Mental Arithmetic Questions

1. What number is five cubed?

5³ = 5 x 5 x 5

= 25 x 5 = 125

KS3 MATHEMATICS 2. A circle has radius r.

What is the formula for the area of the circle?

10 4 10 Area = pi x radius x radius

= r² Learn this!

Level 6 Answers

3. Jenny and Mark share some money in the ratio two to three.
Day 1
Jenny’s share is one hundred and ten pounds.
How much is Mark’s share?

x5
Jenny : Mark
x 10 2 : 3
10 : 15
100 100 : 150
+10
110 : 165

4. The net of a triangular prism is made from triangles and

rectangles. How many of each shape are needed?

3 rectangles
2 triangles

5. Multiply minus six by minus two. 2x6 = 12

-2x6 = -12
12 2x-6 = -12
-2x-6 =
12
 Mental Arithmetic Questions
1. What is one third of three-quarters of one hundred?

¼ of100 = 100  4 =
25
¾ of 100 = 3 x 25 =
75
/3 of 75 = 75  3 =
1

KS3 MATHEMATICS 2. I’m thinking

25 of a number. I call it n. I square my number then add four.
Write an expression to show the result.

10 4 10
Start with n to represent your number.
Square it …n2
Level 6 Answers
Then add 4… n2 + 4

Day 2 3. Twenty-one out of thirty-six pupils said they watched Top of the Pops. What
angle would show this on a pie chart?

360  36 = 10 represents 1 person

21 x 10 = 210 so the angle is 210

4. There are seven red and three blue balls in a bag. I am going to take a ball
out of the bag at random. What is the probability that the ball will be blue?

Total number of balls = 7 + 3 = 10

Probability (blue ball) = 7 out of 10 = 7/10 = 0.7

5. Write a multiple of three that is bigger than one hundred.

Keep adding the digits of your number until you

have a one-digit number. If it is 3, 6 or 9 then
your number is a multiple of 3
 Angles
Area

The information in the box describes three different squares,

A, B and C. A square has She wants to draw this triangle. She needs to know angles
Area of square 4 equal side a, b and c.
lengths. a

The area of square A is 36 cm2

8 .1
= So, 36 ÷ 4 = 9 80º 40º Calculate angles a, b and c.
length x length b NOT
The side length of square B is 36 cm 6
TO
You need to 9 .2 SCALE a = ......... 100
work out the c
The perimeter of square C is 36 cm
side length in b = .......... 140°
C. Angles in triangle add up to 180°. (angle next to c is
180° - 80° - 40° = 60°. So c = 180° - 60° = 120°.) c = ........ . 120º
Put squares A, B and C in order of size, starting with
OR the

must show calculations to explain howThe exterior angle of triangle is equal to the sum of the
smallest. You you work Find an angle that
2 opposite interior angles. (c = 80° + 40° = 120°)
out your answer. is alternate (Z
angle) to d.
Alternate (Z)
A rhombus has 2 pairs of parallel angles are equal.
Show how you work out the area sides. Mark them on the diagram.
for square B and C.
Area A = 36cm2 …..given
Area B = 36 x 36 = 1296cm2 (b) Kay draws a rhombus: 10 d
Area C = 9 x 9 = 81cm2 50º
Calculate angles d and e. 10
NO T
d = ………. 50 º 10 e
TO
SC ALE

10
e = ……..... 130 º
....A...... ..C...... ...B.... d and e are interior angles.
smallest largest
Interior angles inside parallel
lines add up to 180°.
Angles on a straight line
add up to 180°

Kay is drawing shapes on her computer.

 Mental Arithmetic Questions
1. I am thinking of a number. I call it n.
I double my number then I subtract three. Write an
expression to show the result.

KS3 MATHEMATICS ‘Think of a number’ n

‘I double my number’ 2n
‘Then I subtract three’ 2n - 3
10 4 10 2.What percentage of fifty pounds is thirty-five pounds?
x2
Level 6 Answers 35 = ? 35 = 70 = 70%
Equivalent 50 100 50 100
Fractions
Day 3
x2

3.On average, the driest place on earth gets only

nought point five millimetres of rain every year. In total,
how much rain would it expect to get in twenty years?
20 x 0.5 = 10 10 mm

4. To the nearest whole number, what is the square root

of eighty-three point nine?
√100 = 10
√81 = 9
√83.9 is nearest to 9
The nearest square
5. It takes me one and a half minutes to swimtoone
number 83.9length
is 81 of
the pool. How many lengths can I swim in fifteen minutes
Length : Minutes
1 : 1.5
? : 15 x 10

no. of
lengths
= 1 x 10 =
10
 Equations Some points/coordinates on line A are (0,10);
Sheep and Lambs (4,10); (8,10) y coordinate stays the same.

On a farm 80 sheep gave birth. These straight line graphs all pass through the point (10,10)
ALTOGETHER
y

48 + 56 = 104 LAMBS
12
30% of the sheep gave birth to two lambs. A This question is about graphs
The rest of the sheep gave birth to just one lamb.
10
Y=mx+c This is the y
8 intercept, the
In total, how many lambs were born? point at which
the straight line
Show your working.
6
B
E GRADIENT meets the y axis
4
D
70% C
2

30% 1 Lamb
2 Lambs –4 –2
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 x 48 + points/coordinates
Some 56 = 104 LAMBS on line E are
10% of 80 sheep = 8 sheep –2
(10,1); (10,6)
(10,10) x coordinate stays the same
10% of 80 sheep = 8 sheep 70% of 80 sheep = 8 x 7 = 56
30% of 80 sheep = 8 x 3 = 24 so –4

so 56 sheep have 1 Lamb ALTOGETHER

a.) Fill in the gaps to show which line has which equation
24 sheep have 2 Lambs which 48 + 56 = 104 LAMBS
Line ………E…….. has equation x = 10
makes 48 Lambs altogether.
Some points/coordinates Line ………A…….. has equation y = 10
on line C are: (2,2); (10,10);
(-3,-3). Notice that the Line ………C…….. has equation y = x
first coordinate is the Line ………D……. has equation y = 3 x – 5
same as the last
ANSWER coordinate. This means
2
the x coordinate is the Line ………B…….. has equation y = 1 x + 5
same as the y coordinate x 2
ALTOGETHER = y; y = x
48 + 56 = 104 LAMBS

b.) Does the line that has the equation y = 2x – 5 pass

through the point (10,10)?
Explain how you know

Using the coordinate pair (10,10); x = 10 and y = 10.

In the equation y = 2x – 5 we can replace y with 10 and x with 10 to give
10 = (2 x 10) – 5 so the equation becomes 10 = 20 – 5
20 – 5 = 15 this is not equal to 10 so the equation does not pass
through the point (10, 10)
 Mental Arithmetic Questions
1. Tariq won one hundred pounds in a maths competition.
He gave two-fifths of his prize money to charity. How
much of his prize money, in pounds, did he have left?

Money left is 3 of the £100

KS3 MATHEMATICS 5
1 of 100 = 100 ÷ 5 = £20 so 3 of 100 = 3 x £20
5 5
10 4 10 = £60
2. What is three point nine divided by two?
Level 6 Answers
39 ÷ 2 = 19.5
so 3.9 ÷ 2 = 1.95
Day 4 3. The instructions for a fruit drink say to mix one part
blackcurrant juice with four parts water. I want to
make one litre of this fruit drink.
How much blackcurrant juice should I use? Give your
answer in millilitres.
Blackcurrant : Water : Fruit drink
1 : 4 : 5
? : : 1000
So amount of blackcurrant is 1 x 200 = 200 ml
4. What is half of two-thirds?
2 ÷ 2 = 1
3 3
5. The population of the United Kingdom is about fifty-
nine million.
Write this number in figures.

59 000 000
 Horses 167cm
(d) A teacher asks his class to investigate this statement:
The scatter diagram shows the heights and masses of some
horses. The scatter diagram also shows a line of best fit.
"The length of the back leg of a
horse is always less than the length
700 of the front leg of a horse."

625kg What might a scatter graph look like if the statement Points must lie:
600
is correct? Use the axes below to show your answer. Below the dotted
M ass line
(k g ) Similar slope
500 110

Scale goes
up in 25’s. 400
100
Read
Correctly.
300 L e n g th o f
140 150 160 170
H e ig h t (c m ) b a c k le g 9 0
(c m )
Scale goes up in 2’s. Read Any of these are allowed. Positive correlation
Correctly. with correct mathematical description.

80
(a) What does the scatter diagram show about the
relationship between the height and mass of horses?
Taller horses tend to be heavier OR smaller horses are lighter OR as one goes up so
does the other OR positive correlation
70

(b) The height of a horse is 163cm.

70 80 90 100 110
Use the line of best fit to estimate the mass of the
horse. L e n g th o f fr o n t le g (c m )
Any value between 580 and 585kg allowed.
e.g. (front leg, back leg)
(80, 70)
(c) A different horse has a mass of 625kg. (85, 75)
Use the line of best fit to estimate the height of the (90, 75)
(95, 85)
horse.
(105, 85)
 L-shape
What is the area of this L-shape?
Show your working.
You need to divide the shape into 2
rectangles.
This can be done in 2
4 cm 4 cm

ways. OR
4
A
6 cm A 6 cm
N o t d ra w n N o t d ra w n
a c c u r a te ly a c c u r a te ly
3

B
B 2 cm 2 cm
7 cm 7 cm

Mark the missing lengths

on each

Area A = 6 X 4
= 24 cm2 Area A = 4 X 4
Area B = 2 X 3 = 16 cm2
= 6cm2 Area B = 2 X 7
Total area = 24 + 6 = 14cm2
= 30cm2 Total area = 14 + 16
= 30cm2

...............30............. cm²
 Mental Arithmetic Questions

1. What is three-fifths of forty pounds?

One fifth (£40 ÷ 5) = £8
Three fifths (£8 x 3) = £24
KS3 MATHEMATICS
2. The longest bone in the human body is in the leg.
The average length of this bone in a man is fifty
10 4 10 centimetres. In a woman it is ten per cent less.
What is the average length of this bone in a
Level 6 Answers woman?
10% of 50cm (50 ÷ 10) = 5cm
Woman’s bone = 50cm – 5cm
Day 5 = 45cm
3. Using three as an approximation for pi, what is
the area of a circle with radius five centimetres?
Area = 3 x 5²
= 3 x 25 Learn this
Area = ∏r²
= 75 cm²

4. I am thinking of a two-digit number that is a

multiple of eight. The digits add up to six.
What number am I thinking of?
Multiples of 8: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40
Which digits in each multiple add up to 6?
Answer = 24

5. I am thinking of a number. I call it n. I add five to

my number.
Write an expression to show the result.
Answer: n + 5
 Fractions Both fractions must have the
Puzzle
6 6 same DENOMINATOR
(a) Add and You can often use algebra to show why a number puzzle works.
10 5 6 = 3
Fill in the missing expressions.
10 5
This
This is an example
becomes
with numbers.
3 + 6 9=1 4
5 5 5 5 E x a m p le : A lg e b r a :

5 T h in k o f a n u m b e r n
Now use an arrow () to show the result on the number line.
Take
Notice the line is scaled in fifths n + 4 the last
9 A dd 4
answer
n+4 and
0 1 2 n + 4 + n add n
N o w a d d th e n u m b e r y o u simplified to
14 w e r e f ir s t t h in k in g o f NOT 5
2n + 4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
(2n+4) ÷ 2 Take the
7 simplify to
D iv id e b y 2
n + 2 last answer
1
(b) How many sixths are there in 3 ? How many sixths are there in 1 2n+4 and
3 whole? divide
n + 2 - 2
or 6 sixths in 1 whole 5 S u b tra c t 2 simplify to everything
n
so 18 sixths in 3 whole. by 2

1 5 T h e a n s w e r is th e n u m b e r y o u w e r e f ir s t th in k in g o f
(c) Work out 3 
3 6 Previous answer is
n+2; now subtract
Show your working. 2 to give n+2-2.
Simplify to give
5 5 5 5 the answer n
6 6 6 6 NOT 5-
Remember 5 is
just an example

0 1 2 3 3⅓
Answer = 4
 Mental Arithmetic Questions

1. Five percent of a number is 8. What is the

KS3 MATHEMATICS number?
5% = 8
10% =16
10 4 10 100% = 160

2. A fair spinner has eight equal sections with a

Level 6 Answers
number on each section. Five of them are even
numbers. Three are odd numbers. What is the
Day 6 probability that I spin an even number?
5 even numbers on the spinner
Probability = ⅝

8 equal sections of numbers on spinner

3. I can make a three-digit number from the digits

two, three and four in six different ways. How
many of these three-digit numbers are even?
234 324 423
243 342 432 Even in bold

4. What is the volume of a cuboid measuring five

centimetres by six centimetres by seven
centimetres?
Volume = length x breadth x height
= 5cm x 6cm x 7cm
= 210 cm³

5. What is the remainder when you divide three

hundred by twenty-nine?

10 x 29 = 290 Therefore remainder is 10

(300 – 290)
 Formula: a
Area = (a+b) x h
2 c

Wheelchair Wedges h

b
Wyn and Jay are using their wheelchairs to measure distances.
You need to learn this formula
The circumference (C) is This door wedge is the shape of a prism.
the distance the wheel
moves in one revolution

NO T TO
2 .5 c m SC ALE
Formula:
2 .5 c m
C=πxd The shaded face
(π = 3.142) 3 .5 c m is called the
You need to learn this cross-section.
6 .0 c m
formula

(a) The shaded face of the door wedge is a trapezium.

(a) The large wheel on Wyn’s wheelchair has a diameter of 60cm.
Wyn pushes the wheel round exactly once.
Calculate the area of the shaded face.
Calculate how far Wyn has moved. Show your working.
C=πxd Show your working.

= 3.142 x 60
(2.5 + 6.0) x 2.5
= 188.52 2
= 8.5 x 2.5
...................188.52 ............ cm 2
= 4.25 x 2.5 = 10.625 10.625.................. cm²

(b) Calculate the volume of the door wedge.

(b) The large wheel on Jay’s wheelchair has a diameter of
52cm. Jay moves her wheelchair forward 950cm.
Show your working. Formula:
You need to work out Volume = area of Cross-section x depth
C = π x d = 3.142 x 52 = 163.28 10.625 x 3.5 = 37.1875
the circumference You need to learn this formula
first.
Calculate how many times the large wheel goes round.
Show your working.
Find how many times the
circumference fits into
37.1875 or 37 or 37.2 or 37.19cm³
Any would be
950 ÷ 163.28 = 5.8182264 the distance forward.

acceptable
or. 5.8 or 5.82 or 6............. times Any would be
acceptable
 Mental Arithmetic Questions

1. Twenty-five per cent of a number is seven.

What is the number?
25% = 7
50% = 14
KS3 MATHEMATICS Therefore 100% = 28

10 4 10 2. There are fourteen girls and thirteen boys in a class.

What is the probability that a pupil chosen at random
Level 6 Answers will be a girl?
Total number of girls
Probability = 14

Day 7 27

Total number of boys and girls

3. The first even number is two.

What is the hundredth even number?
Answer 200

4. The mean of two numbers is 8. One of the numbers is

two. What is the other number?
Mean = 8, Total of 2 numbers is 16 because 16 ÷ 2 = 8
If one of the numbers is 2 then the other number must be
14 (16 – 2)

5. How many edges are there on a square based

pyramid?
Base has 4 edges (square) it also has 4 vertices which each
in turn join to form the peak of the pyramid (another 4
edges. Total number of edges is 8.
 R e d u c tio n in o p e n in g h o u r s

Number Cards 7 5 0

7 0 0

6 5 0
James has these four number cards: N u m b e r o f lib r a r ie s
o p e n fo r m o re th a n 6 0 0
4 5 h o u rs a w e e k
5 5 0 Mental Arithmetic Questions
5 0 0
The mean is 4 4 5 0

1 8 5 2 (1 + 8 + 5 + 2) ÷ 4
1.
1 9 8 8
Multiply
1 9 9 0
8.7Y eby
1 9 9 2
a r 2
1 9 9 4 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 8

16 ÷ 4 = 4
Data on libraries from LISU (Library and Information Statistics Unit)
8.7 x 2 = 17.4
(1 + 8 + 5 Use the diagram to decide whether each statement below is true or
+ 2 + ?) ÷ 5 = 4
false, or whether you cannot be certain.
1 8 5 2 ? Bracket must = 20
16 + ? = 20 2. A bat flies at an average speed of 32 kilometres an
James takes another card. The mean of the five cards is still 4. What ?=4 (a) hour.open
The number of libraries At this speed,
for more how
than 45far willper
hours it fly in 15 minutes?
number is on his new card? 4 week fell by more than half from 1988 to 1998. Explain
your answer. ¼ of 32 = 32  4
(b)Tara has these four number cards: You have to work 32  4 = 8 km
out the mean of the
four cards first. True √ False Cannot be certain
3. Multiply the brackets (2x + 1) (x – 1)
Mean = (10 + 3 + 2 + 5) ÷ 4
10 3 2 5 = 20 ÷ 4 (2x + 1) (x – 1)
You only get the
She takes another card. The mean
new card?
= 5 by 2. What number
goes up is on her = 2x –x–1 2 1 mark
mark for the
explanation. Make
sure the scale is read
1988 about 725. ½ of this is about 362. correctly.
1998 is 500 which is more than 362.
Or it only dropped from 725 to 500, it should have dropped to
(10 + 3 + 2 + 5 + ?) ÷ 5 = 7 about
(b) 360.In 2004 there will be about 450 libraries open in England
total must be 35
10 3 2 5 ? 20 + ? =35 and Wales for more than 45 hours a week.
Show your working. ................................ ? = 15
4. I’m thinking of a number. I call it t. I half it and
15 (c) Ali has six cards. The mean of the six cards is 10. The range of True subtract
False five. Write
√ an expression
Cannot be certainto show the result.
the six cards is 4.
t  2 – 5 or t -5
What are the numbers on the other two cards? RANGE is the highest Explain your answer. 2
subtract the lowest.
You need 2
numbers with You only need 1 reason for
a difference
(10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + ?+ ?) ÷ 6 = 10 5. The first odd number
You cannot predict because:
the mark. is 1. Whatyou
Remember is the hundredth odd
of 4 and a
total of 20 10 10 10 10 ? ? total must be 35 Data for 2004 is not given number? cannot assume anything
(40 + ? + ?) = 60 unless it is given on a
The trend might change
Libraries ? + ? = 20 There is not enough information given 199 graph.
As the range is 4, these numbers
A newspaper wrote an article about public cannot be
libraries in the same
England
and Wales. It published this diagram.
 Think about doubling

KS3 MATHEMATICS

Remember 15 mins is ¼
10 4 10 of an hour

Level 6 Answers

(2x + 1)(x - 1)
Day 8
OR use a 2x2 - 2x + x - 1
multiplication
grid
= 2x2 – x – 1

2 x 100 – 1 = 199

12 and 8
Equations Sibling ages

Solve these equations. 16 – 1 = 15, so 8k must equal 16 Paul is 14 years old.

Show your working. His sister is exactly 6 years younger, so this year she is 8 years
8 x 2 = 16, so k must equal 2 old.
8k - 1 = 15
This year, the ratio of Paul’s age to his sister’s age is 14 : 8
OR use matched
number line 14 : 8 written as simply as possible is 7 : 4

k = ......2 (a) When Paul is 21, what will be the ratio of Paul’s age to his
sister’s age?
2m + 5 = 10 5 + 5 = 10, so 2m must equal 5. Ratio
Write the ratio as simply as possible. Paul : Sister
21-6 = 15 so 21 (÷ 3): 15 (÷ 3)
2 x 2 ½ is 5, so m must equal 2 ½ simplifies to
Paul’s sister is 15
years old 7 : 5

(b) When his sister is 36, what will be the ratio of Paul’s age to his
m = .......2 ½ . sister’s age?
Write the ratio as simply as possible. Paul : Sister
3t + 4 = t + 13 Partition 3t + 4 to make 2t + t + 4 ? : 36
Paul’s age is 6 more than his
This gives 2t+t+4 = t + 13
sister, so his age must be 42.
Remove t from both sides thus keeping 42 (÷6) : 36 (÷6)
the equation balanced. 7 : 6
2t + 4 = 13
9 + 4 = 13, so 2t = 9 (c) Could the ratio of their ages ever be 7 : 7?
t=4½ Tick ( ) Yes or No.

Yes No 
t = .......4 ½
METHOD 1
2(3n + 7) = 8 2x4=8. This means that 3n+7 is METHOD 2 Explain how you know.
equal to 4 and can be written Multiply everything in the
like this 3n+7=4 bracket by 2. This gives
-3+n=4 which means that 3n=-3 2x3n+2x7 = 8
i.e. 3xn=-3  6n+14 = 8 7:7 implies that the ages will be the
n= -1 Subtract 14 from both sides to
give 6n+14-14 = 8-14
same at some point in their life. This is
 6n+-6, 6xn=-6 so n = -1 NOT true.
They will never be the same age as Paul
is always six years older.

n = ........- 1
 Mental Arithmetic Questions

1. Add four to minus five.

Think of a number
-5+4= -1 line

2. What number should you add to minus three to

get the answer five?
KS3 MATHEMATICS
Think of a number line again

8=5
10 4 10 -3 + +3 +5

-3 0 5

3. How many nought point fives are there in ten?

Level 6 Answers
10  0.5 = 20 Remember 0.5 = ½
20 x ½ = 10
Day 9 4. On average, the driest place on earth gets
only nought point five millimetres of rain every
year.
In total, how much rain would it expect to get
in twenty years?

0.5 x 20 = 10 mm

5. What is the sum of the angles in a rhombus?

360

A rhombus is a
quadrilateral.
All quadrilaterals have an
angle sum of 360
 Glasses
Find the fraction The state of the company’s machines can be:
for ‘wear glasses’.
There are 60 pupils in a school. Total angles = available for use and being used
6 of these pupils wear glasses. 360°
Calculate the or Mental
available for use but Arithmetic
not needed Questions
angle.
(a) The pie chart is not drawn accurately.
W ear or
broken
1. It down.
takes someone one and a half minutes to swim the
6 out of 60 = 6/60
g la s s e s
= 1/10 length of the pool. How many lengths can I swim in 15
(a) The table shows the probabilities of the state of the
minutes?
machines in July 1994.

Do not
w e a r g la s s e s Write in the missing probability.
1 – (0.09 + 0.03)
2. Multiply minus eight by minus three.
S t a t e o f m a c h i n e s : J u ly 1 9 9 4 P r o b a b ility = 1 – 0.12
What should the angles be?
= 0.88
Show your working. 24
A v a i l a b l e f o r u s e , b e i n g u s e d -8 x -3 = 0.88
Angle for glasses is 1 of 360 = 36°
10 …… 36°… and ……324°… A v a ila b le fo r u s e , n o t n e e d e d 0 .0 9 Can be available and being
used OR available and not
Angle for no glasses is 360 – 36 = 324 B ro k e n d o w n 3. If 4x + 0 3. 0 3= 23, what is the value of x?
needed.

(b) Exactly half of the 60 pupils in the school are boys. (b) During another month the probability of a machine being
available for use was 0.92.
From this information, what percentage of boys in this school
What was the probability of a machine being broken down?
wear glasses?
4. I have a fair 0.08..........................
....eight sided dice numbered 12 to 19. What is
Tick ( ) the correct box below.
the probability that I will throw a prime number?
Brightlite calculated the probabilities of a bulb failing within 1000
the=table/8 below to show the
3
5% 6% 10% hours and within 2000 hours.P(prime
Complete
number)
probabilities of a bulb still working at 1000 hours and at 2000 hours.
T im e F a ile d S till w o r k in g
5. What must I multiply n squared by to get n cubed?
20% 50% not possible to tell
√
0 .0 7 n = n x n
2
A t 1 0 0 0 h o u rs
n3 = n x n x n 1 – 0.07 = 0.93
The 6 pupils who wear glasses could A t 2 0 0 0 h o u rs 0 .5 7 so n2 x n 0.93
= n3
all be girls. We don’t have enough
0.43 1 – 0.57 = 0.43
information about who wears (c)
glasses. Take care with decimals.
Remember:
Light Bulbs Probabilities must add up to 1.
0.09 + 0.03 is 0.12 NOT 0.012.
KS3 MATHEMATICS
15  1 ½
10 x 1.5 = 15
= 15  1.5
So 15  1.5 = 10
=10 lengths
10 4 10
8x3 = 24
Level 6 Answers - 8x3 = -24
8x-3 = -24
-8x-3 = 24

Day 10
23 – 3 = 4x
20 = 4x
OR use
20  4 = x
matched line
x = 6

Remember a prime number has

only 2 factors, itself and 1.
Possible primes are 13, 17 & 19.
 Hedging Algebra Pairs
A garden centre sells plants for hedges. (a) Join pairs of algebraic expressions that have the same value when a = 3,
The table shows what they sold in one week. b = 2 and c = 6
This is very important
One pair is joined for you. a = 3. b = 2. c = 6

Plants Number of Takings

ab means a x b. Substitute
plants sold A = 3 and b = 2 becomes 3 x 2 = 6
ab
This means
(3xc) – (2xb)
Substitute
Beech 125 £212.50
3c means 3 x c. 3c 3c – 2b C = 6 and b = 2
Substitute c = 6 so (3x6) –
Leylandii 650 £2437.50 3 x 6 = 18 (2x2)
18 – 4 = 14

Privet 35 £45.50
2c + b means
(2xc) + b.
2c + b 2a 2a means 2 x a.
Hawthorn 18 £23.40 Substitute c=6
Substitute a = 3
and b=2 so (2x6)
2x3=6
+ 2 = 14
Laurel 5 £32.25
2
a2 means axa. a a + c Substitute a=3 and
Total 833 £2751.15 Substitute a=3, 3x3 = 9 c=6 so 3+6 = 9

(a) What percentage of the total number of plants sold was Leylandii?
(b) Draw lines to join any pairs that will always have the same value when a =
Show your working. b=c
IMPORTANT a = b = c. Replace
Number of Leylandii x 100
Replace b with a so ab becomes
Total number of plants
aa to make a x a = a2 ab All letters with a because they
= 650 x 100 all have the same value.
833

= 78.03% Replace c with a

rounds to 78% 3c 3c – 2b
so 3c becomes
(b) What percentage of the total takings was for Leylandii? Show your working. 3a
Replace c and b with a, so 3c-2b
becomes 3a – 2a = a.
Total takings for Leylandii x 100 = 2436.50 x 100
Total number of plants 2751.15 Replace c and b This is THE ODD ONE OUT
= 88.6% Work out with a. So 2c +
(c) Which is the cheaper plant, Beech or Privet? the cost of b becomes 2a +
one beech a which 2c + b 2a Replace c
plant and simplifies to 3a with a so
one privet a+c
One beech = £212.50  125 plants = £1.70
plant becomes
One privet plant = £45.50  35 plants = £1.30
(so privet is the cheapest) a+a which
2
a + c simplifies
a
to 2a