11+ Us Word Problems

🍑Word Problems🍑

Word problems can be tricky or need a bit of polishing, and this article will help you find some good sites to visit, get some top tips and learn how to solve word problems more efficiently.

A lot of Maths questions in the 11+ will be word problems, so it’s best to practice them in advance so that you know what you’re up against. Word problems can test pretty much any mathematical concept you know, from ratio and logical reasoning to simple addition and subtraction. Word problems are designed to be tricky so it’s best if you practice them until you’re comfortable.

Traps:

There is usually at least one trap in the word problem you’re doing, so check carefully and Read The Question! If a question has weird or complicated wording that doesn’t make immediate sense, think it over in your head and try to take it apart to figure out what it means. When doing a word problem, check your calculations after you’ve done the question just to make sure that you haven’t fallen into any traps! Traps are also when a question gives you information, and you immediately solve the question’s most obvious unknown, but that wasn’t what the question was asking, so pay attention to what you are reading!

Here is an example of a question which has a trap:

Mary has 20 cookies. She gives some to her brother, then eats ¼ of the remaining cookies. She has 12 remaining. What fraction of the original amount of cookies did she give to her brother?

Our aim is to figure out how many cookies Mary gives to her brother, and we do that by figuring out the ¼ so that we can add it to 12 to get the amount of cookies Mary had after giving some cookies to her brother.

We solve this question by first establishing that there are 4 quarters in a whole. We know that ¼ of those 4 quarters has been eaten by Mary, and we know that the whole (4 quarters) is the amount Mary had after giving her brother cookies, so the 12 cookies left behind must be the ¾ . To then find out ¼, we divide ¾ by three, which, for 12, is 4.

So we now know that ¼ is 4, then we could multiply by 4 to get the whole, 16. Then we take that away from 20 to get 4. So Mary gave 4 cookies to her brother. But the question doesn’t end there- there’s a trap.

The question says figure out what fraction of 20 is 4, not how many cookies the brother has! So if you put 4, READ THE QUESTION AGAIN! So then you do 4/20 and simplify it to become ⅕.

Tips for solving Word Problems:

🍉When you think that you have an answer, read the question again to just check that you haven’t fallen into any traps!

🍉Use a bar model

🍉Try to figure out exactly what the question is asking

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🍉If you are about to launch into a multi-calculation method for a 2 mark question, check to see if you can solve it in a more efficient way

🍉Look for patterns to solve a question quicker

🍉Once you get an answer, look at it again to double-check that it makes sense!

🍉Keep your wits about you- sometimes when you are under pressure you make silly mistakes!

🍉Use FDP’s (Fractions, Decimals and Percentages) they are your friends!

If your page looks like this for a 2 mark question, you’re missing something!

Good Websites to improve your Word Problems:

PiAcademy:

https://piacademy.co.uk/

PiAcademy is a great website for 11+. You can purchase papers and bundles, but also get free past papers and questions. This is an amazing site if you are planning to do past papers and practice your Word problems, and is very widely used amongst parents and teachers.

CGPBooks:

https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/info/

Cgpbooks is a good site for downloading free papers for any subject, such as Maths, English, Verbal reasoning and Non Verbal reasoning. However, all the papers are CGP or GL assessment format, good for if you are taking entrance exams for a school like Henrietta Barnett, which uses GL assessment to do its first round tests and also some of the second round tests.

NRICH Maths:

NRICH - Mathematics Resources for Teachers, Parents and Students to Enrich Learning

Nrich is a really fun and educational maths resource for parents and kids alike. Nrich regularly posts maths word problems or challenges for you to answer, and you can submit an answer to get published! Ranging from Early Years to Post 16, Nrich provides questions for all kids to challenge and prepare them.

All these websites will help you get one step ahead on you 11+ journey, and help you with whatever you are struggling on! Remember, this blog will always be here for you to learn, have fun and get excited about academics!

I hope that you learnt a lot from this article and read more on my blog- 11+ Us! Look out for my next post on exam pressure and bar models and keep practicing your word problems!