1
• Know the features of a quadratic function: axis of symmetry, roots and vertex, and identify these features from the
sketch of a quadratic.
• Sketch vertical translations of quadratic functions.
• Sketch horizontal translations of quadratic functions.
• Sketch quadratic functions that have been translated in both the horizontal and vertical directions.
• Know the effect translations have on the axis of symmetry and vertex of a quadratic.
• Use graph sketching to identify the effect of multiplying f(x) by −1.
• Use algebraic manipulation skills to identify the features above and sketch any quadratic of the form y = ax2 + bx + c.
Section 2
• Identify reflections and translations in the graphical representations of trigonometric functions.
• Sketch a transformed trigonometric curve for a given domain.
Section 3
• Sketch translations and reflections of cubic, reciprocal and exponential functions.
Section 4
• Apply transformations learnt in this chapter to a variety of problems including identifying the effect of a
transformation on a feature of a graph and finding the equation of a function once a transformation has been
applied.

Common misconceptions and other issues

• Students most often try to remember a series of rules for transformations of graphs, e.g. f(x) + a (translation a
units up), f(x) − a (translation a units down), f(x − a) (translation a units right) etc. When students try to remember
a series of rules they often confuse movement left and right with each other. It is helpful to encourage less able
students to consider the transformations in two categories, one affecting x (inside the bracket) and one affecting y
(outside the bracket), y acts as we would expect whereas the transformations affecting x do the opposite, e.g. f(x +
a) is a movement in the negative, not positive, x-direction. Reducing the number of facts for students to remember

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by combining rules to remove the distinction between positive and negative numbers, e.g. f(x) + a where a is a
translation in the y-direction so if a is positive it moves up and if a is negative is moves down can also help. In
addition, encouraging students to use substitution to see what is happening to points on the graph may also help
them identify the transformation applied. You can support your students further by supplying them with a crib sheet
such as the following to include in their notes and by having further discussion of which transformations can be
combined to give one rule.
y y y y  f(ax)
y  af(x) a1 0a1 y  f(x)  a a1
0a1

gradient increased curve moves

or decreased up a graph compressed
a or extended
x x x
y y y

y  f(x  a) y  f(x) y  f(x  a)

curve moves
a units left curve moves
a units right

a x x a x

y y y

y  f(x)  a y  f(x)

x
reflection in
reflection in the y-axis
the x-axis y  f(x)
x
curve moves
a down a x

• Students do not understand the difference between a sketch and a drawing/plot of a graph and when asked for a
sketch try to plot the graph exactly by drawing in a grid and plotting coordinate points. Plotting coordinates may
be useful initially for students to get an idea of what a graph looks like, but it should not be encouraged long term
(particularly given the time it takes) and students should instead focus remembering the general features of these
families of graphs, e.g. quadratics are ‘u’ or ‘n’ shape. Reinforcing what is required in a sketch and having a checklist
for students to work through may also help. For example, a sketch consists of: a pair of axes; a pencil drawing
showing the rough shape of the graph; and the points where the curve intersects the axes. For some sketches
additional information will be required such as the coordinates of a stationary point, axis of symmetry or indication
of amplitude; this will be clearly stated in the question though. In an exam, a pencil drawing should be gone over
with pen to make sure it will scan clearly, as exam papers are marked from scanned copies of answer papers.

Hooks

• NRICH ‘Surprising Transformations’ can be used to consolidate knowledge of straight-line graphs and the
terminology needed for this chapter. The question can then be asked, ‘Can we tell what transformation has taken
place to an equation of the form y = f(x) just from the algebra?’ or, ‘Can we tell what the new equation should look
like from how the graph has been translated?’ (nrich.maths.org)

SECTION 1: QUADRATIC FUNCTIONS AND PARABOLAS

This section focuses on quadratics of the form ax2 + bx + c where a = ±1 and the ways in which each quadratic function
can be thought of as a combination of translations and reflections of the function y = x2. Through this, vertical and
horizontal translations as well as reflections are introduced and their effect on the features of a quadratic defined.

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Prompting questions
Exercise 41A(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) Given any value of x, what is the smallest that x2 can ever be?
0 because the square of a number is always positive.
How does this help us identify the vertex of these quadratics?
The vertex for these quadratics is always going to be the minimum because the coefficient of x2 is 1, so we can find the
minimum of these graphs by considering what happens when x = 0.
• Q2 (H) What do you do to each value of x in y = −x2 to find y?
We are squaring x and then multiplying it by −1 so all values will be negative.
• Q4 (H) What am I replacing x2 with? −x2. How can you use the graphs in question 2 to help?
We can use the graphs from Q2 and combine them with the transformations given in Q1 to sketch the graphs.
• What is the general shape of a quadratic where the coefficient of x2 is –1?
An ‘n’ shape, rather than a ‘u’ shape. The graph y = x2 has been reflected in the x-axis before it is translated.
Exercise 41B(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) What form does a quadratic have to be in to easily identify the axis of symmetry?
Completed square form.
How do you identify the axis of symmetry from a quadratic in this form?
We look at the minimum of the graph by considering what makes (x + a)2 = 0.
• Q1 (H) What is the value of x when the graph intercepts the y-axis?
x = 0.
Exercise 41C(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1−2 (H) What does the completed square form tell you about the features of the graph?
The vertex and axis of symmetry.
• Q1–2 (H) What do you need to do to find the y-intercept?
The graph intercepts the y-axis when x = 0 so substitute this into the completed square form.
• Q1–2 (H) What do you need to need to do to find the x-intercepts?
The graph intercepts the x-axis when y = 0 so solve the completed square form = 0.
• Q2 (H) What do you do first when completing the square?
Factor out the coefficient of x2 (so factor out −1).

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• The students are given a series of transformations to perform on the parabola given by y = x2, e.g. first translate
the graph three units in the positive x-direction, then reflect it in the x-axis etc. They have to perform all these
transformations and give a sketch of the final parabola along with an equation for it.
• Spot the transformation: students are given a series of parabolas that are transformations of y = x2 and they need to
write down which transformations were used to get the picture.
Enrichment activities
• The NRICH ‘Parabolic Patterns’ activity gives students graphs and asks them to find their equations using graphing
software. An extension to this activity would be NRICH ‘More Parabolic Patterns’, which includes quadratic
equations for y rather than x. (nrich.maths.org)
• The NRICH ‘Which Quadratic?’ activity is part of a larger selection of tasks based on team work. The aim is to
encourage students to ask a series of questions where the answer is yes or no to discover which quadratic equation
the student has. (nrich.maths.org)

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Assessment ideas
• The students create a revision booklet where they outline the key features of the parabola given by a quadratic
equation and how they change as you apply different types of translations. For a more able group, students
could each be given a different curve to complete the task for and further discussion could take place regarding
generalisations specific to the transformation and those that are only specific to the group of curves explored.

SECTION 2: TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTIONS

This section focuses on the application of vertical and horizontal translations and reflections of the functions y = sinx,
y = cosx and y = tanx. The use of graphing software to support students’ investigations of these transformations is
recommended.

Prompting questions
Exercise 41D(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1a (H) What are you expecting to happen to the graph of y = sinx when you add two to it based on your findings in
Section 1?
That the graph will be translated ‘up’ in the positive y-direction.
Note: this question can be repeated for Q1b and Q2a − b with the function and translation changed appropriately.
• Q4–5 (H) What happened to quadratic curves when we multiplied the equation by −1?
We got a reflection in the x-axis.
Use this to predict what the transformed graphs in Q4 and 5 will look like and check your sketch with ICT.
• What do your findings in this exercise show?
That all the transformations identified in Section 1 hold for any function.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters
• Students are asked to sketch the key features of sine and cosine graphs when given different domains. This will get
students thinking about the features of sine and cosine graphs and at what values these features occur.
Plenaries
• Using mini whiteboards: the teacher asks the students to sketch a sine or cosine graph for a given domain. The
students are then asked to sketch over on the same axes a given transformation.
Enrichment activities
• Card sort: Students are given a series of sketches of sine graphs that have been transformed. They are then required
to match the graph with the correct equation. To increase difficulty (and awareness) you can select several of the
graphs and state that the original graph was a cosine graph; how would they then write the transformation (given
that they already know what the sine graph transformation would be)?
Assessment ideas
• Students create a revision booklet where they outline the key features of the trigonometric functions sine and cosine
and how they change as you apply different types of translations.

SECTION 3: OTHER FUNCTIONS

1
This section applies the transformations learnt in the previous two sections to graphs in the form: y = , y = ax where x >
x
1 and y = x3. Again in this section the use of graphing software is advised.

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Prompting questions
Exercise 41E(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1−3 (H) What transformation is being applied in each part: reflection or translation? What are you looking for to
spot these?
Translations are indicated by the addition (or subtraction) of a value to the function, reflections are indicated by a
change of sign (that indicates the function must have been multiplied by −1).
• Q2 (H) What is one divided by zero?
Typing this into a calculator produces a ‘math error’ why do we think this is? It is because we can’t share one into zero
parts and hence the answer is undefined.
What happens to one when we divide by a very small number approaching zero?
1
Our answer gets infinitely large. How are these two features visible on the graph of the function y = ? The curve
x
extends upwards to infinity close to zero and there is no value of y for x = 0 as the curve does not touch the y-axis.
• Q3 (H) How would you describe the features of y = 2x? How do you think they are related to the function it represents?
The curve crosses the y-axis at 1 this is because any number raised to a power of zero is one. The curve also tends to
infinity in the positive x and y quadrant; this is because powers of two get very large very quickly. In addition the curve
tends to zero in the negative x positive y quadrant as we are dividing one by an exponentially increasing divisor as the
power approaches negative infinity. The graph is also never negative; this is because there is no power that can be
applied to make a positive number negative.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Students are given a picture with a series of curves on the same pair of axes and they need to decide which curves
are transformations of each other. This could be provided as an A3 print out with graphs of exponential functions
with bases that are different.
• Start by giving a function. A series of transformations are flashed up on the board and the students need to sketch
them on their mini whiteboards. After a series of say five transformations, they need to write down the equation of
the final curve they have.
Enrichment activities
• As is suggested in the section, using ICT to explore the graphs for each of the functions given is a useful exercise.
Assessment ideas
• Students create a revision booklet where they outline the key features of the functions and how they change as you
apply different types of translations.

SECTION 4: TRANSLATION AND REFLECTION PROBLEMS

This section offers a series of mixed problems to consolidate the material learnt in this chapter.

Prompting questions
Exercise 41F(H)
While working through this exercise, good prompts for students might be:
• Q1 (H) How has the initial quadratic y = x2 been transformed to give the graph y = (x + 3)2 - 8?
It has been translated three units to the left and eight units down.
How far has the original function been transformed once it is also translated following the instructions in parts a and
b?
In part a it has been moved back to its original position, in part b it ends up five units to the left and 11 units down.
What does this mean the equation of the curve is now?
Part a: y = x2 and part b: y = (x + 5)2 -11 .

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• Q2 (H) What does it mean for two parabolas to be congruent?

It means that they are the same size and shape in a different position on the x-y plane.
• Q3 (H) What form should a quadratic be in to be able to identify the features required for a sketch?
It should be in completed square form.
• Q4 (H) Is there more than one way you can answer this question? What is it about the trig functions sine and cosine
that allows you to do this?
They are repeating functions with a period of 2p so there are many translations we can use. p so there are many
translations we can use.
• Q5 (H) What is being reflected in the y-axis?
The x values so we can replace x with –x.
• Q6 (H) If a graph has been shifted what type of transformation has taken place?
A translation so we are adding (or subtracting) values to the original function.

Starters, plenaries, enrichment and assessment ideas

Starters or plenaries
• Combine all the functions that have been covered in this chapter into a single ‘picture’. Students first need to identify
which curves belong to the same ‘type’ of function. Then they need to decide what transformations have taken place
to create the curves in each ‘type’ of function. It needs to be made clear which function you want to be the starting
function or you could suggest that once they know the type, e.g. quadratic they know that y = x2 is the simplest
quadratic function and so can work out how the others were created from this curve.
Enrichment activities
• Now that students have a selection of functions they know about, they can create their own transformation question
and swap it with another student to try.
• If you wish to extend pupils and focus on multiple transformations students can consider which transformations are
commutative; students can apply one after the other in both orders and check the results. They can also consider
which transformations are self-inversing, i.e. when applied twice they get the curve they started with.
Assessment ideas
• Two exam-style questions are given to pairs of students. Each student answers one and then marks the other. The
conversation at the end of this activity can be focused on exam technique and layout of their answer (as well as peer
assessment).

TOPIC LINKS

Previous learning
Students learnt about the main features of quadratic functions in Chapter 25H Graphs of functions and equations. The
algebraic manipulation techniques required to rewrite a quadratic in different forms including completed square form
were covered in Chapter 13H Further algebra. In addition, transformations and reflections were introduced through
transformations of objects in the 2D plane in Chapter 40H Transformations.

Gateway to A level
Transformations of graphs features at A level with the addition of horizontal and vertical stretches. This work is then
extended again and students will look at composite transformations.
Knowledge of how transformations can be identified using both graphical representations of functions and the
algebraic equations defining them is fundamental to students understanding the generalisation of a several
mathematical concepts learnt at A level including calculus to calculate the are under a curve.

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LINKS TO OTHER CAMBRIDGE GCSE MATHEMATICS RESOURCES

Problem-solving Book
• Chapter 6, question 10
• Chapter 8, questions 11, 25, 26, 27

Homework Book
• Chapter 41

GCSE Mathematics Online

• Student Book chapter PDF

• Lesson notes
• 4 worksheets (+ solutions)
• 2 animated widgets
• 3 interactive walkthroughs
• 1 auto-marked quickfire quiz
• 1 auto-marked question set, with four levels
• Auto-marked chapter quiz

295 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Literacy in mathematics – helping your students

to do their best
This chapter provides advice and ideas on how you can help your students to become competent mathematicians, both
in their GCSE course and beyond. It includes ideas to support learning around the Assessment Objectives, suggestions
for enrichment and advice you can offer parents should they ask how they can support their child’s maths learning.

EXTRACTING INFORMATION

Students are now able to extract information from a much wider variety of sources than in the past. You can teach them
how to extract information from:
• tables and charts from both hard copy text and from the computer
• spreadsheets both from hard copy text and from the computer
• PDF and word processed text both in hard copy text and from the computer.
You may find the following approach useful:
Create your own compare and contrast grid, either generic or specific to a particular task. Choose data that represents
mathematics found in situations students are familiar with or interested in, or that is appropriate to their studies in
other mathematically based subjects like Science or Economics. This develops their knowledge of topics they are
studying, or about to study, and makes the information contextual and personal. From this data, students can extract
and compare information, for example, which is the best bus/train/tram/coach to use from timetables.
Potential data sources include:
• Scientific studies found online. Students can extract and compare information about density, speed, atomic weights,
interplanetary or interstellar distances, hardness of materials and so on. These lessons could be tied in with topics
such as equation forming and solving, units and measures, and standard form.
• Health information about Body Mass Index (BMI), although this topic must be approached with sensitivity and can,
for example, be taught in conjunction with Health Education.
• Growth and decay patterns from either printed material or websites. This also helps in the study of indices, standard
form, graph plotting and drawing, the idea of exponential growth and an appreciation of ‘infinity’.
• Recipe books, e.g. comparing cooking times from different books, or quantities of ingredients for the same recipe in
different books. These lessons could be tied in with topics like ratio and proportion, scaling up or down and mass.
• Shopping and comparison websites, from which students can extract and compare information. These lessons could
be tied in with topics such as value for money, general number work, fractions, decimals and percentages.
• Mobile phone tariffs, which can be accessed from newspaper adverts, airtime providers’ own literature and websites.
These lessons could be tied in with work on fixed or variable rates and value for money (e.g. advantages and
disadvantages of Pay As You Go vs Monthly tariffs).
Extension activity
Using data extracted from the above suggested sources, students can identify coordinate pairs and plot them on a
graph, either individually or as a group. These will generate both linear and curved graphs and enable students to have
an appreciation of how functions look.

PROBLEM-SOLVING

Problem-solving can be used frequently throughout a topic. It can set the context for the topic, assess students’
previous knowledge or develop their skills through the topic.
You should teach students to analyse the information you have presented them with, and select and extract the
information required to solve the problem. This may involve understanding that the skill they need is embedded in
another branch or topic. Students should then work through the problem to reach a solution. This may be ‘multi stage’
and students should realise they must work through it step by step. The important thing for students to remember is
that the problem is structured; that each step leads to the next and depends on the previous one. Information is gained
gradually.

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(Foundation only) Example activity: Fractions

Many Foundation students find fractions difficult to understand and master, and teachers often find the following
problem-solving activity helpful.
a Distribute a number of paper strips to the students.
b Ask students how they could use their strip to represent the fraction 1/2. Then show them how you would do it, e.g.
by folding it in half.
c Ask students to label their strip as shown:
1 2
0 =1
2 2
d Help students to solve the problem of how they could use other strips to fold them into three, four, five ... etc. equal
parts.
(Some may need considerable help with this, although more able students may be imaginative in solving the
problem of how to fold a strip into more difficult sections like five, seven or 11.)
e When students have solved the problem of how to fold strips of paper into different fractional parts you can get them
to put their strips onto a wall display vertically underneath one another and form a ‘fraction wall’ like the one below:

f The students can then explore such things as equivalent fractions; comparing sizes of fractions and ordering
fractions. It can also help them understand the very widely held misconception that ‘The bigger the denominator,
the bigger the fraction!’
(Higher only) Example activity: investigating Pythagoras’ theorem and Pythagorean triples
This problem requires students to prove Pythagoras’s theorem, and there are a number of ways of going about this.

Proof 1 a b

a Students draw a square with another inside it as shown: a

b c
b Students work through the following steps:
i Find the area of one corner triangle;   [= ½ab]. a b
c
ii Find the total area of the four corner triangles;   [= 4 × ½ab = 2ab]
b a
iii Calculate the area of the ‘outside’ square;   [= (a + b)²]
iv Calculate the area of the ‘inside’ square; [= c²]
v Area of ‘outside’ square = area of ‘inside’ square + total area of four corner triangles;
some practice at algebraic manipulation leading to:
a² + b² = c² [(a+ b)² = c² + 2ab → a² + ab + ab + b² = c² + 2ab → a² + 2ab + b² = c² + 2ab → a² + b² = c²]
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Proof 2: two congruent right-angled triangles PST and QRS

a Students are given this diagram and you describe it to them. Q

b Students work through the following steps: P a

i Justify that the angle PSQ is a right angle. b c c
a b
ii Area of full trapezium; [= ½ × (a + b) × (a + b)] T S R

iii Area of three small triangles; [= ½(ab) + ½(ab) + ½c2 ]

iv Students equate their answers to i and ii; some practice at algebraic manipulation leading to:
½ × (a + b) × (a + b) = ½(ab) + ½(ab) + ½c2 → ½ × (a2 + 2ab + b2) = ab + ½c2 → (a2 + 2ab + b2) = 2ab + c2 → a² + b² = c²
[Some students realise that this diagram could be the bottom section of the diagram in Proof 1. Hence the investigation
can be turned on its head and Proof 2, after Proof 1, can be used to ‘prove’ the formula for the area of a trapezium.]
Proof 3: circle theorems S

a Students are given this diagram and you describe it to them. b c

b Students work through the following steps: P Q a O r R
i Prove that the triangles RQS and PQS are similar.
ii Students use their answer to i to prove that a² + b² = c²
[There are two common proofs of this investigation. The first one involves
calling the angle SRO = x (say); Then it follows that angle SPO is (90 − x)
(angle in a semicircle) and, since triangle PQS is right-angled, angle PSQ is x;
Hence we have two triangles such that the angles are 90, x and (90 − x), making them similar. The second proof
involves using ‘angle at centre = 2 × angle at circumference and so, if angle SRO = x, then angle SOQ = 2x; Also
since triangle SOR is isosceles (c = r), then, by considering the three angles making up 90 at point S, the two
triangles in question can be proved similar. After either of these methods we can end up with the relationship
SQ QR b r +a
= or = Hence (r − a)(r + a) = b2 → r2 − a2 = b2 or a2 + b2 = r2 and since c = r, then a2 + b2 = c2]
PQ QS r -a b

Pythagorean triples
After an investigation into the proof of Pythagoras’ theorem, students often like to investigate Pythagorean triples.
Introduce the students to Pythagorean triples and encourage them to systematically find and record Pythagorean triples
in ‘families’, i.e. 3-4-5; 6-8-10; 9-12-15, etc. and then 5-12-13; 10-24-26; 15-36-39, etc. and then 8-15-17; 16-30-34; 24-45-
51, etc.
Ask the students to investigate triples using websites and ask them to find a ‘formula’. Hopefully they will come up with:
for any two positive integers a and b, a Pythagorean Triple exists of the form a2 − b2; a2 + b2 and 2ab.
Students then investigate this formula. This could give students good practice at using spreadsheets also to record
their results. Students could then investigate further such questions as:
• Why must every Triple have at least one even number in it?
• Can you find a formula to generate triples where a must be odd?
Very able students could be asked to confirm the Triple formula by evaluating (2ab)2 + (a2 − b2)2 = (a2 + b2)2

REASONING

To empower your students with a knowledge of reasoning skills, you can teach them to:
• state the reasons for their results; to realise outcomes and make decisions; to give opinions and to conjecture
• use efficient, logical, step-by-step techniques to solve a problem and draw a conclusion
• break down complicated problems into small steps and to work systematically
• find counter-examples that do not fit the line of reasoning and explain why this is the case

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Sue Waring, in her book ‘Can you prove it’, identifies four possible stages for students as they work towards a formal
proof:
• Stage 1 Convince yourself (mental justification)
• Stage 2 Convince a friend (oral justification)
• Stage 3 Convince a pen-friend (informal written justification)
• Stage 4 Convince your mathematics teacher (more formal written justification)
(Foundation only) Example activity
Stage 1: Convince yourself
Ask students to draw a pair of intersecting straight lines:
Ask them to write down reasons why the vertically opposite angles are equal.
For example, students might write the two angles ‘look the same’ or that any two adjacent angles are on a straight line
so if you added the two together, whichever pair you chose you would get the same result.

Stage 2: Convince a friend

Ask students, in pairs, to talk through their arguments with each other. For example, they might say that the star and the
black circle add up to 180 and so does the white circle and the black circle, so the star must be equal to the white circle.

Stage 3: Convince a pen-friend

Ask students to write down a ‘proper’ justification.
This stage is just an easy justification, like, for instance  + • = 180, • + ο = 180, so  = ο
Stage 4 Convince your teacher
This would have to be a formal justification, probably using algebra.
For instance: w + x = 180 (Angles on a straight line); x + y = 180 (Angles on a straight line);
w + x = x + y; so w = y
Similarly they would go on to prove that x = z in the same way.
X
W Y
Z

(Higher only) Example activity: How to fold an equilateral triangle

a Give students a piece of A4 paper and ask them to fold it down the middle parallel to the long side.
b Open it out and make a fold from the bottom corner to meet the central crease by folding from the other top corner.

c Fold from the bottom left hand corner until it meets the shorter of the two diagonal lines formed in the previous
folding

d Fold the top edge over to form a triangle.

e Ask students to describe what has happened and what shape they have made.

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All will say triangle, of course, but a few might venture that the triangle is equilateral - which you confirm!
Ask them to write down a clear line of reasoning as to why the triangle is equilateral.
The reasoning could look like this:
i The two folds meet at a point on the lower edge of the rectangle.
ii These two folds, therefore, divide up the edge of the sheet into three equal angles.
iii The angle at the folds along the edge is 180°.
iv Therefore the three equal angles must be 180° ÷ 3 = 60°, so one angle in the triangle is 60°.
v The first fold to the central crease makes the triangle to the left of the right-angled triangle on the right hand side
into an isosceles one.
vi Hence, since we have one base angle of 60°, the angle to the left of that one is also 60°, leaving a vertical angle of
30°at the apex.
vii Hence the right angle at the top right hand corner of the rectangle is divided into three angles of 30°each.
viii When the second fold is made it envelopes two of those 30° angles into an angle of 60°.
ix Hence the triangle is equilateral.

USING QUESTIONS TO ASSESS

Asking effective questions is important in using questions to assess, as is listening carefully and interpreting students’
answers.
Good assessment has a real and instantaneous impact on learning, since it identifies the students who are both falling
short and those who are exceeding the expected standard.
Key features of assessment for learning include:
• shared learning objectives among students
• helping students understand the standard they are attaining; interpreting their answers is the key to understanding
their understanding and misconceptions
• providing guidance to students so that they can see their next steps and how to attain them
• giving students the confidence to improve
• providing the opportunity for teachers and students to review and reflect.
Targeting misconceptions in the classroom
Lessons should focus on known, specific difficulties. Focus on one problem or context and facilitate a variety of
responses so that students can evaluate and learn from them. Properly structured lessons and questions give an
opportunity for meaningful responses from students. You could include time for class discussion, allowing new ideas
and concepts to surface, and remember to provide opportunities for students to secure what they have learned.
Be careful and sensitive in how you approach whole class discussions – some students are tentative and must be
included in the process in a calm and encouraging environment.
Examples of effective questioning techniques
• ‘How can we be sure that…?’ can be more effective than ‘What is…?’
• ‘What is the same and what is different about…?’ can be more effective than ‘Compare….’
• ‘Is it ever/always true/false that…?’ can be more effective than ‘Is this true or false?’
• ‘Why do … all give the same answer?’ can be more effective than ‘Are they all the same?’
• ‘How do you…?’ can be more effective than ‘Can you…?’
• ‘How do you explain…?’ can be more effective than ‘Explain….’
• ‘What does that tell us about…?’ can be more effective than ‘Tell me about….’
• ‘Why is … true?’ can be more effective than ‘Is ­… true?’

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You may also find the table below helpful:

TOPIC QUESTIONS MORE EFFECTIVE QUESTIONS

CALCULATIONS 4 − 6 = ?; 5 + ? = 9 What is the difference between addition and subtraction?
17 + 9 = ?; 9 + 17 = ? Does the order you add numbers make any difference?
Does the order you multiply numbers make any
5 × 8; 8 × 5
difference?
6 ÷ 3; 3 ÷ 6 Does the order you divide numbers make any difference?
3+6=;4+6=;5+6=; How do you add six?
45 + 57 = ? What is wrong with 45 + 57 = 92?
5+5+5+5=? Is it true that 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 is the same as 4 × 5?
GEOMETRY AND What is the sum of the angles in a Explain why the sum of the angles in a quadrilateral is
MEASURES quadrilateral? 360°.
Draw the lines of symmetry on the
Why does this figure have symmetry?
figure
Are these triangles congruent? Why are these triangles congruent?

1 What are the differences between fractions and

NUMBER What is as a decimal
4 decimals?

What is three quarters of 30? How do you find three quarters of something?
Work out 45 × 0.15 Does multiplying always make things bigger?
What is a half of 34? Do you always get a whole number if you divide by two?
Is 15 a multiple of four? What can you tell me about multiples of four?
What are the rules for adding and subtracting positive
Work out 5 − −6; −7 − 4; −6 + −8
and negative numbers?
What are the rules for multiplying and dividing positive
Work out 5 × −6; −7 × − 4; −6 × 8
and negative numbers?
What can you tell me the square roots of positive and
Find the square root of 16
negative numbers?
What is an odd number + an even Why is an odd number + an even number always an odd
number? number?
What will the graph of x + y = 5 look What can you tell me about the graphs of linear
GRAPHS
like? functions?
What is the chance of throwing a six Does any number on a dice have a better chance when
PROBABILITY
on a dice? the dice is thrown?
ALGEBRA Expand 2(z + 4) What happens when you expand x(y + z)?
Factorise x2 + 5x − 6 How do you factorise quadratics?
What are the rules for simplifying expressions with like
Simplify 2a + 3b + 4ab − a + 5b
and unlike terms in them?

3 How do you rationalise a denominator?

Simplify
5+ 2

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RESOURCES TO ENRICH AND EXTEND LEARNING

There is a huge number of online resources that can be used to create rich lessons; some are listed below and some are
referenced within the chapter notes, but undoubtedly there will be many others worth investigating. These websites
are being updated constantly with new ideas so it is worth visiting them frequently for inspiration.
There are some students who will require extension work, even for the newer, more challenging GCSE, but this does not
necessarily mean teaching them A Level topics in advance. Instead additional challenging and stretching problems can
be presented to help students build connections between concepts. The websites below that are appropriate for this as
well as for making students aware of wider developments in the area of mathematics are indicated in the comments.
• NRICH has been referenced many times in the chapter notes to offer enriching tasks and activities for various topics
in the Student Books. Their website offers a search by keyword, topic and key stage as well as offering a regularly
updated curriculum mapping document for teachers to use. There are hints and solutions for most problems
(solutions are sent in by students) and many problems also have additional notes and resources for teachers to use
when planning a lesson. However, for students working independently there are also student pages arranged by key
stage and places to seek advice in forums referred to as ‘AskNRICH’. (nrich.maths.org)
• Dan Meyer has created a series of resources for use in the classroom that are particularly useful in developing
students modelling skills called ‘Three-Act Math’ that are all available freely online, however, the curriculum links
here refer to the American system. In addition to this, he also has an excellent blog that generates interesting
discussion points and lesson material. (blog.mrmeyer.com)
• The Cambridge Maths Education Project (CMEP) is an excellent place to find interesting resources based on the
more challenging material in the GCSE. It is also an ideal place to send students interested in studying mathematics
at A level and beyond as the mathematics they will study is sorted into strands and the progression of ideas is clear.
(maths.cam.ac.uk/cmep)
• Numberloving is another interesting blog that presents great ideas for explaining the concepts of mathematics as
well some great resources for use in the classroom. (numberloving.com)
• Plus Maths is an excellent website aiming to bring current developments and Maths news to a wider audience. The
articles are accessible and ideal for kindling students’ interest in mathematics beyond GCSE. (plus.maths.org)
• As well as offering tours and talks, Maths in the city has a number of resources that could be adapted for lessons
about the mathematics visible around students every day and they could be encouraged to photograph the maths
they see and upload it to their website. (mathsinthecity.com)

ADVICE TO OFFER PARENTS

Many parents ask what they can do to support their child in studying for their GCSE. Aside from the usual advice
relating to giving students structure and somewhere quiet to work, it is also worth considering which of the websites
above can be help parents support their child and foster an environment of discussion about mathematics at home.
Parents may find the following websites useful in supporting revision and fostering mathematics discussion at home
(again there will be many others you may wish to recommend):
BBC Bitesize (bbc.co.uk/bitesize/gcse/maths)
Plus Maths fosters an environment of interest in mathematics and provides information on current developments.
(plus.maths.org)
In addition parents can support students in increasing their awareness of measurements and money through sharing
information relating to bills and wages, and encouraging students to plan financially for things they want either through
saving part-time job wages or pocket money. All these discussions increase students’ awareness of the size of numbers
and encourage better estimation/checking skills.
Parents can also be encouraged to take an interest in the mathematics their child is learning at school this week. There
is no expectation that they will understand the mathematics and help their child with independent work but instead ask
students what they have been doing or perhaps ask students to explain their work to them. Reporting back to parents
throughout the year as well as particular reporting dates and parent evenings can be really beneficial in encouraging
students through an increased interest at home. Perhaps by contacting the parents of the most successful (this may be
for different reasons including highest attaining and most improved) students after every assessment point as well as
contacting the parents of students who are causes for concern. This method of praise is discreet, but achieving a ‘well
done’ email being sent home can become a goal for many students.

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Preparing students for exams

The revision quizzes included in this Teacher’s Resource are sets of cross-topic questions that you can use with students
throughout the year or in the run up to assessment. This chapter lists further useful resources and ideas to help with
your students’ revision and exam preparation.

USING WEBSITES FOR REVISION

Some useful free websites for students to use when revising are listed below. There are of course many more good
websites accessible online and an appropriate search often yields good results. At the time of writing much online
material is still based on the pre-2015 GCSE programme of study so some adaptation may be needed, but they are still
worth using:
• BBC Bitesize provides information that is often concise, pitched at the right level and considered by some students
to be one of the most useful websites when revising. (bbc.co.uk/bitesize)
• Emaths is another good website for resources that can be used both inside and outside the classroom including
targeted grade resources and past papers. (emaths.co.uk)
One of the most important things when encouraging students to revise independently using resources online is to
reduce their options to a number of trusted sites and be specific about the types of activities they should be doing.
Some of the material is not appropriate for students to be working through on their own and should instead be used by
teachers for creating revision material.

MARKING WORK

Encouraging students to mark incorrect work aiming to highlight common misconceptions and issues can be a really
useful activity for several reasons. Firstly it can help students identify common errors so they are more aware of, and so
able to avoid, possible pitfalls; secondly it should encourage them to check their working at all times; and thirdly it will
promote the use of clear solutions with full working.
Creating these resources can be time consuming but they can be used repeatedly as the types of misconceptions
students have that lead them to make these errors rarely change from year to year. Work for students to mark can come
from several sources including those listed here.
• A collection of work from a recently assessed piece of work, perhaps a homework or test. The challenge here is that
you don’t want your marking to be visible to students so test solutions may work better as markings tend to only
be in the margin for these assessments. Student anonymity can be hard to keep as often students either identify
themselves or have a fairly good idea based on a process of elimination. This may not be a problem for a confident
class, however with some classes this may not be a good idea.
• A ‘mock’ set of solutions that you have written. These may be in the form of X’s homework or just a series of
unnamed solutions for pupils to mark; the first option may be more motivating to students.
• A series of solutions that students have to mark and rank in order of how good they are. These can be used in
conjunction with mark schemes where the challenge is for students to mark the solutions to the mark scheme and
rank the solutions from best to worst.
• These resources could be created collaboratively as a department and shared for use in lessons. It is good to write a
range of possible answers to GCSE questions using the advice given by exam boards in marking documents.

CREATING MODEL SOLUTIONS

Students can be encouraged to create model solutions to longer problems, particularly those set in context. Changing
the way in which these problems are offered and the answers are presented can make a big difference to the way
students approach the activity.
• Students can be offered a choice over the problem they tackle. A good way to do this is to print the questions on
different cards, without numbers. The cards can then be used to select problems randomly or students can select
their own problems giving them more motivation to complete the work through choice.

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• Rather than writing solutions in exercise books, use plain A4 paper (or larger sheets). Using large pieces of sugar
paper and thick pens mean solutions you wish to draw attention to for various reasons, e.g. because the students
have annotated their workings or made good use of diagrams can easily be shared with the class.
• Encouraging students to work in pairs or small groups can be very motivating, particularly when the material is more
challenging. It is good to make use of group work when students are working in lessons as these opportunities are
not always available outside of lessons.
• An additional way to increase the challenge for solving longer problems is to place questions around the room
(either on walls or tables) on large pieces of paper with plenty of space for working. Students work in teams or
individually on each question for an allocated amount of time aiming to get as far as they can in the time allowed.
Once the time is up students move on to the next question as directed and pick up the solution where the previous
students left off. This teaches students about quality of written communication in their working as their peers have
to be able to follow and continue their solution. In addition it highlights the importance of checking, especially
when they are jumping between questions in the exam when under stress.
This task often reveals that parts of solutions are missed when students are not working on the problem from start
to finish and stresses the importance of re-reading all questions and checking working at the end of the exam. Some
students really enjoy this activity and others hate it but all learn a huge amount from it, particularly about their
preferred way of working in an exam.

REVISION ACTIVITIES AND GAMES

Revision activities and games are often very popular with students, particularly at times in the day when motivation is
low. This is often because students struggling with motivation like the immediate feedback which is possible with these
activities.
• Mathematics challenges based on the TV game show, Catchphrase. There are many examples of these online that
can be used as templates. They are often better for shorter manipulation of number skill problems to allow a lot of
questions to be answered in a short time.
• Relay challenges: these are very good for increasing the challenge in problems and encouraging motivation and
speed. However, the solutions to these problems need to be easy to identify and prepared in advance so you can
mark correct work with a glance and pass on to the next question. The lack of available teacher support encourages
students to rely on each other more in this task so groups must be chosen wisely. This may not be appropriate for
less able groups of students. See the UKMT primary team challenge relay rounds for examples of questions that
work. (ukmt.org.uk)
• Quizzes (sounds better than tests) can also be used successfully, using different rounds of quick fire questions to test
and improve students’ accuracy and speed.
• Starters and plenaries based on multiple choice and true/false (sometimes referred to as “tick or trash”) problems
can be used to recap simple concepts and formulae students should know. Laminated cards, mini-whiteboards or
coloured pages in planners can be used to communicate students’ solutions visually for quick checking.
• ‘Noughts and crosses’ is also a very useful game for revising properties and definitions. The grid can be set up
with a keyword or picture in each space. Students take it in turns to attempt to define the concept on the board, if
successful they get to place their team’s symbol in the grid (a nought or a cross) if not it is the other team’s turn. The
winning team is the one with a line of noughts or crosses (as in the traditional pen and paper game).
• Code-breaking activities can be very popular and motivating for students. However, the structure of these tasks
needs to be carefully thought through to prevent students using language to solve the problems. One way to
successfully disguise a hidden message is to use a font such as ‘Wingdings’ using a word-processing programme that
can be decoded once students have completed the task. Solutions to the questions can be matched to a symbol
that can later be decoded.
• In a similar vein to the code-breaking tasks above, a series of padlock challenges are available to buy through the
ATM in which the code reveals an additional question producing a final four digit code to unlock a metaphorical
or physical combination padlock to receive a prize in class. These are a popular activity and rewards are very
motivating for most challenges and tasks.
• For problems where students have to make a decision about what maths they need to apply, a series of activities
can be created in which the first task is to categorise the problems by type of mathematics required. For example a

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series of right-angled triangle problems where students categorise them into trigonometry, Pythagoras’ theorem,
congruence and similarity problems. Additional revision could be included here by sorting the problems into a Venn
diagram where problems requiring more than one technique can also be categorised.

USING EXAM QUESTIONS

Practising answering exam questions (from past papers, practice papers and specimen assessment material) allows
students to experience the format of exams and the standard needed to attain particular grades. It is good for students
to work on past papers and become familiar with the size and layout of the paper as well as the information pages at
the front as any small surprises over these details can make a big difference to students in exams.
The results of working through past papers can be used to determine areas of particular weakness in individuals or
the whole class and allow for more tailored revision. Involving students in the marking of the questions also gives
opportunities for them to learn what is required and so improve their exam technique, and also allows for both peer-
and self-assessment. Using actual mark schemes can increase both teachers’ and students’ awareness of what things
are important and what to look out for or avoid. It can be very useful to have some past papers, mark schemes and
worked solutions available online via the school learning platform or website for students and parents to access at
home.
• Exam questions can be sorted by difficulty to help students identify where they currently are and what they have to
do to achieve their goals. This can be very motivating and help students see short-term progression, particularly if
they focus on a particular topic.
• Questions can also be sorted by topic to create good end of topic homework or revision booklets in the run up to
exams. Some teachers worry that students will recognise problems if they tackle them multiple times and so are
reluctant to start students too early working on past paper questions. However students often do not recognise the
problems and gain much from repeating them, particularly when they are of lower ability.
• Students can work together on a set of questions, of varying style and difficulty, based around a particular topic.
When they have attempted the questions, provide them with the relevant sections of the mark scheme and allow
them to mark their own work to see the standard they have reached and increase awareness of any pitfalls to avoid
in future.
• Videos of worked solutions to some past paper questions are available from Exam Solutions. (examsolutions.net)
They were originally designed for A level students, but some questions are accessible for the new GCSE specification.
Videos like this can be created by you and your students; they may find it a very challenging task, but should gain a
lot from it. There are some great applications available (which can be searched for on apple store and android) for
tablets that can make creating these videos simpler, but they may still prove time consuming. The good news is once
they have been created they can be used each year with new cohorts.

EXAM TECHNIQUE

There is some general advice that is good to discuss with students regularly. It can be applied at all times, but can be
particularly important in exam situations.
• If you are stuck on a question, start by writing down what you know as it may jog your memory. If you’re not quite
sure about the answer, it’s still worth having a go, but don’t waste too much time. If you’re still having trouble, move
on and come back to the question later.
• Read the question carefully; find the important words that give you information about what to do and look for key
mathematical terms. For example, if the question asks you to “sum” you know you need to add and if the question
describes a triangle as isosceles this tells you key information you might need.
• Think carefully before you start your answer: What calculations will you need? Will you use a mental method or are
you allowed a calculator? Should you start with a rough estimate?
• Be careful with diagrams. Unless you are told that they are drawn accurately do not assume that they are so work
out lengths and angles using the information you have been given rather than measuring.
• Look at the number of marks available as this will give you a clue about how much to write. For example, if there are
two marks for an explanation you will usually need to include two points (explanations don’t normally need to be
very long).

305 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

• Make sure your answers are clear and mathematical and don’t just repeat the question. You should explain your
steps in a problem-solving question and not assume that something is ‘obvious’. Make sure you include all the
information that is necessary, for example if you are making a comparison you will need to refer to more than one
piece of information.
• If you’re asked to explain your answer or prove something, make sure you justify all your steps and if you’re
interpreting data, make sure you explain where how you reached your conclusion.
• Write down all steps in your calculations because that way even if you get the final answer wrong you may get some
marks for the correct methods. This means that when you use a calculator you should write down the calculation
you are doing.
• Check that your answer is sensible by comparing it to a rough estimate. Make sure you’ve used the right units and
that you’ve give your answer to the right level of accuracy.
• If you need to start your answer again, make it really clear what answer you would like to be marked by crossing out
the work you think is wrong and leaving what you want the examiners to look at.

MAKE USE OF MARK SCHEMES AND EXAMINER REPORTS

Exam boards often provide a lot of information about how mark schemes are interpreted and reports following each
exam covering general issues. These can be really useful sources of information about what examiners are looking for
and how questions are marked.

REVISION TIPS

It may be helpful to give students a few tips when it comes to their revision. Here are a few ideas:
• Work in 30-minute bursts and take short breaks.
• Use notes to help you learn and remember key facts and methods.
• Write down anything you’re unsure of and ask your teacher for help.
• Put up revision sheets in places where you’ll often see them (bedroom walls, cupboard doors, etc.).
• Try to spot any bad habits and make sure you don’t keep repeating them.
• Ask friends and family to help by asking you key facts, formulae and methods.

306 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Revision quizzes: notes

Revision quizzes: notes

Each of the following question sets (8 for Foundation and 8 for Higher) has been designed to last 40 minutes so that
it can be used as a revision quiz within a single lesson. Alternatively, the questions may be set as additional practice
during the course when students have covered the relevant topics.
Pages 325-358 contain mark schemes for the revision quizzes. Answers are not contained in the Student Books Answer
Booklet so that you can set them under test conditions if you wish. Each quiz is worth a maximum of 40 marks.
To get students accustomed to the idea of calculator and non-calculator exam papers, a calculator may be used for
even-numbered quizzes, while odd-numbered quizzes are non-calculator. This is indicated at the top of each question
set.
Within each quiz, questions progress in terms of difficulty. A mix of AO1, AO2 and AO3 questions are included in each set,
as indicated within the mark schemes.
The following abbreviations are used in the mark schemes:
• M = method mark
• A = accuracy mark following on from a correct method (method can be implied)
• ft = follow through mark (awarded for correct working based on an earlier error)
• oe = or equivalent
• awrt = answers which round to
Formulae that students are not expected to memorize are given in the questions.

TOPICS

The following topics are covered in each question set.

Foundation Higher
Number properties Ratio
Improper fractions and mixed numbers Solving linear equations
Revision quiz 1

Solving linear equations Area and perimeter of compound shapes

Area and perimeter of compound shapes Straight line graphs
Straight-line graphs Fractions
Speed Similar shapes
Bar charts Indices
Similar shapes Rearranging formulae
Box plots
Prime factorisation Straight-line graphs
Multiples and factors Expanding brackets
Straight-line graphs Circumference
Expanding brackets Best buys
Revision quiz 2

Circumference Averages
3D shapes Proportion
Congruency and proof Rounding
Line graphs Histogram
Best buys Trigonometry and Pythagoras’ theorem
Volume
Constructions
Averages

307 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

GCSE Mathematics for Edexcel

Foundation Higher
Lowest common multiples Sketching graphs
Multiplication and division Fractions, decimals and percentages
Sketching graphs Area
Revision quiz 3

Simplifying expressions Probability

Fractions, decimals and percentages Proportion
Area Problem solving with quadratics
Inequalities on a number line Vectors
Distance-time graphs Surds
Averages
Probability
Square numbers Using a calculator
Using a calculator Rounding
Rounding Factorising
Revision quiz 4

2D and 3D shapes Percentages

Factorising Area and perimeter
Percentages Transformations
Area and perimeter Straight-line graphs
Algebraic substitution Solving quadratics
Sampling Cones
Transformations
Ratio
Writing and using formulae Fractions and percentages
Fractions and percentages Angles and polygons
Revision quiz 5

Angles and polygons Vectors, mid-points and Pythagoras’ theorem

Pie charts Solving quadratics by factorising
Vectors, mid-points and Pythagoras’ theorem Recurring decimals
Solving quadratics by factorising Converting between fractions and decimals
Recurring decimals Sequences
Converting between fractions and decimals Graphs
Problem-solving Weighted mean
Highest common factor Indices
Indices Angles
Revision quiz 6

Angles Units of measurement

Proportion Proportion
Solving inequalities Solving inequalities
Constructions Reverse percentages
Reverse percentages Exchange rates
Exchange rates
Negative numbers Percentages
Revision quiz 7

Probability Probability
Rearranging formulae Rearranging formulae
Ratio Volume and surface area
Vectors Vectors
Scatter diagrams Simultaneous equations
Simultaneous equations Speed-time graph
Using a calculator Expanding and factorising
Expanding and factorising Mean
Bearings Compound interest
Revision quiz 8

Perimeter and area Trigonometry

Ratio Maximum and minimum values
Transformations Reverse percentages
Mean Iteration
Compound interest Simultaneous equations
Pythagoras’ theorem Pythagoras’ theorem
Best buys
Right-angled trigonometry

308 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 1 – FOUNDATION 40 minutes

1 Using the following list of numbers

24 32 17 25 38 18 64 1
Identify a number that is:
(a) a square number (b) a prime number (c) a cube number.  (3)
17 2
2 (a) Write as a mixed number. (b) Write 3 as an improper fraction. (2)
5 7
3 Solve.
(a) 3x – 12 = 42 (b) 16 = 5x – 24 (c) 12 + 3x = 7x – 24 (4)
4 For the shape on the right, find: 5 cm

(a) the area. (b) the perimeter. 1 cm [5]

5 Draw the line y = 3x – 4, for values of x
between -2 and 4.  [3]
6 Sketch the plan and elevation of a square 6 cm
based pyramid.  [2]
7 Find: 5 cm

2 3 2 2
(a) + (b) 1 - 2 cm
15 10 5 3

(c)
6× 3 (d)
14 7
 (8) 8 cm
÷
7 8 15 10
8 A car travels 24 km in 20 minutes. At what speed is it travelling?  [2]
9 Here is a composite bar chart showing the Olympic 70
medals won by Great Britain in the
last four Olympic Games. 60

(a) How many medals were won in 2004? 50

bronze
silver
(b) How many silver medals were won in 2008? gold
40
(c) How many gold medals were won in total in
the last four Olympic Games? 30
(d) What is the mean number of medals won in
the last four Olympic Games? [6] 20

10 The following two triangles are similar. 10

B'
0
2000 2004 2008 2012
B 7.5 cm
6 cm

A C A' C'
8 cm 12 cm

(a) What does it mean to be mathematically similar?

(b) Find the length of A’B’.
(c) Find the length of BC.  (5)

 Total marks: 40

309 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 2 – FOUNDATION 40 minutes

1 Find the prime factorisation of 630. Write your answer using indices. (3)
2 List:
(a) the first five multiples of seven (b) all the factors of 36. (3)
y
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 x
1
2
3 What is the equation of this line?  (2)
4 Expand and simplify where possible:
(a) 3(x + 4) (b) 2x(x – 5) (c) 5(x – 4) + 3(x + 10) (5)
5 The diameter of a sports car tyre is 44 cm. What is the tyre’s circumference? (3)
6 How many of the following does a cuboid have:
(a) faces (b) vertices (c) edges. (3)
7 ABCD is a parallelogram. Prove that triangles ABD and BCD are congruent. (3)
A B

D C

8 The table below shows the rainfall in Salisbury last year.

Month Jan Feb Ma Ap May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
mm 75 60 50 57 55 45 52 43 55 88 89 86
Plot a line graph for this information. (4)
9 Crisps are sold in multipacks. You can buy 12 packets for £3.79.
Jenny buys four multipacks.
She sells 30 packets of crisps for 42p each, gives eight packets for free to her friends and sells the rest for 50p a
packet.
How much profit does Jenny make? (4)
10 A shoe box measures 30 cm by 20 cm by 15 cm.
The shoe boxes need to be packed into large crates for transportation.
The crates measure 1.2 m by 0.8 m by 0.75 m.
How many shoe boxes will fit in one crate? Show your workings clearly. (4)
11 Using a ruler and compasses, construct an equilateral triangle with side length 6 cm.  (3)
12 The mean of five numbers is 6.5.
When a sixth number is added, the mean increases to seven.
What is the sixth number? (3)
 Total marks: 40

310 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 3 - FOUNDATION 40 minutes

1 Two buses leave the station at midday.

Bus 4R returns every 12 minutes.
Bus 5 returns every 16 minutes.
When will they both next be at the station together?  (3)
2 Find:
(a) 34 × 56
(b) 552 ÷ 24 (4)
3 Draw the graph of y = x – 3 for values of x between −3 and 3.
2
(5)
4 Simplify:
(a) 3e + 2f – e + 4f (b) a + 3a2 + 4a – a2 (3)
5 Write:
(a) 0.06 as a percentage. (b) 56% as a fraction in its simplest form.
2
(c) as a decimal. (d) 1.45 as a percentage. (4)
5
6 The area of a triangular sail is 9 m . 2

The height of the sail is 6 m.

What is the base length?  (2)
7 For each of the following, draw a number line and mark on the inequalities.
(a) f<3 (b) –1 ≥ a (c) –3 ≤ g < 2  (4)
8 The following diagram shows Jenny’s journey to school.

(a) How far had she travelled 15 minutes after leaving her house?
(b) How long did she stop at the shop for?
(c) How fast did she travel from the shop to school?  (4)
9 A class of ten students has the following set of test scores. (The test was out of 50).
3 7 45 37 40 41 38 41 41 40 35 (sum of these 16

scores = 395)
school 14
Find:
(a) the modal test score. 12

(b) the median test score. 10

(c) the mean test score.

km

8
(d) the range of the test scores.
 nother class has a mean test score of 45 and a
A 6

score range of 20. shop 4

(e) Compare the results of the two classes.  (7)
10  alfiq flips a coin and rolls an octahedral dice
T 2

(faces numbered 1–8). home 0

7 am 8 am 9 am
(a) 
List all the possible combinations of his results. time

(b) 
What is the probability that he gets tails and an
even number? (4)

 Total marks: 40

311 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 4 - FOUNDATION 40 minutes

1 List the first six square numbers. (2)

2 Type the following calculation into your calculator.
32 - 4.52
1.3 + 3.92
(a) Write down all the digits on your calculator display.
(b) Round your answer to two decimal places. (2)
3 Name each of the shapes.
(a) (b) (c) (d)  (4)

4 Factorise:
(a) 3x + 12 (b) 4xy – 8y2 (c) 12a2b + 18ab2 (5)
5 (a) Find 12.5% of £230.
(b) Increase £480 by 18%.
(c) Decrease $60 by 5.4%. (6)
6 Calculate the following for this shape:
(a) area (b) perimeter. (6)
7 The formula for the speed, v, of an object is: 14 m

v = u + at
where u is the initial speed, a is the acceleration and t is the time travelling.
A runner is travelling at 4 m/s (metres per second).
She accelerates at a rate of 0.5 m/s2.
How fast is she travelling after three seconds? (3)
8 A restaurant manager wants to survey how often people eat out. She asks all of her customers one
Friday night how often they eat at a restaurant.
Would this be a sensible sample? Give reasons for your answer. (2)
9 Describe the transformation from shape A to shape B. (3)
y
5
4
3
2
B
1

5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5
1
A
2
3
4
5

10 L ottery winnings are shared out in the ratio of 4 : 5 between two brothers, John and David.
David receives £125 000.
What were the total winnings? (3)
11 Julie is comparing her test results in different lessons.
In science she scores 45 out of 52.
In maths she scores 50 out of 60.
In which test did she perform better? Explain your answer. (4)

 Total marks: 40

312 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 5 - FOUNDATION 40 minutes

1 Find the value of:

3
(a) 81 (b) 112 (c) 64 (d) 35 (4)
2 J immy delivers newspapers. Every Saturday he works he gets paid £5.50. In addition he gets paid
20p per newspaper he delivers.
(a) Write a formula for the total amount (T), in pounds, that Jimmy gets paid if he delivers n newspapers.
(b) How much does Jimmy get paid if he delivers 15 newspapers?
(c) Last week Jimmy earned £9.70. How many newspapers did he deliver? (4)
3 Find:
2
(a) of 24 (b) 35% of 480 kg (c) 125% of $64 (6)
3
4 Write:
(a) the sum of the internal angles of an octagon.
(b) the size of an external angle of an equilateral triangle.
(c) the size of an internal angle of a regular hexagon. (5)
5 Draw a pie chart to display the following information.

Method of transport Number of students

Walk 57
Bike/scooter 39
Bus 10
Car 14
Train 0
 (4)
6 Point A has co-ordinates (3, −1).
Point B has co-ordinates (7, −4).
Find:
(a) the vector from point B to point A.
(b) the midpoint of line segment AB.
(c) the length of line segment AB (6)
7 Solve by factorising x + 6x – 16 = 0
2
(4)
8 Write:
(a) 0.48 as a fraction in its simplest form.
5
(b) as a decimal.  (4)
8
9 A rectangular lawn measures 16 m by 30 m.
Lawn feed costs £4.50 per kilogram. A kilogram will cover 20 m2 of lawn.
How much will it cost to feed the entire lawn? (3)

 Total marks: 40

313 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 6 - FOUNDATION 40 minutes

1 What is the highest common factor of 98 and 168? (2)

2 Simplify:
s2 12 s 2t
(a) b × b
5 3
(b) (c) 3ab2 × 5ab (d)  (6)
s -4 4 st
3 Find the size of angle x (right). Explain your answer.  (3)

125

4 Construct and solve an equation to find the value of x in the diagram.

4x  30

2x  20 x  10  (4)
5 The following recipe makes eight cupcakes.
2 eggs
50 g caster sugar
60 g self-raising flour
50 g butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
(a) How much of each ingredient is needed to make 12 cupcakes?
(b) I have 200 g butter, 150 g self-raising flour, 6 eggs, 150 g caster sugar and 10 tsp of vanilla essence.
What is the maximum number of cupcakes I can make? (5)
6 Solve:
(a) 3y + 11 ≥ 5y – 7
(b) 3 < 4x – 9 ≤ 23
(c) What integer values of x solve the inequality in part b? (6)
7 Construct a triangle with side lengths 3 cm, 5 cm and 6 cm. (2)
8 (a) In the last year, house prices have gone up by 9% on average.
  A house now costs £196 200.
  hat was its price last year?
(b) A car has depreciated in value by 12%. It now costs £5720.
  What was its original price?  (5)
9 In January, the exchange rate between pounds and euros was £1 = €1.26.
(a) A jumper costs €35.
  How many pounds is this?
(b) A coat costs £40.
How many euros is this?
(c) A pair of trainers costs £75 or €90.
  Which is the better deal? Show your working. (7)

 Total marks: 40

314 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 7 - FOUNDATION 40 minutes

1 The table shows the record minimum temperatures for various places across the world.
Edinburgh Moscow Miami Lima Ottawa Rome
–15 °C –42 °C 2 °C 9 °C –36 °C –11 °C

(a) What is the range of the temperatures in the table?

(b) What is the median temperature?
(c) 
Barcelona’s minimum temperature is 20 degrees warmer than Edinburgh’s.
What is this temperature? (4)
2 A bag contains three blue and seven red counters.
A counter is picked and replaced. A second counter is picked and replaced.
(a) What is the probability that the first counter is blue?
(b) What is the probability that the second counter is red?
(c) What is the probability that the two counters picked are the same colour? (5)
3 Make c the subject of the formula:
a = bc2 + f  (3)
4 Consider the following number sequence:
6, 13, 20, 27, 34, …
(a) What are the next two numbers in the sequence?
(b) What is the nth term of the sequence?
(c) What is the 21st number in the sequence?
(d) After how many numbers will the sequence equal 97?  (5)
5 For the triangular prism (right), find:
(a) the volume.
(b) the surface area.
(c) Convert your answer to part (b) into mm2. (7) 5 cm
4 cm
6 F or the numbers 1 to 20, what is the ratio of prime
7 cm
numbers to non-prime numbers?
3 cm
Write the ratio in its simplest form.  (2)
2
7 ( ) -3
( )
If -1 and 2 , find:

(a) a + b (b) 3b (c) 2b – a (d) a vector parallel to a (4)

8 The table shows the temperature and a shop’s ice cream sales.
Temp
32 24 18 11 22 10 15 20 27 17 19 30 21 22 12
(0C)
Sales
95 82 65 42 78 42 50 70 80 66 68 100 75 75 45
(£)
(a) Draw a scatter graph of this information and comment on your results.
(b) How much would the owner expect to earn if the temperature was 25 0C? (6)
9 Solve 3x – 2y = 1 and 4x – 3y = 0  (4)

 Total marks: 40

315 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 8 - FOUNDATION 40 minutes

1 Calculate:
3.3 x 10-2
1.6 x 105
Write your answer in normal form to two significant figures. (2)
2 (a) Expand and simplify (x + 3)(x − 4)
(b) Factorise x2 − 8x + 12  (4)
3 The bearing of Exeter from Northampton is 230°.
What is the bearing of Northampton from Exeter?  (2)
4 For the shape (right), find:  
(a) the perimeter
(b) the area.  (8)
5 Share 24 in the ratio 3 : 5. 18 cm
(2)
6 y
5
4 8 cm
3
A
2
1

5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5
1
B
2
3
4
5
Describe the single transformation that maps shape A onto shape B. (4)
7 The table shows the heights of tomato seedlings at a nursery.

Height, h (mm) Frequency

0 ≤ h < 10 8
10 ≤ h < 30 9
30 ≤ h < 40 24
40 ≤ h < 60 18
60 ≤ h < 100 12
Find the mean height of a tomato seedling. (4)
8 £120 is invested in an account that gives 3.5% compound interest per year.
How much will be in the account after 3 years?  (3)
9 A rectangle measures 12 cm by 16 cm.
What is the length of its diagonal? (3)
10 Which of the following deals is the best offer? Explain your answer.
(a) six tins of beans for £2.45 (b) nine tins of beans for £3.80   (c) four tins of beans for £1.52  (4)
11 Find the size of angle BCA to the nearest degree. (4)
A

8 cm

C 11 cm B

 Total marks: 40

316 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 1 – HIGHER 40 minutes

1 Richard, Sabah and Tariq have £135 to split between them.

Richard gets half the amount of Tariq.
Sabah gets three times more than Tariq.
How much do they each receive? (3)
2 Solve: (a) 16 = 5x – 24 (b) 12 + 3x = 7x – 24 (3)
5 cm
3 For the shape on the right, find:
1 cm
(a) the area.
(b) the perimeter.  (5)
4 F ind the equation of the line passing through the
points (3, 5) and (5, 11).  (4) 6 cm

5 Find:
5 cm
2 3 2 2
(a) +   (b) 1 -
15 10 5 3 2 cm

6 3 14 7
(c) ×   (d) ÷  (8) 8 cm
7 8 15 10
6 In the following diagram (5)
Find the length of AD
Find the length of CB
Angle EDC is 40°. What is angle AEB? Give a reason for your answer.
A

6 cm
7.5 cm
8 cm
E B

D C
12 cm

7 Evaluate

( 1625 )
1
2 -
(a) 80 (b) 7–2 (c) (d)  (6)
2
27 3
8 Rearrange the formula aw + b = w - h to make w the subject. (3)
9 80 workers in a factory were asked their ages.
The eldest worker was 58, the youngest was 19.
The median age was 33, the lower quartile of ages was 28 and the interquartile range was 12.
Represent this information on a box plot. (3)

 Total marks: 40

317 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 2 – HIGHER 40 minutes
y
1 What is the equation of this line (right)? 10 (2)
9
2 Expand and simplify where possible
8
(a) 3(x + 4) (b) 2x(x − 5)   (c) 5(x − 4) + 3(x + 10) (5) 7
3  he diameter of a sports car tyre is 44 cm. How many full
T 6
rotations does the tyre make if the 5
car travels 1.2 km? (4) 4

4  risps are sold in multipacks. You can buy 12 packets for £3.79.
C 3

Jenny buys four multipacks. 2

1
She sells 30 packets of crisps for 42p each. She gives eight |
packets for free to her friends and sells 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 x
1
the rest for 50p a packet. What percentage profit does J
2
enny make? (5)
5  he mean of five numbers is 6.5. When a sixth number is added the
T
mean increases to seven. What is the sixth number? (3)
6 The distance, d, an object falls is directly proportional to the square of the time, t, it is falling for.
A rock falls from a cliff edge. After three seconds it has travelled 44.1 metres.
(a) Find a formula linking d and t. (4)
(b) How far will the rock have fallen after five seconds? (2)
(c) T
 he White Cliffs of Dover reach a maximum height of 110 m. How long would it take a rock
to fall from the top to the bottom? Give your answer correct to two decimal places. (3)
7  o the nearest metre, a football pitch has a length of 98 m and a width of 42 m. Calculate the
T
upper bound of the area of the pitch. (2)
8  he table below shows the heights of tomato seedlings at a nursery. Draw a histogram to
T
represent this data; (5)

Height, h (mm) Frequency

0 ≤ h < 10 8
10 ≤ h < 30 9
30 ≤ h < 40 16
40 ≤ h < 60 18
60 ≤ h < 100 12

9 Find angle PSR, give your answer to the nearest degree. (5)
P

35°

S
11 m R 9.5 m Q

 Total marks: 40

318 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 3 – HIGHER 40 minutes

1 Draw the graph of y = x2 – 2x − 3 for x between −2 and 4. (5)

2 (a) Write 56% as a fraction in its simplest form.
3
(b) Write as a decimal. (c) Write 1.45 as a percentage. (3)
16
3 The area of a triangular sail is 9 m2. The height of the sail is 6 m. What is the base length? (2)
4 Talfiq flips a coin and rolls an octahedral dice (numbered 1 – 8)
(a) List all the possible combinations of his results.
(b) What is the probability that he gets tails and an even number, or heads and an odd number? (4)
5 The variable s is inversely proportion to d. When s = 4 d = 0.5.
(a) Find a formula linking s and d. (4)
(b) When d = 0.2, what is s? (2)
(c) What is d when s = 0.05? (2)
6 A rectangle has an area of 2x + 5x + 2. The rectangle’s perimeter is 42 cm.
2

Find the dimensions of the rectangle. (7)

7 I n the diagram 2AO = OC, vector a describes the journey from O to A and vector b the
journey from O to B. M is the midpoint of OC.
B
A
b
a

D M

(a) Give the vector for OC. (1)

(b) Give the vector for CB. (1)
(c) Give the vector for MD. (2)
  A line segment is drawn from A to B and then continues to point E such that AB : AE is 3 : 4
(d) Find the vector from M to E. (3)
8 Simplify each of the following
(a) 8 (b) 28 × 63 (c) (1 + 2 )(2 + 2 ) (4)

 Total marks: 40

319 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 4 – HIGHER 40 minutes

32 - 4.52
1 Type the following calculation into your calculator .
1.3 + 3.92
(a) Write down all the digits on your calculator display.
(b) Round down your answer to two decimal places. (2)
2 Factorise (a) 4xy – 8y 2
(b) 12a b + 18ab
2 2
(c) x – 16
2
(6)
3 (a) Find 12.5% of £230. (6)
(b) Increase £480 by 18%.
(c) Decrease $60 by 5.4%.
4 Calculate the (a) area and (b) perimeter of this shape:  (6)

14 m

5 Describe the transformation from shape A to shape B. (3)

y
5
4
3 B

2
1

5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5
1
A
2
3
4
5

6 (a) Find the equation, y = mx + c, of the line that is parallel to y = 10 – 3x and goes through the point (2, –4).
(b) Give the gradient of any line perpendicular to y = 10 – 3x (4)
7 Solve x2 – 4x – 11 = 0, giving your answers to three significant figures. (5)
8  he sloping face of a cone is made from a sector of a circle. Find the angle of the sector used to
T
produce the cone below: (8)

12 cm

9 cm

 Total marks: 40

320 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 5 – HIGHER 40 minutes

2
1 (a) Find of 24. (b) Find 35% of 480 kg. (c) Find 125% of $64. (6)
3
2 (a) What is the sum of the interior angles of an octagon?
(b) What is the size of an exterior angle of an equilateral triangle?
(c) What is the size of an interior angle of a regular hexagon? (5)
3 Point A has co-ordinates (3, −1) and point B has co-ordinates (7, −4). (6)
(a) Find the vector from point B to point A.
(b) Find the mid-point of line segment AB.
(c) Find the length of line segment AB.
4 Solve x2 + 6x − 16 = 0 (4)
5 Construct and solve an equation to find the value of largest angle in the diagram below.  (5)

4x  30

2x  20 x  10
. .
4
6 Prove that 0. 36 =  (3)
11
7 For the sequence 4, 10, 18, 28, 40, …
(a) find the next two terms. (2)
(b) find the nth term. (3)
8 Match each of the following graphs with their equation.
y y y

A B C

0 x 0 x 0 x

y y y

D E F

0 x 0 x
0 x

 (3)
x + y =25    y = cos(x) y = x     y = sin(x)    y = x     xy = 4
2 2 2 3

9  he average allowance given to 14 boys is £22.50. The average for the whole class of 14 boys
T
and 16 girls is £28.10. What was the average for the girls? (3)

 Total marks: 40

321 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 6 – HIGHER 40 minutes

s2 12 s 2t
1 Simplify (a) (b) 3ab2 × 5ab (c) (d) (2x3)4 (7)
s -4 4 st
2 In the diagram below find the size of angle BCD. Give reasons for your answer. (3)
A

O
112°
D B

3 Convert 1.7 m3 into cm3  (2)

4 Find (a) the perimeter and (b) the area of the following shape:(8)

18 cm

8 cm

5 (a) Solve 3 < 4x – 9 ≤ 23 (4)

(b) What integer values of x solve the inequality above?
(c) Show on a coordinate grid (−3 ≤ x ≤ 5) the region that satisfies the following inequalities:
  −2 < x ≤ 4, y ≥ 0 and x + y ≤ 6 (5)
6 (a) 
House prices have gone up in the last year on average by 9%. A house now costs £196 200.
What was its price last year?
(b) A car has depreciated in value by 12%. It now costs £5720. What was its original price? (5)
7 The exchange rate between pounds and Euros in January was £1 = €1.26.
A catering company can buy 1.5 kg asparagus in the UK for £16 or 800 g for €10.50 in France.
Which is the better deal? Show your working clearly. (6)

Total marks: 40

322 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 7 – HIGHER 40 minutes

1 J enny buys 24 cans of cola. Each pack of six cans costs £3.75. She drinks four cans and sells the rest.
What cost should she charge is she wants to make a profit of 20%? (5)
2  bag contains three blue and seven red counters. A counter is picked and not replaced.
A
A second counter is then picked.
(a) What is the probability that the first counter is green?
(b) Given that the first counter was blue what is the probability that the second counter is red?
(c) Draw a tree diagram to represent this problem.
(d) What is the probability that the two counters picked are different colours? (8)
3 Make c the subject of this formula a = bc2 + f (3)
4 What is the
(a) volume of this triangular prism?
(b) surface area of this triangular prism?
(c) convert your answer to part b into mm2 (8)

5 cm
4 cm
7 cm

3 cm

5
2
( )
If a = -1 and b =
-3
2
Find ( )
(a) a + b (b) 3b (c) 2b − a (d) a vector parallel to a (4)
6 Solve 3x – 2y = 1 and 4x − 3y = 0 simultaneously. (4)
7 The graph below is a speed–time graph for a long distance freight train:
y
100

80

60
km/h

40

20

0 x
7 am 8 am 9 am 10 am
time

(a) What was the train’s speed at 9 am?  (1)

(b) What was the train’s rate of acceleration from 7 am to 7.15 am (3)
(c) How far did the train travel between 9.30 am and 10 am? (4)

Total marks: 40

323 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 8 – HIGHER 40 minutes

18 x 3 y -2
1 (a) Expand and simplify (x + 3)(x – 4) (b) Factorise x2 – 8x + 12 (c) Simplify  (6)
48 xy -4
2  he table below shows the heights of tomato seedlings at a nursery. Find an estimate for the mean
T
height of a tomato seedling: (4)

Height, h (mm) Frequency

0 ≤ h < 10 8
10 ≤ h < 30 9
30 ≤ h < 40 24
40 ≤ h < 60 18
60 ≤ h < 100 12

3 £ 120 is invested in an account that gives 3.5% compound interest per year. How much will
be in the account after three years? (3)
4 Find the size of angle ABC to the nearest degree.
A

7 cm
8 cm

12 cm
C  (6)
5 Using the fact that a = 2.4 (one decimal place), b = 12.0 (one decimal place) and
c = 120 (two significant figures)
3c
Find the maximum and minimum values of Show your working clearly. (5)
b -a
6  he starting price of a china doll at an auction is £35. It eventually sells for £43.50. What percentage
T
increase is this? (3)
1
7 Using the iteration formula x n + 1 = 7 -
and the starting value x1 = 1 carry out the first four iterations
xn
1
and suggest a suitable solution to the equation x = 7 -  (5)
x
8 Find the length of the chord between the points at which the line y = x + 2 meets the circle x2 + y2 = 100? (8)

Total marks: 40

324 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 1 – FOUNDATION

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 (a) Any of 1, 25 or 64 1 AO1
1 (b) 17 1 AO1
1 (c) Any of 1 or 64 1 AO1
2 (a) 1 AO1
2
3
5
2 (b) 1 AO1
23
7
3 (a) 3x = 54 x = 18 1 AO1
x = 18
3 (b) 16 = 5x – 24 x=8 1 AO1
40 = 5x
8=x
3 (c) 12 + 3x = 7x – 24 x=9 2 A02
12 = 4x – 24
36 = 4x
9=x
4 (a) 5 cm
Area = 30 cm2 3 AO3 M1 for splitting
1 cm shape (any
split)

6 cm
M1 attempted
areas of
5 cm separate parts

2 cm A1

8 cm

5×1=5
3×3=9
2 × 8 = 16
Total = 30 cm2
4 (b) 5 cm
Perimeter = 32 cm 2 AO3 M1 Find
1 cm missing
2 cm lengths

6 cm
3 cm A1

5 cm

2 cm

8 cm

5 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 5 + 2 + 8 + 6 = 32 cm

325 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
5 y 3 AO2 M1 correctly
10 drawn axis
8
6 M1 3 or more
4
correctly
plotted points
2

2 1 0 1 2 3 4 x A1
2
4
6
8
10

6 Plan 2 AO1 A1

A1

Elevation

7 (a) 2 3 2 AO1 M1 common

13
+ denominator
15 10 30
4 9 A1
= +
30 30
13
=
30
7 (b) 2 2 2 AO2 M1 change
11
1 - mixed number
5 3 15 to improper
7 2 fraction
= -
5 3
A1
21 10
= -
15 15
11
=
15

326 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
7 (c) 2 AO1 M1 multiply
6 3 9
x numerators
7 8 28 and
18 denominators
=
56
A1 simplified
9 answer
=
28
7 (d) 2 AO1 M1 ‘flip’ and
14 7 1
÷ 1 multiply
15 10 3
14 10 A1 answer as a
= X mixed number
15 7
2 2
= X
3 1
4
=
3
1
=1
3
8 24 km = 20 minutes 72 km/h 2 AO3 A1 72
72 km = 60 minutes A1 km/h
9 (a) 33 1 AO2 A1
9 (b) 13 1 AO2 A1
9 (c) 68 2 AO3 M1 attempt to
add totals
A1
9 (d) 28 + 33 + 47 + 65 = 170 Mean is 43.25 2 AO2 A1 totals
A1
173 ÷ 4 = 43.25
10 (a) The shapes are 1 AO2 A1 one of
enlargements of each two given
other. Angles are the definitions
same, ratio of the sides sufficient
are the same.
10 (b) 12 ÷ 8 = 1.5 9 cm 2 AO2 M1 12 ÷ 8
So scale factor small to big is × 1.5 A1 9 cm
6 × 1.5 = 9 cm
10 (c) 2 5 cm 2 AO2 M1 8 ÷ 12
8 ÷ 12 = A1 5 cm
3
2
7.5 × = 5 cm
3

327 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 2 – FOUNDATION

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

630
= 2 × 315
1 = 2 × 3 × 105 2 × 32 × 5 × 7 3 AO1
= 2 × 3 × 3 × 35
=2×3×3×5×7
2 (a) 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 1 AO1
36 = 1 × 36
36 = 2 × 18
2 (b) 36 = 3 × 12 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36 2 AO1
36 = 4 × 9
36 = 6 × 6
A1 for correct gradient
3 y = 2x – 1 2 AO2
A1 for correct y intercept
4 (a) 3x + 12 1 AO1
A1 2x2
4 (b) 2x2 – 10x 2 AO1
A1 – 10x
A1 brackets expanded
5x – 20 + 3x + 30 correctly
4 (c) 8x + 10 2 AO1
8x + 10 A1 answer simplified
correctly
C = πd A1 π x 44
5 = π × 44 138.2 cm 3 AO2 A1 AWRT 138.2 cm
= 138.230077 A1 cm
6 (a) 6 1 AO1
6 (b) 8 1 AO1
6 (c) 12 1 AO1
Triangles share side BD
Parallelogram so opposite
M1 shared side
sides are the same length
M1 properties of equal
7 AB = DC 3 AO2
sides in a parallelogram
AD = BC
M1 SSS
By SSS triangles are
congruent
100
90
80
70 M1 axis drawn and
labelled
Rainfall (mm)

60
50 A2 points plotted
8 4 AO2
40
correctly
30
A1 points joined with
20
10
straight lines
0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month

328 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
Buys
£3.79 × 4 = £15.16
Earns
M1 3.79 × 4
30 × £0.42 = £12.60
A1 12.60
9 10 × £0.50 = £5 £2.44 4 AO3
A1 17.60
Total = £17.60
A1 profit £2.44
Profit
£17.60 – £15.16
= £2.44
1.2 m ÷ 0.3 = 4
0.8 m ÷ 0.2 = 4 M1 1.2 m ÷ 0.3
0.75 ÷ 0.15 = 5 A1 4, 4, 5
10 80 shoe boxes 4 AO3 M1 multiply the 3
4 × 4 × 5 = 80 dimensions
A1 80

11 Students’ own drawings 3 AO1

5 × 6.5 = 32.5 M1 5 × 6.5
12 6 × 7 = 42 9.5 3 AO2 A1 42
42 – 32.5 = 9.5 A1 9.5

329 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 3 – FOUNDATION

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 Bus 4R 12.48 pm 3 AO3 M1 listing multiples
12.00, 12.12, 12.24, 12.36, A1 correct multiples
12.48, 13.00 A1 12.48
Bus 5
12.00, 12.16, 12.32, 12.48
2 (a) 1904 2 AO1 M1 attempted valid
method
A1
2 (b) 23 2 AO1 M1 attempted valid
method
A1
3 x -3 -2 -1 0 y 5 AO2 M1 table or similar drawn
A1 correct coordinates
y 6 1 -2 -3
6 (0, −3), (1, −2), (2, 1), (3, 6)
A1 correct co-ordinates
x 1 2 3 4
(−3, 6), (−2, 1), (−1, −2)
y -2 1 6 M1 axis drawn correctly
A1 points correctly plotted
(-3, 6), (-2, 1), (-1,-2), (0,-3), 2
and joined with a smooth
(1,-2), (2, 1), (3, 6) curve
3 2 1 0 1 2 3 x

2

4

4 (a) 2e + 6f 1 AO1
4 (b) 2a2 + 5a 2 AO1 A1 2a2
A1 + 5a
5 (a) 6% 1 AO1 A1
5 (b) 1 AO2 A1 do not accept
14
unsimplified versions
25

5 (c) 0.4 1 AO2 A1

5 (d) 145% 1 AO1 A1
6 Area = ½base × height 3m 2 AO2
9=½b×6 M1 use of formula or
9 = 3b similar
b=3 A1

330 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
7 (a) 1 AO1 A1
3

7 (b) 1 AO1 A1
1

7 (c) 2 AO1 A1 −3 and 2 marked

3 2 A1 correct filled/unfilled
circles
8 (a) 2 km 1 AO2
8 (b) 10 mins 1 AO2
8 (c) 20 mins = 10 km 30 km/h 2 AO3 M1 identifies 20 mins and
60 mins = 30 km 10 km
A1 30 km/h
9 (a) 41 1 AO1
9 (b) 35 37 37 38 40 40 2 AO2 M1 orders scores
40 41 41 41 45 A1
9 (c) 395 ÷ 10 39.5 1 AO2 A1
9 (d) 45 – 35 10 1 AO1 A1
9 (e) They had a higher mean – so on average did better but 2 AO3 1 mark for comparing
their range was a lot larger meaning they were much mean with explanation
more inconsistent. 1 mark for comparing
range with explanation
10 (a) H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 2 AO1 A2 – 1 for every forgotten
H7 H8 combination
T1 T2 T3 T4
T5 T6 T7 T8
10 (b) H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 ¼ 2 AO2 A2 oe
H8
T1 T2 T3 T4
T5 T6 T7 T8

331 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 4 – FOUNDATION

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 1 4 9 16 25 36 2 AO1 A2 –1 for every mistake
2 (a) 3.582 427 399 568.. 1 AO1 AWRT A1
2 (b) 3.58 1 AO1 f.t A1
3 (a) Rhombus 1 AO1
3 (b) Triangular based 1 AO1 Accept tetrahedron
pyramid
3 (c) Regular hexagon 1 AO1
3 (d) Isosceles triangle 1 AO1
4 (a) 3(x + 4) 1 AO1 A1
4 (b) 4y(x – 2y) 2 AO1 A1 for 4y(x…)
A1 for − 2y
4 (c) 6ab(2a + 3b) 2 AO1 A1 for 6ab(2a
A1 for + 3b
5 (a) 0.125 × 230 £28.75 2 AO1 M1
or A1
10% + 2.5%
5 (b) 1.18 × 480 £566.40 2 AO1 M1
or finding 18% and adding on A1
5 (c) 0.946 × 60 $56.76 2 AO2 M1
or finding 5.4% and A1
subtracting
6 (a) A = πr2 77 m2 3 AO2 M1 π × r2 ÷ 2
r=7 A1 for AWRT 153.9
A = π × 49 A1 AWRT 77 m2
= 153.938 040 0
Semi-circle so ÷2
Area = π × 49 ÷ 2
6 (b) C = πd 36 m 3 AO2 M1 π × d ÷ 2
d = 14 A1 AWRT 43.98
C = π × 14 A1 AWRT 36 m
= 43.982 297 1
Semi-circle so ÷ 2 and +
diameter
Perimeter = π × 14 ÷ 2 + 14
7 v = u + at 5.5 m/s 3 AO2 M1 for attempt at
u=4 substitution
a = 0.5 M1 for v = 4 + 0.5 × 3
t=3 A1 for 5.5
v = 4 + 0.5 × 3
8 Not a sensible sample because these people obviously 2 AO3
eat out as they are eating at the restaurant.
9 Enlargement 3 AO2 A1 enlargement
Scale factor 0.5 A1 scale factor 0.5
Centre (3, 5) A1 centre (3, 5)

332 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
10 5 parts = 125 000 £225 000 3 AO2 A1 1 part = 25 000
1 part = 25 000 M1 9 parts in total
9 parts =225 000 A1 £225 000
11 45 Julie did better in her 4 AO3 M1 writing marks for one
= 86.5% science test as if you test in fraction format
52 change the scores A1 writing marks for one
50 into percentages her test in percentage (or
= 83.3% percentage in science decimal)
60
was 86.5% and maths A1 science
83.3% A1 explanation of
comparing percentages

333 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 5 – FOUNDATION

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 (a) 9 1 AO1
1 (b) 121 1 AO1
1 (c) 4 1 AO1
1 (d) 243 1 AO1
2 (a) T = 5.5 + 0.2n 1 AO1 A1
2 (b) T = 5.5 + 0.2 × 15 £8.50 1 AO2 A1
2 (c) 9.7 = 5.5 + 0.2n 21 2 AO2 M1 9.7 – 5.5
4.2 = 0.2n A1
n = 21
3 (a) 24 ÷ 3 = 8 16 2 AO1 A1 8
8 x 2 = 16 A1 16
3 (b) 10% = 48 168 kg 2 AO1 M1 finding 10%
20% = 96 and another
30% = 144 percentage
5% = 24 such as 5%,
35% = 168 20%, or 30%
A1
3 (c) 25% = 16 $80 2 AO1 A1 find 25%
64 + 16 = 80 A1
4 (a) 1080° 2 AO2 M1 attempt at a
valid method
A1

6 × 180 = 1080°
or
(n – 2 ) × 180 where n = 8
or
360/8 = 45° external
180 – 45 = 135° internal
135 × 8
4 (b) 180 – 60 = 120° 120° 1 AO1 A1
4 (c) 360 ÷ 6 = 60° external 120° 2 AO2 M1
180 – 60 = 120° A1

334 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
5 Sum = 120 4 AO2 A2 angles
Walk
360 ÷ 120 = 3° per person Bike/scooter correctly
Walk 57 × 3 = 171° Bus calculated
Bike 39 × 3 = 117° Car A1 pie chart
Train
Bus 10 × 3 = 30° accurately
Car 14 × 3 = 42° drawn
A1 sectors
labelled
6 (a) 3–7
(3 ) 1 AO1 A1
-4
−1 – −4

6 (b) (3 + 7)/2 = 5 (5, −2.5) 2 AO1 M1 valid

(−1 + −4)/2 = −2.5 method used
A1
6 (c) 42 + 32 = 25 5 3 AO3 M1 using
√25 = 5 Pythagoras
A1 25
A1 5
7 (x + 8)(x – 2) = 0 x = −8 or x = 2 4 AO1 A1 (x + )
(x – ) = 0
A1 ±2 and ±8
A1 (x + 8)
(x – 2) = 0
A1 x = −8 or x = 2
8 (a) 2 AO2
48 24 12 12
= =
100 50 25 25

8 (b) 5÷8 0.625 2 AO1 M1

0. 6 2 5 A1

)
8 5. 5 0 2 0 4 0

9 16 × 30 = 480 m² £108 3 AO3 A1 480 m²

480 ÷ 20 = 24 A1 24
24 × 4.5 = A1 £108
24 × 4 = 96
24 × 0.5 = 12
Total = 108

335 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 6 – FOUNDATION

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 Factors of 98 14 2 AO1 M1 listing factors of
1,98, 2, 49, 7, 14 using prime
Of these 14 is the highest factorisation
factor of 168 A1
2 (a) b8 1 AO1
2 (b) s6 1 AO1
2 (c) 15a2 b3 2 AO1 A1 15a2
A1 b3
2 (d) 3s 2 AO1 A1 3
A1 s
3 55° 3 AO2 A1 55°
Corresponding A1 corresponding angles
125 angles are equal are equal
and angles on a A1 angles on a straight line
x straight line add add up to 180°
up to 180°

4 Angles in a triangle add up to x = 20° 4 AO3 M1 attempt to add

180° expressions
M1 set total to 180°
4x + 30 + x −10 + 2x + 20 =180 M1 attempt to solve
7x + 40 = 180 equation
7x = 140 A1 x=20°
x = 20
5 (a) 3 eggs 2 AO3 A2 – 1 for each mistake
75 g sugar
90 g flour
75 g butter
1 ½ tsp vanilla
essence
5 (b) 6 eggs = 3 batches = 24 cakes 20 cakes 3 AO3 M2 correctly found number
150 g sugar = 3 batches = 24 of cakes for 2 ingredients
cakes A1 20 cakes
150 g flour = 2.5 batches = 20
cakes
200 g butter = 4 batches = 32
cakes
6 (a) 3y + 11 ≥ 5y – 7 9≥y 2 AO1 M1 collect ys or
11 ≥ 2y – 7 constants
18 ≥ 2y A1
9≥y
6 (b) 3 < 4x – 9 ≤ 23 3< x ≤ 8 2 AO1 M1 collect constants
12 < 4x ≤ 32 A1
3< x ≤ 8

336 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
6 (c) 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 2 AO1 A2 – 1 for each mistake
7 Students’ own 2 AO1
drawings
8 (a) 196 200/109 × 100 £180 000 2 AO3 M1 ÷ 109 or 1.09
A1
8 (b) 5720/88 × 100 £6500 3 AO3 M1 88 or 0.88
M1 ÷ 88 or 0.88
A1
9 (a) 35/1.26 £27.78 2 AO2 M1
A1
9 (b) 40 × 1.26 €50.40 2 AO2
9 (c) 75 × 1.26 = €94.50 Better deal to pay 3 AO3 M1 attempt to change Euros
Compared to €90 in Euros as £75 = to pounds or vice versa
€94.50 M1 €90.40 or £71.43
Or A1 chose Euros
90/1.26 = £71.43
Compared to £75

337 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 7 – FOUNDATION

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 (a) −42 up to 9 51 °C 1 AO1 A1
9 − −42
1 (b) (−15 + −11)/2 −13 °C 2 AO1 M1 identified −15 and
−11 as middle pair
A1
1 (c) −15 + 20 5 °C 1 AO3 A1
2 (a) 3/10 1 AO1 A1
2 (b) 7/10 1 AO1 A1 oe
2 (c) 58/100 3 AO2 M1 one multiplication
7 7 49
x = attempted
Red and red 10 10 100 M1 two
Blue and blue multiplications added
3 3 9 A1 oe
x =
10 10 100
Total
49 9 58
+ =
100 100 100
29
=
50
3 3 AO1
a = bc 2 + f a-f M1 a - f = bc
2

=c
a - f = bc 2 b a-f
= c2
a-f M1 b
= c2
b a-f
=c
a-f A1 b
=c
b
4 (a) 41, 48 1 AO1 A1
4 (b) 7n − 1 1 AO1 A1
4 (c) 7 × 21 − 1 146 1 AO1 A1
4 (d) 97 = 7n − 1 14th 2 AO2 M1 97 + 1
98 = 7n A1
14 = n
5 (a) ½(4 × 3) × 7 42 cm3 3 AO2 M1 ½ (4 × 3)
A1 42
A1 cm3
5 (b) ½(4 × 3) × 2 = 12 96 cm2 3 AO2 M1 breaking shape up
5 × 7 = 35 into faces
4 × 7 = 28 A1 two correctly
3 × 7 = 21 calculated faces
Total = 96 A1 96 cm2

338 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
5 (c) 1 cm2 = 100 mm2 9600 mm2 1 AO2 A1
96 × 100
6 1 − 20 2:3 2 AO1 A1 8 : 12
Prime 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19 A1 2 : 3
8 : 12
7 (a) 1 AO1 A1
2 + -3
(1)
-1
( -1 + 2
)
7 (b) 3x - 3 1 AO1 A1
( )
-9
3x 2 ( )
6
7 (c) 1 AO1 A1
( 2x -3-2
2 x 2 - -1
) -8
( )
5
7 (d) 2k 1 AO2 For any value of k

-k
8 (a) y
4 AO3 M1 sensible scale
drawn M1 scale
120

100
labelled
80
A2 points plotted − 1
Sales

60
for each mistake (max
40
2)
20
8 (b) 2 AO3 M1 line of best fit
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34
x
drawn
Temperature
M1 answer read off
line of best fit

9 3x − 2y = 1 (×3) x=3 4 AO2 M1 multiply LHS

4x − 3y = 0 (×2) y=4 through to get same
x or y
9x − 6y = 3 (1) coefficient
8x − 6y = 0 (2) M1 subtract equations
A1 x = 3 or y = 4n
(1) – (2)
x=3

Sub into 3x – 2y = 1

9 − 2y = 1
2y = 8
y=4

339 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 8 – FOUNDATION

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 0.000 000 21 2 AO1 A1 AWRT 0.000 000 2
A1 0.000 000 21
2 (a) x2 + 3x − 4x − 12 x2 − x − 12 2 AO1 A1 x2 + 3x − 4x − 12
A1 simplified
2 (b) (x − 6)(x − 2) 2 AO1 A1 ±6 and ±2
A1 (x − 6)(x − 2)
3 050° 2 AO3 M1 attempt at sketch
A1

Northampton
230

Exeter
360 − 230 = 130°
180 − 130 = 50°
4 (a) 8 + 10 + 18 + quarter circle 48.6 cm 4 AO2 M1 identifies quarter circle
Quarter circle M1 π × d ÷ 4
radius = 8 A1 AWRT 12.6
C = πd A1 AWRT 48.6
C = π × 16
Quarter so ÷ 4
(π × 16) ÷ 4 = 12.566 706
8 + 10 + 18 + (π × 16) ÷ 4
= 48.566 370 6
4 (b) 8 × 10 + quarter circle 130.3 cm2 4 AO2 M1 identifies quarter circle
Quarter circle M1 π × r2 ÷ 4
radius = 8 A1 AWRT 50.3
A = πr2 A1 AWRT 130.3
A = π × 64
Quarter so ÷4
π × 64 ÷ 4 = 50.265 48
8 × 10 + π × 64 ÷ 4 = 130.265 48
5 3+5=8 9 : 15 2 AO1 M1 identifies 8 parts or
24 ÷ 8 = 3 that 1 part = 3
3×3=9 A1
5 × 3 = 15
6 rotation 4 AO1 A1 rotation
90° A1 90°
anticlockwise A1 anticlockwise
around A1 around (−1, −1)
(−1, −1)

340 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
7 h Fre MP MP × fre 41.1 4 AO2 M1 mid points
0 ≤ h < 10 8 5 40 M1 mid points × frequencies
10 ≤ h < 30 9 20 180 A1 2920
A1 41.1
30 ≤ h < 40 24 35 840
40 ≤ h < 60 18 50 900
60 ≤ h < 100 12 80 960
Sum = 2920
2920 ÷ 71 = 41.1
8 120 × 1.0353 £133.05 3 AO2 M1 × 1.035
M1 × 1.035 × 1.035 × 1.035
or × 1.0353 give for incorrect
percentage
A1
9 122 +162 20 cm 3 AO2 M1 use of Pythagoras
= 144 + 256 A1 400
= 400 A1 20
√400 = 20
10 2.45 ÷ 6 = 0.408 Packs of 4 are the best offer 4 AO3 M1 attempt to try and find
333 Pack of six 41 p per tin price per tin or to scale up
Pack of nine 42 p per tin purchase to a common
3.80 ÷ 9 = 0.422 Pack of four 38 p per tin number of tins
222 2 A1 price per tin for the three
A1 correct choice
1.52 ÷ 4 =0.38 A1 explanation
11 Tan(θ) = opp/ 36° 4 AO1 A1 identifies tan as correct
adj trigonometric function to use
Tan(θ) = 8/11 A1 8/11
θ = tan-1(8/11) M1 uses an inverse trig
θ = 36.027 function
A1 36°

341 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 1 – HIGHER

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 Ratio of 1:6:2 Richard £15 3 AO1 M1 for ratio seen
Sabah £90
135 ÷ 9 = 15 Tariq £30 M1 for 135 ÷ 9 = 15

15 × 1 A1
15 × 6
15 × 2
2 (a) 16 = 5x − 24 x=8 1 AO1
40 = 5x
8=x
2 (b) 12 + 3x = 7x − 24 x=9 2 A02
12 = 4x – 24
36 = 4x
9=x
3 (a) 5 cm
Area = 30 cm2 3 AO3 M1 for splitting
1 cm shape (any split)

M1 attempted areas
6 cm
of separate parts

5 cm A1

2 cm

8 cm

5×1=5
3×3=9
2 × 8 = 16
Total = 30 cm2
3 (b) 5 cm
Perimeter = 2 AO3 M1 Find missing
1 cm 32 cm lengths
2 cm

A1
3 cm
6 cm

5 cm

2 cm

8 cm

5+1+2+3+5+2+8+6
= 32 cm

342 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
4 Gradient = (11 − 5) ÷(5 − 3) y = 3x – 4 4 AO3 M1 (11 − 5) and (5
=3 − 3)
Sub in to find c A1 gradient 3
11 = 3 × 5 + c M1 sub in gradient
C = −4 to find c
A1 y = 3x − 4

2 3
+
15 10 M1 common
4 9 13 denominator
5 (a) = + 2 AO1
30 30 30
A1
13
=
30

2 2
1 –
5 3
7 2 M1 change mixed
= – number to improper
5 3 11
5 (b) 2 AO2 fraction
21 10 15
= –
15 15 A1
11
=
15

6 3
x M1 multiply
7 8 numerators and
18 9 denominators
5 (c) = 2 AO1
56 28
A1 simplified
9
= answer
28

14 7
÷
15 10
14 10
= x
15 7 M1 ‘flip’ and
multiply
2 2 1
5 (d) = x 1 2 AO1
3 1 3 A1 answer as a
4 mixed number
=
3
1
=1
3
12 ÷ 8 = 1.5
M1 12 ÷ 8
6 (a) So scale factor small to big is × 1.5 9 cm 2 AO2
A1 9cm
6 × 1.5 = 9 cm

343 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
8 ÷ 12 = 2/3
7.5 × 2/3 = 5 cm (AB) M1 8 ÷ 12
6 (b) 2.5 cm 2 AO2
So BC = 7.5 – 5 A1 5 cm
= 2.5 cm
ABE and ACD are similar hence AEB and EDC
are equal
6 (c) 40° 1 AO2 A1 with reason
or
corresponding angle are equal
7 (a) 1 1 AO1
7 (b) 1/49 1 AO1
3
√27 = 3 M1 3√
7 (c) 9 2 AO2
32 = 9 A1

( )
1
–
16 2

25

( )
1
25 2 M1 reciprocate
7 (d) 5/4 or 1 1/4 2 AO2
A1
= 16

=() 5
4
aw + b = w – h
M1 attempt to
b + h = w – aw collect w only on
b+h
8 b + h = w( 1 – a) w= 3 AO2 one side
1-a M1 factorise w
b+h A1
=w
1–a
Accurately M1 for upper
drawn box quartile of 40
plot calculated

Lowest = 19 M1 for box plot seen

9 Upper quartile = 28 + 12 =40 Lower 3 AO2 with 3 or 4 values in
quartile = 28 correct place
Median = 33
Upper A1 for box plot
quartile = 40 seen with all values
Highest = 58 correct

344 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 2 – HIGHER

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 y = x/2 + 3 2 AO2 A1 for correct gradient
A1 for correct y intercept
2 (a) 3x + 12 1 AO1
2 (b) 2x2 − 10x 2 AO1 A1 2x2
A1 − 10x
2 (c) 5x – 20 + 3x + 30 8x + 10 2 AO1 A1 brackets expanded correctly
8x + 10 A1 answer simplified correctly
3 C=πd 868 4 AO2 A1 π x 44
= π × 44 A1 AWRT 138.2 cm
= 138.230 077 A1 120 000 cm
A1 868
1.2 km = 120000cm
120000 ÷ (π x 44)
= 868.117 871 141
4 Buys 16% 5 AO3 M1 3.79 x 4
£3.79 × 4 = £15.16 A1 17.60
Earns A1 profit £2.44
30 × £0.42 = £12.60 M1 profit/15.16 × 100
10 × £0.50 = £5 A1 AWRT 16%
Total = £17.60
Profit
£17.60 − £15.16
= £2.44
%profit 2.44/15.16
= 0.1609
5 5 × 6.5 = 32.5 9.5 3 AO2 M1 5 × 6.5
6 × 7 = 42 A1 42
42 − 32.5 = 9.5 A1 9.5
6 (a) d∝ t2 d = 4.9t2 4 AO3 A1 d = kt2
d = kt2 M1 substitutes values into
44.1= k × 9 formula above
k = 4.9 A1 4.9
A1 d = 4.9t2
6 (b) d= 4.9 × 52 122.5 m 2 AO2 M1 substitutes values into own
= 122.5 m formula
A1 122.5
6 (c) 110 = 4.9t2 4.74 secs 3 AO2 M1 substitutes values into own
t = √(110/4.9) formula
= 4.738035 M1 √
A1
7 98.5 × 42.5 4 186.25 m² 2 AO1 M1 for 98.5 × 42.5 seen

345 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
8 histogram 5 AO2 M1 axis drawn and labelled
F.d
A2 frequency densities found (−1
0.8 for each error, max −2)
A1 bars drawn in correct widths
0.45
(ignore heights)
1.6 A1 bars correct heights
0.9
0.3

9 Tan(35) = 9.5/PQ 33° 5 AO2 M1 finding PQ

PQ = 9.5/tan(35) A1 9.5/tan(35) seen
PQ = 13.567406 or AWRT 13.6
M1 tan(a) = PQ/SQ
Tan (PSR = PQ/20.5 A1 tan (a) = AWRT 0.66
Tan (PSR = 0.661824686 A1 AWRT 33

angle PSR=33.49757

346 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 3 – HIGHER

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 y 5 AO2 M1 table or similar drawn
x -2 -1 0 1
A1 correct coordinates
6
y 5 0 -3 -4 (1, −4), (2, −3), (3, 0), (4, 5)
4
A1 correct coordinates
(−2, 5), (−1, 0), (0, −3)
x 2 3 4 2 M1 axis drawn correctly
y -3 0 5 A1 points correctly plotted
3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 x
and joined with a smooth
curve
(−2, 5), (−1, 0), (0, −3), (1, −4), (2, 2
−3), (3, 0), (4, 5)
4

2 (a) s6 1 AO2 A1 do not accept

unsimplified versions
2 (b) 0.187 5 1 AO2 A1
2 (c) 145% 1 AO1 A1
3 Area = ½base × height 3m 2 AO2 M1 use of formula or similar
9=½b×6 A1
9 = 3b
b=3
4 (a) H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 2 AO1 A2 – 1 for every forgotten
H6 H7 H8 combination
T1 T2 T3 T4
T5 T6 T7 T8
4 (b) H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 ½ 2 AO2 A2 oe
T1 T2 T3 T4
T5 T6 T7 T8
5 (a) 3 7 21 s = 2/d 4 AO2 A1 s = k/d
x = M1 substitutes values into
10 9 90
formula above
A1 2
A1 s = 2/d
5 (b) s = 2/0.2 10 2 AO2 M1 substitutes values into
own formula
A1 10
5 (c) 0.05 = 2/d 40 2 AO2 M1 substitutes values into
d =2/0.05 own formula
d = 40 A1

347 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
6 Factorise the quadratic 13 cm by 8 cm 7 AO3 M1 attempt to factorise
(2x + 1)(x + 2) A1 (x + 2)(2x + 1)
So side lengths 2x + 1 and x + 2 M1 adds side lengths
Add these twice each to find the A1 sides lengths total 6x + 6
perimeter M1 sets perimeter = 42
2x + 1 + x + 2 + 2x + 1 + x + 2 A1 x = 6
= 6x + 6 A1 13 cm by 8
6x + 6 = 42
x=6
2x + 1= 13
x+2=8
7 (a) −2a 1 AO1
7 (b) 2a + b 1 AO2
7 (c) a – ½b 2 AO2
7 (d) MB = a + b ME = 2/3a + 4/3b 3 AO3
BE = 1/3 AB
BE = 1/3 (b – a)
ME = MB + BE
= a + b + 1/3 (b – a)
= 2/3a + 4/3b
8 (a) 2√2 1 AO1
8 (b) √(4 × 7 × 7 × 9) 42 1 AO2
=2×7×3
8 (c) 2 + 2√2 + √2 + √4 4 + 3√2 2 AO2 A1 two parts of 2 + 2√2 + √2
= 2 + 3√2 + 2 + √4
A1 4 + 3√

348 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 4 – HIGHER

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 (a) 3.582 427 399 568.. 1 AO1 AWRT A1
1 (b) 3.58 1 AO1 f.t A1
2 (a) 4y(x – 2y) 2 AO1 A1 for 4y(x…)
A1 for −2y
2 (b) 6ab(2a + 3b) 2 AO1 A1 for 6ab(2a
A1 for +3b
2 (c) (x – 4)(x + 4) 2 AO1 A1 (x – a)(x + a)
A1
3 (a) 0.125 × 230 £28.75 2 AO1 M1
or A1
10% + 2.5%
3 (b) 1.18 × 480 £566.40 2 AO1 M1
or finding 18% and adding on A1
3 (c) 0.946 × 60 $56.76 2 AO2 M1
or finding 5.4% and ­subtracting A1
4 (a) A = πr2 77 m2 3 AO2 M1 π × r2 ÷ 2
r=7 A1 for AWRT 153.9
A = π × 49 A1 AWRT 77 m2
= 153.938 040 0
Semi-circle so ÷ 2
Area = π × 49 ÷ 2
4 (b) C = πd 36 m 3 AO2 M1 π × d ÷ 2
d = 14 A1 AWRT 43.98
C = π × 14 A1 AWRT 36 m
= 43.982 297 1
Semi-circle so ÷ 2 and + diameter
Perimeter = π × 14 ÷ 2 + 14
5 Enlargement 3 AO2 A1 enlargement
Scale factor −0.5 A1 scale factor 0.5
Centre (1, 1) A1 centre (3, 5)
6 (a) Gradient = - 3 y = 2 − 3x 3 AO2 M1 identifies
−4 = −3 × 2 + c gradient
−4 = −6 + c M1 substitutes ­gradient
c=2 and point (2, −4) into y
= mx + c
A1
6 (b) 1/3 1 AO1

349 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
7 5.87 or −1.87 5 AO2 M1 substitution into
-- 4 ± (-4)2 - 4 x 1 x -11
x= quadratic formula
2 x1
A1 4 and 16 seen or
4 ± 16 + 44 implied
x=
2 4 + 60
4 + 60 A1
x= = 5.8739833 2
2
4 - 60 A1 4 - 60
x= = -1.8729833 2
2
A1 5.87 and −1.87
8 Circumference of cone 216° 8 AO3 M1 cones
= 2πr circumference
= 2π × 9 A1 AWRT 56.549
=56.5486 677 6 M1 use of
Pythagoras
Radius of sector of circle A1 15 cm
M1 full circles
122 + 92 circumference using
= = 144 + 81 calculated l
A1 AWRT 94.248
= 225 = 15
M1 circumference of
cone ÷ sectors full
Circumference of sector’s full circle circumference
circle A1 216°
2πr
=2π × 15
=94.247 779 6
Fraction of circle used
circumference of cone ÷ sector’s
full circle circumference
= 2π × 9 ÷ 2π × 15
= 0.6
0.6 × 360 = 216°

350 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 5 – HIGHER

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 (a) 24 ÷ 3 = 8 16 2 AO1 A1 8
8 × 2 = 16 A1 16
1 (b) 10% = 48 168 kg 2 AO1 M1 finding 10% and
20% = 96 another percentage
30% = 144 such as 5%, 20%, or
5% = 24 30%
35% = 168 A1
1 (c) 25% = 16 $80 2 AO1 A1 find 25%
64 + 16 = 80 A1
2 (a) 1080° 2 AO2 M1 attempt at a valid
method
A1

6 × 180 = 1080°
or
(n − 2) × 180 where n = 8
or
360/8 = 45° external
180 − 45 = 135° internal
135 × 8
2 (b) 180 − 60 = 120° 120° 1 AO2 A1
2 (c) 360 ÷ 6 = 60° external 120° 2 AO2 M1
180 – 60 = 120° A1
3 (a) 3–7 1 AO1 A1
−1 − −4 ( -43 )
3 (b) (3 + 7)/2 = 5 (5, −2.5) 2 AO2 M1 valid method used
(−1 + −4)/2 = −2.5 A1
3 (c) 42 + 32 = 25 5 3 AO3 M1 using
√25 = 5 Pythagoras
A1 25
A1 5
4 (x + 8)(x – 2) = 0 x = −8 or x 4 AO1 A1 (x + ) (x − ) = 0
=2 A1 ±2 and ±8
A1 (x + 8) (x − 2) = 0
A1 x = −8 or x = 2

351 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
5 Angles in a triangle add up to 180° Largest 5 AO3 M1 attempt to add
angle 110° expressions
4x + 30 + x − 10 + 2x + 20 =180 M1 set total to 180°
7x + 40 = 180 M1 attempt to solve
7x = 140 equation
x = 20 A1 x =20°
Angles are 10°, 110° and 60° A1 110°

6 . . 3 AO2
x = 0. 36
. .

100 x = 36. 36
99 x = 0.36
36
x=
99
36 4
=
99 11

7 (a) 54, 70 2 AO1

7 (b) n2 + 3n 3 AO2 M1 attempt to find
2nd difference
M1 comparison to n²
A1
8 A y = x2 3 A01 A3 (−1 for every
B xy = 4 mistake or ­omission,
C y = cos(x) max −3))
D y = sin(x)
E y = x3
F x2 + y2 = 25
9. 28.10 × 30 = 843 £33 3 AO3 A1 843
22.50 × 14 = 315 A1 528
843 − 315 = 528 A1 33
528/16 = 33

352 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 6 – HIGHER

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 (a) s6 1 AO1

1 (b) 15a 2 b 3 2 AO1 A1 15a2

A1 b3
1 (c) 3s 2 AO1 A1 3
A1 s
1 (d) 16x12 2 AO1 A1 16
A1 x12
2 Angle BAD = 56° 124° 3 AO2 M1 Angle at the centre is
Angle at the centre is double the angle at the
double the angle at the circumference
circumference M1 Opposite angles in a
Angle BCD = 180° − 56° cyclic quadrilateral (ABCD)
= 124° sum to 180°
Opposite angles in a A1 124°
cyclic quadrilateral
(ABCD) sum to 180°
3 1 m=100 cm 1 700 000 cm3 2 AO1 A1 1 000 000
1 m3=1 000 000 cm3 A1 1 700 000
4 (a) 8 + 10 + 18 + quarter 48.6 cm 4 AO2 M1 identifies quarter circle
circle M1 π × d ÷ 4
Quarter circle A1 AWRT 12.6
radius = 8 A1 AWRT 48.6
C=πd
C=π × 16
Quarter so ÷ 4
(π × 16) ÷ 4 = 12.566
706
8 + 10 + 18 + (π × 16) ÷ 4
= 48.566 370 6
4 (b) 8 × 10 + quarter circle 130.3 cm2 4 AO2 M1 identifies quarter circle
Quarter circle M1 π × r2 ÷ 4
radius = 8 A1 AWRT 50.3
A=πr2 A1 AWRT 130.3
A=π × 64
Quarter so ÷4
π × 64 ÷ 4 = 50.265 48
8 × 10 + π × 64 ÷ 4 =
130.265 48
5 (a) 3 < 4x – 9 ≤ 23 3< x ≤ 8 2 AO1 M1 collect constants
12 < 4x ≤ 32 A1
3< x ≤ 8
5 (b) 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 2 AO1 A2 –1 for each mistake

353 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
5 (c) 5 AO2 A1 line x = –2 shown dotted
A1 line x = 4 shown solid
125° A1 line y = 0 shown solid
A1 line x + y=6 shown solid
x A1 trapezium identified

6 (a) 196 200/109 × 100 £180 000 2 AO3 M1 ÷ 109 or 1.09

A1
6 (b) 5720/88 × 100 £6500 3 AO3 M1 88 or 0.88
M1 ÷ 88 or 0.88
A1
7 1500 g = £16 Better deal to buy in France. 6 AO3 M1 scaled up weights
800 g = €10.50 In UK £1.067 for 100 g, which A1 scaled up correctly
in Euros is €1.34, i.e. €10.72 M1 converted one cost into
100 g = £1.066 666 6 for 800g other currency
100 g = €1.312 5 A1 converted correctly
A1 chose France
£1.066 666 × 1.26 = A1 reason explained
€1.344

354 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 7 – HIGHER

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 3.75 × 4 = 15 90p 5 AO3 A1 £15 spent
Drink four so 20 left M1 20% of cost spent
20% of £15 = £3 A1 15 + 3 = £18
15 + 3 = 18 M1 wanted income ÷ 20
18/20 = 0.9 A1 90p
2 (a) 0 1 AO1 A1
2 (b) 7/9 1 AO1 A1 oe
2 (c) 6
red 3 AO2 M1 correct number of branches
9
A1 probabilities on branches
7 red A1 colours at ends of
10 3 branches
blue
9

7
red
3 9
10 blue

2 blue
9

2 (d) 7 3 21 7 3 AO2
x =
Red and then blue 10 9 90 15
Blue and then red
3 7 21
x =
10 9 90
Total
21 21 42
+ =
90 90 90
7
=
15

3 a = bc 2 + f 3 AO1 M1 a - f = bc
2
a -f
=c
a - f = bc 2 b a -f
a -f M1 = c2
= c2 b
b
a -f a -f
=c A1 =c
b b

4 (a) ½(4 × 3) × 7 42 cm3 3 AO2 M1 ½ (4 × 3)

A1 42
A1 cm3

355 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
4 (b) Hypotenuse of ­triangular cross 96 cm2 4 AO2 M1 breaking shape up into faces
­section M1 using Pythagoras’ ­theorem to
find missing edge
32 + 4 2 = 5 A1 two correctly calculated faces
A1 96 cm2
½(4 × 3) × 2 = 12
5 × 7 = 35
4 × 7 = 28
3 × 7 = 21
Total = 96
4 (c) 1 cm2 = 100 mm2 9600 mm2 1 AO2 A1
96 × 100
5 (a) 2 +-3 1 AO1 A1
( -1 + 2 ) (1)
-1

5 (b) 1 AO1 A1
( 33xx-23 ) ( -96 )
5 (c) 1 AO1 A1
( 2x2 --1 )
2x - 3 - 2
(5)
-8

5 (d) 2k 1 AO2 For any value of k

( )
-k

6 3x − 2y = 1 (×3) x=3 4 AO2 M1 multiply through to get same

4x − 3y = 0 (×2) y=4 x or y
coefficient
9x − 6y = 3 (1) M1 subtract equations
8x − 6y = 0 (2) A1 x = 3 or y = 4
A1 second unknown
(1) − (2)
x=3

Sub into 3x − 2y = 1

9 − 2y = 1
2y = 8
y=4
7 (a) 90 km/h 1 AO1
7 (b) 0 to 60 in 15 minutes 240 km/h 2
3 AO2 M1 identifies 60 km in 0.25 hour
Acceleration is change in speed M1 60 ÷ 0.25
÷ time A1 240
60 ÷ 0.25 = 240 km/h2
7 (c) Area under graph 40 km 4 AO3 M1 area under graph
Trapezium, width 30 minutes = M1 ½ h(a + b)
0.5 hour A1 ½ × 0.5 (90 + 70)
½ × 0.5 (90 + 70) A1 40
= 40 km

356 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 REVISION QUIZ 8 – HIGHER

Mark Scheme

Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes

1 (a) x2 + 3x − 4x − 12 x2 − x − 12 2 AO1 A1 x2 + 3x − 4x − 12
A1 simplified
1 (b) (x − 6)(x − 2) 2 AO1 A1 ±6 and ±2
A1 (x − 6)(x − 2)
1 (c) 18 x 3 y -2 3x 2 y 2 2 AO1 A1 3
48 xy -4 A1 x2y2
= 3x 2 y 2

2 41.1 4 AO2 M1 mid points

MP ×
h Fre MP M1 mid points x frequencies
Fre
A1 2920
0 ≤ h < 10 8 5 40 A1 41.1
10 ≤ h < 30 9 20 180
30 ≤ h < 40 24 35 840
40 ≤ h < 60 18 50 900
60 ≤ h < 100 12 80 960
Sum = 2920
2920÷71 = 41.1
3 120 × 1.0353 £133.05 3 AO2 M1 × 1.035
M1 × 1.035 × 1.035 × 1.035
or × 1.0353 give for incorrect
percentage
A1
4 b2 = a2 +c2− 2ac cos(B) 40° 6 AO2 M1 cosine rule
a = 12 A1 substituted values
b=8 correctly
c=7 A1 193 and 168
64 = 144 + 49 – 2 × 12 × M1 rearranged to make
7cos(B) cos(B) subject
64=193 – 168cos(B) M1 cos-1(129/168)
cos(B)=129/168 For pupils values
B = cos-1(129/168) A1 AWRT 40°
= 39.838 149 8
5 a = 22.35 ≤ a < 2.45 Max = 39.473 684 21 5 AO2 A1 shows range of values
Min = 35.567 010 3 for at least one of the
b = 2.35 ≤ a < 2.45 variable
M2 correctly chosen large/
c = 115 ≤ c < 125 small values chosen for
Max = 3 × 125/(11.95 − max and min
2.45)= 39.47368421 A1 39.473 684 21
Min = 3 × 115/(12.05 − 2.35) A1 35.567 010 3
= 35.5670103
6 43.5 − 35 = 8.5 24% 3 AO1 M1 difference in prices
8.5/35 = 0.242 857 M1 ÷ old price
A1 24%

357 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

 Question Working Answer Marks AO Notes
7 6 5 AO2 A1 6
7 -1 6.833 333 3 M1 attempt to use 6 as next
x
x 6.853 659 value of x
6.854 093 A1 6.833 33
1 6 A1 6.854 093
6 6.833333 Suggest 6.85 A1 6.85
6.833333 6.853659
6.853659 6.854093

8 x2 + y2 =100 19.8 units 8 AO3 M1 sub in x + 1

y=x+2 A1 x2 + x2 + 4x + 4 = 100
x2 + (x + 2) 2 = 100 M1 make one side of quad.
x2 + x2 + 4x + 4 = 100 =0
2x2 + 4x − 96 = 0 A1 factorise
x2 + 2x − 48 = 0 A1 solve
(x + 8)(x − 6) = 0 A1 find coordinates
x = −8 or x = 6 M1 use of Pythagoras
(−8, −6) and (6, 8) A1 AWRT 19.8
Pythagoras
142 +142
= 196 +196
= 392
= 19.79898987

358 © Cambridge University Press, 2015

Required formulae – Foundation

Circumference of a circle 2πr or πd

Area of a circle πr2
Pythagoras’ theorem a2 + b2 = c2

opp
sin θ=
hyp
Trigonometry adj
cos θ=
hyp
opp
tan θ=
adj

Required formulae – Foundation ©Cambridge

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UniversityPress,
Press 2015
Required formulae – Higher

Circumference of a circle 2πr or πd

Area of a circle πr2
Pythagoras’ theorem a2 + b2 = c2

opp
sin θ=
hyp
Trigonometry adj
cos θ=
hyp
opp
tan θ=
adj

2
-b ± b - 4ac
Quadratic formula x=
2a

a b c
Sine rule = =
sin A sin B sin C

Cosine rule a2 = b2 + c2 – 2bc cos A

1
Area of a triangle ab sinC
2

Required formulae – Higher © Cambridge

© Cambridge University
University Press,
Press 2015
2015
 a

1 b

2 3 c

4e

Clues
Across Down
1 The times tables are examples of these. a n × n × n is the __ of n.
2 Whole numbers divisible by 2. b Numbers with only two factors.
3 Another word for factor. c Whole numbers that are not exactly divisible
4 Numbers in the sequence 1, 4, 9, 16, … by 2.
5 An even prime number. d Number that divides into another with no
6 The result of a multiplication. remainder.
e HCF of 12 and 18.

Crossword puzzle © Cambridge University Press, 2015

Crossword puzzle © Cambridge University Press, 2015
 Polygon
Polygon diagrams
diagrams © Cambridge University
© Cambridge Press,
University 2015
Press, 2015
 Angle facts

• Angles round a point add up to 360°.

• Angles on a straight line add up to 180°.
• Vertically opposite angles are equal.
• Corresponding angles are equal.
• Alternate angles are equal.
• Co-interior angles add up to 180°.
• Angles in a triangle add up to 180°.
• All angles in an equilateral triangle are 60°.
• The base angles in an isosceles triangle are equal.
• The exterior angle of a triangle is equal to the sum of the two opposite interior angles.
• Interior angles in a polygon equal (n - 2) × 180° where n is the number of sides.
360
• Exterior angles of any polygon add up to 360°. For a regular polygon, the size of one exterior angle = where n is
n
the number of sides.

Anglefacts
Angle facts ©©Cambridge
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Press2015
2015
 1 cm squared paper
1 cm squared paper
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 2 mm graph paper
2 mm graph paper
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© Cambridge University Press, 2015
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–10 –9 –8 –7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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y
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x
–10 –9 –8 –7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
–1
–2
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–10

Axis grids from –10 to 10 in x and –10 to 10 in y © Cambridge University Press, 2015
Axis grids from –10 to 10 in x and –10 to 10 in y © Cambridge University Press, 2015
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Square dotted
dotted paperpaper © Cambridge University
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University Press,2015
2015
 Isometric grid paper © Cambridge University Press, 2015
Isometric grid paper © Cambridge University Press, 2015
Isometric dotted paper © Cambridge University Press, 2015
Isometric dotted paper © Cambridge University Press, 2015
 Cube

Rectangular prism

Triangular prism

Nets ofcommon
Nets of common 3-D
3-D solids
solids (1) (1) © Cambridge University
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University 20152015
 Cylinder

Cone

Sphere

Nets
Nets of common
of common 3-D solids
3-D solids (2) (2) © Cambridge University
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University 2015
Press, 2015
 C

Foundation Exercise 31A question 1 diagram © Cambridge University Press, 2015

Foundation Exercise 31A question 1 diagram © Cambridge University Press, 2015
Circle outlines © Cambridge University Press, 2015

Circle outlines © Cambridge University Press, 2015