Q&A - PSLE Math

[tianzhu]

mathnoobs:

For the P6 version, I too was of the opinion that something was not quite right. To have a question that has multiple answers is unfair, especially under exam conditions. At the very least, they should have constrained the answer to a single value by giving some additional conditions.

Hi

If a question is crafted correctly, there should be only one correct answer.
If not, there is a possibility of multiple answers.

Ideally it should not happen, but realistically it is an inescapable fact of life that we are living in an imperfect world.

These are some examples of questions discussed in this forum which have multiple answers.

1) Dean,Ellen and Andy shared a box of sweets in the ratio of 3:4:5 and there was 4 left .They put the 4 sweets into a second box which contained 1/8 fewer sweets than the first box, and shared the sweets in the same ratio as before,and this time there were no remainder.
A)Find the total number of sweets they shared in the first round.
B)Find the total number of sweets each child received in both rounds of sharing.

2) Jenny bought some strawberries and wanted to put them into boxes. If she put 4 strawberries into each box, there will be 3 strawberries left. If she put 6 strawberries into each box, there will be 5 strawberries left.
(a) If the nos. of strawberries is btw 100 - 150, how many strawberries did Jenny buy?
(b) If Jenny decided to put all strawberries equally into 16 bags, what is the minimum nos. of bag she would need?

Best wishes

[tianzhu]

mathnoobs:

actually, I just realized that the student can write any numerical answer and it will still be right. Am I right to say this ?

Hi

No, not any numerical values.

Based on the question as in part (a) in the P6 thread, the answers can be any values satisfying this condition.

\"The difference in original prices between ABC and XYZ is 45\".

Best wishes

[mathnoobs]

tianzhu:

mathnoobs:

For the P6 version, I too was of the opinion that something was not quite right. To have a question that has multiple answers is unfair, especially under exam conditions. At the very least, they should have constrained the answer to a single value by giving some additional conditions.

Hi

If a question is crafted correctly, there should be only one correct answer.
If not, there is a possibility of multiple answers.

Ideally it should not happen, but realistically it is an inescapable fact of life that we are living in an imperfect world.

These are some examples of questions discussed in this forum which have multiple answers.

1) Dean,Ellen and Andy shared a box of sweets in the ratio of 3:4:5 and there was 4 left .They put the 4 sweets into a second box which contained 1/8 fewer sweets than the first box, and shared the sweets in the same ratio as before,and this time there were no remainder.
A)Find the total number of sweets they shared in the first round.
B)Find the total number of sweets each child received in both rounds of sharing.

2) Jenny bought some strawberries and wanted to put them into boxes. If she put 4 strawberries into each box, there will be 3 strawberries left. If she put 6 strawberries into each box, there will be 5 strawberries left.
(a) If the nos. of strawberries is btw 100 - 150, how many strawberries did Jenny buy?
(b) If Jenny decided to put all strawberries equally into 16 bags, what is the minimum nos. of bag she would need?

Best wishes

thanks for the questions. think I'll need some time to work on the 1st question. The 2nd question seems more reasonable, at least they put in conditions by saying the range (100 - 150) and in (b) it is the minimum number. With these conditions, there should be only 1 correct answer for both (a) and (b).

yes, I do understand what you're saying. Life is tough, it is unfair. The positive note to that is that it works both ways. ie. pupils who are not academically inclined can also succeed in life. Not everyone who succeeds have to score A* in the exams. Adam Khoo is a good example. Richard Branson is another.

[mathnoobs]

tianzhu:

mathnoobs:

actually, I just realized that the student can write any numerical answer and it will still be right. Am I right to say this ?

Hi

No, not any numerical values.

Based on the question as in part (a) in the P6 thread, the answers can be any values satisfying this condition.

\"The difference in original prices between ABC and XYZ is 45\".

Best wishes

yes, I agree. Since they're asking for the discounted price, then any number greater than 38.25 will be correct.

[Bookwrappers]

Can someone answer this question?


7 ____ 7 ____2 ___ 7 = 5

Fill in blanks with +, -, x or /.

[MathIzzzFun]

Bookwrappers:

Can someone answer this question?


7 ____ 7 ____2 ___ 7 = 5

Fill in blanks with +, -, x or /.

-, x, ÷

cheers

[Bookwrappers]

MathIzzzFun:

Bookwrappers:

Can someone answer this question?


7 ____ 7 ____2 ___ 7 = 5

Fill in blanks with +, -, x or /.

-, x, ÷

cheers

Thks thks. I waited for reply and thought nobody responding to me.

[lotto]

Bookwrappers:

MathIzzzFun:

[quote=\"Bookwrappers\"]Can someone answer this question?


7 ____ 7 ____2 ___ 7 = 5

Fill in blanks with +, -, x or /.

-, x, ÷

cheers

Thks thks. I waited for reply and thought nobody responding to me.[/quote]If u ask your question here, i don't think u can expect people to reply u that fast leh.
Btw will this type of question come out in the PSLE?

[Laura02]

MathIzzzFun:

Bookwrappers:

Can someone answer this question?


7 ____ 7 ____2 ___ 7 = 5

Fill in blanks with +, -, x or /.

-, x, ÷

cheers

If I give the answer as +, -, - will it also be marked as correct?

[dazzlego]

Laura02:

MathIzzzFun:

[quote=\"Bookwrappers\"]Can someone answer this question?


7 ____ 7 ____2 ___ 7 = 5

Fill in blanks with +, -, x or /.

-, x, ÷

cheers

If I give the answer as +, -, - will it also be marked as correct?[/quote]Yes, it is correct!
Unless the question states you can't use the same operation more than once