2013 PSLE Discussions and Strategy
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JohnYeo:
Thank you John for sharing the tips.Dear parents and friends,
This thread has been quiet these few days and most probably parents are busy...
These 2 weeks are the crucial weeks...whatever the case, just encourage your child to do his/ her best...improving is a process...so as long as you feel you child has improved, be positive and encourage your child to move on...and never ever once think of giving up on your child...not even thinking about it because your child can feel it and he/she can read your body language and how you respond (non-verbally)...so believe in your child...
here are some suggestions or last minute tips:
1. focus on mistakes - yes, lots of revision have been done and yes, your child has done many questions right...so now, before s/he goes to battle...focus and revise on the wrong answers...the learning process is \"learn-> apply -> feedback\"
once you are sure your child has learnt the concept, redo the same questions and about 5 more various questions testing on the same concept...you can just change the numbers...
2. minimise the careless mistakes - which include writing the wrong units, writing the wrong numbers or copying the right answer but writing it wrongly...so while doing #1, do look out for the careless mistakes at the same time and you may want to write these down on a sheet and paste on wall where your child sees everyday...
Carless mistakes - removing them or not making them can make a difference between a grade or two...so yes, not making them is a very important step too (beside being able to smoothly complete many questions testing on various concepts...
3. relook at some questions from recent worksheets - you never know what they meant or why they are given out....there may be some similarity...so if anything not sure or corrections not done, get them done and make sure your child can do them eventually without any guidance...
This is one of the last lap...as I have always told my parents, if we don't hold our children's hands all the way, then who will...so never let go and good luck!
John -
JohnYeo:
2 rates and 3 rates (e.g A can finish the job within x hours, B can finish the job within y hours, and so on). I found some from assessment books but I thought of finding more questions to practice.
Jia You! Which topic? See if we can help...ngl2010:
Hi John,
Yes, we are very busy. We haven't done any revision yet. Tonight we will do the planning
Yesterday DS already pointed out Maths topics that he is weak at. I need to scan the PSLE Maths thread to find more relevant problem sums to strengthen his weak areas. With hundreds of pages to scan, it is no small feat
John
Thanks for the offer but so paiseh to trouble you. We can manage ourselves
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HAPPYH:
You are welcome, HAPPYH
Thank you John for sharing the tips.JohnYeo:
Dear parents and friends,
This thread has been quiet these few days and most probably parents are busy...
These 2 weeks are the crucial weeks...whatever the case, just encourage your child to do his/ her best...improving is a process...so as long as you feel you child has improved, be positive and encourage your child to move on...and never ever once think of giving up on your child...not even thinking about it because your child can feel it and he/she can read your body language and how you respond (non-verbally)...so believe in your child...
here are some suggestions or last minute tips:
1. focus on mistakes - yes, lots of revision have been done and yes, your child has done many questions right...so now, before s/he goes to battle...focus and revise on the wrong answers...the learning process is \"learn-> apply -> feedback\"
once you are sure your child has learnt the concept, redo the same questions and about 5 more various questions testing on the same concept...you can just change the numbers...
2. minimise the careless mistakes - which include writing the wrong units, writing the wrong numbers or copying the right answer but writing it wrongly...so while doing #1, do look out for the careless mistakes at the same time and you may want to write these down on a sheet and paste on wall where your child sees everyday...
Carless mistakes - removing them or not making them can make a difference between a grade or two...so yes, not making them is a very important step too (beside being able to smoothly complete many questions testing on various concepts...
3. relook at some questions from recent worksheets - you never know what they meant or why they are given out....there may be some similarity...so if anything not sure or corrections not done, get them done and make sure your child can do them eventually without any guidance...
This is one of the last lap...as I have always told my parents, if we don't hold our children's hands all the way, then who will...so never let go and good luck!
John -
ngl2010:
2 rates and 3 rates (e.g A can finish the job within x hours, B can finish the job within y hours, and so on). I found some from assessment books but I thought of finding more questions to practice.
Jia You! Which topic? See if we can help...JohnYeo:
[quote=\"ngl2010\"]Hi John,
Yes, we are very busy. We haven't done any revision yet. Tonight we will do the planning
Yesterday DS already pointed out Maths topics that he is weak at. I need to scan the PSLE Maths thread to find more relevant problem sums to strengthen his weak areas. With hundreds of pages to scan, it is no small feat
John
Thanks for the offer but so paiseh to trouble you. We can manage ourselves[/quote]No worries...just let me know again... 
All the best to your DS too for this SA1...another milestone reached... :rahrah: -
Great advice!
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Hiholow:
Great advice!
Thanks
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Hi, I’m curious if there was a time when there’s no matter how you explain a math concept to a child and s/he couldn’t understand…and then you tried explaining using a way that is refined or new or creative or did something totally different and it worked wonderfully for both you and your DC and s/he understood it…
what are the different ways you did or tried? I hope this sharing of success stories can help other KSP who are struggling with their kids to have a breakthrough within these few months just before the PSLE… -
[Editor's note: Post selected for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/identifying-psle-math-rate-problems.]
ngl2010:
when one is starting on a topic, it is important to figure out the scope of the topic and the inferences specific to that topic.2 rates and 3 rates (e.g A can finish the job within x hours, B can finish the job within y hours, and so on). I found some from assessment books but I thought of finding more questions to practice.
Thanks for the offer but so paiseh to trouble you. We can manage ourselves
It is also helpful to link that topic to other similar topics. For example Rate problems are close cousins to Speed problems. Both employ time concepts. Though each have their own specific inferences.
Identifying the major categories of problem sum in any topic is critical for a detail understanding of that topic. It forms a boundary around that topic and helps the child to explore all areas within that topic and flush out weaknesses in any specific category.
The diagram below illustrates the 4 main categories for Rates.
![](\"http://i43.tinypic.com/346t1n5.png\")
http://i43.tinypic.com/346t1n5.png\">
Each major category introduces new concepts.
Within each major category, there are sub categories. The sub categories do not require the student to understand new concepts, but the relationships are presented in a new way, which might be confusing to the student initially
Pure Rates
Pure Rates are problems that involve Jobs.
Here is an example of Pure Rate problem.
J takes 6 hours to paint a house. If D helps him, they would take 4 hours. How long will D take to paint the house himself? Ans 12 hrs
In this category of problems, one has to understand that rates are additive (ie. Rates can be added together). But only if it is specifically mentioned that more than 1 person is working on a job at the same time. If it is not mentioned, then we cannot assume that the Rates are additive. In the above problem, since D helps J paint the house, then we can assume that there is a combined Rate concept. The combined Rate concept is simply the addition of 2 or more rate values. ie. Rate of J adds to the Rate of D will give the combine Rate.
In the below question, it is not stated that Desmond and Philip work on the renovation job together. We thus cannot assume that the rates here are additive.
Desmond takes 9 days to renovate 1 kitchen while Philip takes 21 days to renovate the same kitchen. If Philip starts renovating the kitchen first and leaves the rest to be completed by Desmond, they will take 13 days in total to complete renovating the kitchen. How many days does Desmond spend on the job? Ans: 6 days
Water Rates
Water rates are problems that involve water and taps. Below is an example of Water Rate problem.
At 9am, Mr Fernandez used 2 taps to fill up a tank. The first tap could fill the tank in 4 hours. The second tap could fill the tank in 3 hours. An hour after both taps were turned on, the second tap were faulty and stopped working. Mr Fernandez accidentally opened the 3rd tap which could drain a full tank completely in 2 hours. Instead of being filled, the tank was being emptied. How long did it take for the tank to be completely empty ? Ans: 2 hours 20 mins)
Water rate problems are characterized by additive rates and negative rates, something that is not found in Pure Rate problems. When 2 taps are turned on, you add up the rates of the 2 taps to get the combine rate of both taps. Positive rate values are when the tap is filling the tank with water. Negative rate values are when the tap is draining water away. So if a tap is filling up the tank at a rate of 2 liters/min and another tap is draining water away at at rate of 1 liter/min, then the combine rate is (2 - 1) liter /min. If the draining tap has a rate of 3 liters/min, then the combine rate is (2 -3) = -1 liter/min, which means that on the whole, water is being drained away from the tank.
Higher order Water Rate problems will involve Clock time. ie. At 9am, Tap A is turned on, at 9.05am, Tap B which drains water away is turned, at 9.10am, Tap C is turned on and Tap A is turned off. It can get pretty complex with the introduction of clock time. One way to visualize the complex logic is to draw a timeline, to understand at which duration, what taps are turned on or off. Typically for time concepts, timeline diagrams are drawn, as in Speed problems. In problem sums involving time, the time duration is required. Clock time is basically an indirect way of telling us the time duration.
Volume Rates
volume rates requires the student to understand how volume (length x breadth x height) interacts with Rates. On top of Rate concepts, students has to understand Volume concepts. A common problem in Volume Rates involves finding the height of the water in the tank. Typical approach to this is to convert the rate of water flow to rate of height increase/decrease. However, the conversion step is not necessary if the student does not mind working with larger numbers.
Tap X flows at a rate of 2100 ml/min while Tap Y flows at a rate of 2500ml/min. Both taps were turned on at the same time to fill a tank with dimensions 50 cm x 40 cm x 30 cm. After 5 minutes, the plug at the bottom of the tank is removed, with the two taps still running. If the water is drained at a rate of 600 ml/min, what is the water level 2 minutes after the plug is removed? Ans: 15.5cm
The concept of clock time, additive rates and negative rates are also introduced here as well.
The figure below shows 2 rectangular tanks, X and Y. Tank X contained 5184 liters of water and Tank Y contained 1755 liters of water.
![](\"http://i40.tinypic.com/2ytyb2q.png\")
Tap A and Tap B were turned on at 8.00 am. Water flowed out of Tap A at 34 liters/min and out of Tap B at 7 liters/min. When both tanks had the same volume of water, both taps were turned off.
(a) At what time were the taps turned off? Ans: 10:07am
(b) What was the volume of water in each tank when the taps were turned off? Ans: 866 liters
Candle Rates
You don't normally see Candle Rates problems around in assessment books. It is the least common type of Rate problems. Students should first work on Speed problems and be familiar with Common Time and Common Distance before working on Candle problems. The concepts learned in Speed can be reused here.
Two candles of the same height are lit at the same time. The first candle takes 5h to burn completely. The second candle takes 4h to burn completely. If each candle burns at a constant rate, how long does it take, in hours, for the height of the first candle to be four times that of the second candle? Ans: 3 hours 45 mins -
within Pure Rate Problems there are 4 sub categories:
a) Individual Rates:
Individual rate problems are characterized by having no Combine Rate concepts. One cannot add the rates together simply because the problem sum did not state that individuals are working together.
When Caleb spent 2 days and Ethan spent 3 days assembling computers, they produced 42 sets of PCs. When Caleb spent 4 days and Ethan spent 2 days assembling computers, they produced 44 sets of PCs. How long will each boy require to assemble 30 sets of computers? Ans: Ethan: 3 days, Caleb: 5 days
b) Whole Combinations
Whole combinations are characterized by problem sums where the individuals work together to finish off an entire job. It is common that the individuals will work alone for a period of time, and then work together for another period of time to finish the entire job. Combine Rate concept is involved when individuals work together.
Ahmad and Halim together took 5 days to paint their house. If Ahmad and Halim work together for 2 days, followed by Ahmad working alone for 8 days, Halim will take 1 more day to complete the remaining work. How long will Ahmad take to paint the house all by himself? Ans: 17.5 days
c) Partial Combinations
Partial combinations are characterized by problem sums where the individuals finishes off part of the job, i.e only a partial completion of the job is done.
In the example below, Allan and Bob only finishes 5/12 of the job.
If Allan and Bob work together, they can complete a job in 12 days. If they work together for 3 days, followed by Bob who worked alone for the next 5 days, they can finish 5/12 of the job. How many days will each of them need to complete the job if they were to work alone? Ans: Bob: 30 days, Alan: 20 days
d) Multi Combinations
Multi combination problem sums involves multiple equations.
The rate concepts introduced here are basic concepts, but the difficulty is in resolving the multiple equations to find the value of a specific variable.
John and Rauf take 4 days to build a model train. Rauf and Sean take 6 days to build the same train while John and Sean take only 3 days. How long would the three of them take to build the same model train? Ans: 2 2/3 days
Abel and Ben can build a model aircraft together in 4 days. Ben and Calvin can do the same job together in 1 1/2 times as many days. Abel and Calvin can complete the same job together in twice the number of days Ben and Calvin can do together. If the three boys decide to work together, how long will they take to complete their job? (Answer: 4 Days) -
Hi Cimman, thank you so much for the explanation. I was looking for Pure Rates problem sums. My son's school will only teach Water Rates and Volume Rates in Term 3.
At first I thought Pure Rates problem sums are simple. After I found some questions in the Q&A PSLE Maths thread, I was like :stupid: . I don't know how to solve those questions :oops: . Luckily got answers . I have not finished learning how to solve those so tomorrow is another study day for me
Once again, thank you for the explanation.
:thankyou: :thankyou: :thankyou:
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