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Jimm Maths Concepts
Jimm Maths Concepts
com
jimmyling@jimmymaths.com
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Jimmy Ling
- Director and Math tutor of Grade Solution Learning Centre
- Online Math Coach at jimmymaths.com
- Graduated from NUS with degree in Mathematics
- More than 10 years of teaching experience
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Foreword
Dear Parents,
Even though he can score well in Paper 1, he is not able to do most of the
questions when it comes to Paper 2.
He appears to understand each topic well but he can’t solve the questions
accurately during exams.
He stares into each question for a long time, not knowing how to start.
He also spends too much time on one question, and hence, have insufficient
time for the rest.
At a loss of what to do, you buy lots of assessment books and past year
papers to drill your child on problem sums.
And even after spending a lot of time drilling different types of Math
questions, he still does not get the results he deserves.
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I created this guide for parents to learn how to teach your child to solve
problem sums effectively.
Their parents have an effective way to explain to them and nurture them
into problem-solvers.
If you can give your child proper guidance and continuous support, you can
expect to see improvements in a short period of time.
In the first half of the book, you will learn empowering strategies which
you can use to guide your child effectively in problem sums.
In the second half of the book, I will share the Must-Know problem solving
heuristics or concepts so that you can relearn to teach your child.
By applying the strategies taught in this book, your child will turned into a
more competent, confident, and independent problem-solver.
So read on, and may you empower your child to succeed in overcoming
Math problem sums one day!
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If your child needs help too, feel free to enrol in my online courses or any
of our tuition classes. (Sorry, I don’t do one-to-one tuition)
- We don’t let your child practice any questions first before understanding
the concept. We simplify concepts in ways which your child can
understand first.
Here are 2 ways which you can seek help from us…
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Contents Page
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Some parents thought that when their child is weak in problem sums, it
means he doesn’t understand the chapter well.
What most students lack, are the critical skills to comprehend the
question, link the question to the right concept, and how to apply the
concept correctly.
That is why most of the students can do well in paper 1 but crashed in
paper 2.
This problem-solving skill is not innate. Your child is not born with it.
If you throw someone into a swimming pool without teaching him how to
swim first, he will drown.
But if he has received the right and sufficient training, he can be the next
Joseph Schooling.
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Most students are taught the core concepts of each chapter. But when it
comes to problem sums, most students are given questions to do without
proper explanations of the concepts behind it and they are expected to
know how to do.
Remember that being good in Math is not about how much your child
remember. It is testing how competent his skills are in solving questions
quickly and accurately.
And these problem solving skills are so important, that once your child
acquire them, he will be able to solve questions on his own.
As a parent, you stand in the first line of support for your child.
When your child faces difficulty, chances are he will approach you first
instead of his teachers or friends.
So it is also critical for you to acquire these skills so that you can impart to
your child effectively.
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Let me share with you the 3 steps process which I have used to help
hundreds of students to improve in their problem sums in just a few months.
Extract
Link
Apply
1) Extract
“more than”
“less than”
“twice the”
“equals to”
“at first”
“in the end”
“of the remainder”
“has X times more”
“has X times less”
Keywords also include all the numbers. All the numbers given in the
question are important in solving the question.
After your child has identified the keywords, you need to make sure
your child is able to comprehend their meaning and know exactly
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what the question mean. The best way to do this is to ask guiding
questions which I will share more on later.
2) Link
Using the information given in the question, you need to train your
child to link to the right heuristic or concept.
“In the end” and “Find the number at first” can be linked to working
backwards.
In order for your child to learn how to link properly, your child needs
to understand how it works too.
For example, for internal transfer questions, you can give your child
some erasers and yourself some erasers. Ask your child to count the
total erasers at the start. Then give some erasers to your child and ask
your child to count the total erasers in the end. The number of erasers
should remain the same, unless your child break the eraser into
different parts.
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3) Apply
After your child has extracted the key information and link to the
right concept, you will need to train your child on how to apply the
concept.
For example,
Under units and parts, your child needs to know how to use Algebra
to solve equations as well as the cross multiplication method.
After your child has applied the concept to solve the question, make
sure your child check his answer by checking against the question
again.
Often, I saw students who worked rigorously and find one unit, but
didn’t give what the question is asking for. What a waste!
Remember this E-L-A approach and use it to train your child. With this
approach, you will be able to identify your child’s weaknesses and guide
him accordingly.
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When your child ask you a question, you do not have to answer with the
solutions right away.
Instead, a more effective way is to ask him back with more questions, and
guide him to solve the question himself.
However, your questions need to give clues on what he can do. If not, he
will just stare at you with a blank face, with no idea what to answer you.
Your questions can help to connect his ideas together, so that he won’t get
confused. When he answer your questions, he put his thoughts into words
and have a better picture of the question.
On top of that, it enables you to check your child’s understanding. You can
tell from his answers whether he really knows or he is pretending to know.
Most importantly, your questions should empower your solve the question
himself.
This process may take a longer time to help your child to solve the question.
But it enables him to solve the question himself with lesser help.
And when your child is able to solve himself, his confidence will spike and
he will be able to solve similar questions next time without your help.
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In a short moment, you are going to learn the important concepts for
solving different types of problem sums.
When it comes to practice, many parents make their child practice past year
papers. And when their child got stuck, he will refer to the solutions.
Unfortunately, most of the solutions lack details and skip many crucial
workings. Without a full understanding, your child will simply copy down
the solutions, with a false hope that he have understood the problem.
Your child do not have to practice many questions. Instead, your child
needs to practice the right kind of question and ensure that he fully
understands each one.
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Do not simply write down “Fraction” beside the question. Instead, write
down “Equal Fractions Concept.”
You can ask guiding questions as explained before to guide your child to
identify the correct concept used.
In the end, check his solutions and highlight those concepts which your
child is weak in.
Then, refer to other practice papers, and select those questions which test
the same concepts.
Alternatively, just change the numbers in the question yourself and make
your child do again.
And remember, do not rush through the workings. Make sure your child
understands the rationale behind each step.
And the best way to do this is to write down the reason why he is doing this
step.
Though this takes up more time, it ensures your child understands the flow
fully and prevents careless mistakes too.
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Example 1
3 1
John spent of his money on books and of the remainder on a wallet.
5 3
What fraction of his total money did he have left?
3
(books)
5
1
(wallet)
3 2 3
Remainder 1
5 5
1 2
Leftover 1
3 3
2 2 4
Fraction of Money Left = (Answer)
3 5 15
4 units = $16
15 units = $16 ÷ 4 × 15 = $60 (Answer)
Note: If your child is weak in branching or has not learnt branching yet,
you can use model to explain to your child instead. However I strongly
encourage students to use branching to solve “Remainder” questions as it
can save more time.
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Books Remainder
Books Remainder
Step 4: Find the number of units for the wallet and leftover
1
Wallet 6 2 units
3
Leftover 6 – 2 = 4
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This is one of the most commonly tested concept which most students
stumble. In this concept, you need to make the numerators equal (Not the
denominator).
5 2
When we say of males is equal to of females, what is the ratio of
7 3
males to females?
2 10
3 15
Example 1
5 2
87 people are dancing in a hall.of the male dancers is equal to
7 3
of the female dancers. How many more female dancers are there?
5 10
7 14
2 10
3 15
Example 2
1
Lena spent $16 on a pair of jeans. She spent of her remaining money on
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1
a pizza. of her money was left. How much money had she at first?
2
$16 (jeans)
1
(pizza)
6
Remainder
1 5
Leftover 1
6 6
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Example 1
1
Jenny had 150 more cupcakes than Denise. After Jenny gave away of her
5
3
cupcakes and Denise ate of hers, Jenny had 208 more cupcakes than
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Denise. How many cupcakes did Denise have at first?
Solutions:
J 150
1 4
5 20
3 15
4 20
J 20u 150
D 20u
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4
150 120
5
J 16u 120
D 5u
208
Step 6: Find 1 unit.
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Constant part means one of the parts remained the same while the other
part changed.
In this case, you will need to make the part which remained the same to be
equal to each other.
Example 1
Ali and Billy have money in the ratio of 5 : 6. After Billy spent $16, the
ratio became 3 : 2. How much money does Billy have in the end?
Important Thought:
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After:
A:B
= 3: 2
= 15 : 10
Step 2: Find the difference between Billy’s starting amount and ending
amount
18u – 10u = 8u
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Constant Total means the total remained the same. Usually, this concept
applies for question related to “Internal Transfer”.
Example 2
Ali and Billy have money in the ratio of 5 : 4. After Ali gave Billy $20,
they have an equal amount of money. How much money does Billy have in
the end?
Important Thought:
Step 1: Make the total for Ali and Billy to be the same
Before:
A : B : Total
=5:4:9
= 10 : 8 : 18
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After:
A : B : Total
=1:1:2
= 9 : 9 : 18
Step 2: Find the difference between Ali’s starting amount and ending
amount
10u – 9u = 1u
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Constant Difference means the difference remained the same. Usually, this
concept applies for question related to “Age”.
As years go by, the age difference between 2 people will always be the
same, because both will grow old together.
Example 3
The ages of Ali and Billy are in the ratio of 4 : 7. In 3 years’ time, their
ages will be in the ratio of 3 : 5. How old is Billy now?
Important Thought:
Step 1: Make the difference for Ali and Billy the same
Before:
A : B : Difference
=4:7:3
= 8 : 14 : 6
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After:
A : B : Difference
=3:5:2
= 9 : 15 : 6
Step 2: Find the difference between Ali’s starting age and final age
9u – 8u = 1u
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As the name says, everything changed! Every part changed, the difference
changed, the total changed… Nothing remained the same.
This type of questions are usually the last few 5 marks questions in the
paper. So make sure you know how to do this type of questions.
There are a few methods to solve this type of question. I will use an
example below to show a method which you can use.
Example 4
The ratio of Ali’s money to Billy’s money was 2 : 1. After Ali saved
another $60 and Billy spent $150, the ratio became 4 : 1. How much money
did Ali have at first?
Solutions:
Step 1: Write down the starting ratio and apply the changes.
Step 3: Cross multiply the final units with the final ratio
Important Thought:
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This is another type of common question which you are given 2 conditions.
One condition leads to an excess (extra) while the other leads to a shortage
(lack). It can also be both conditions lead to excess or both conditions lead
to shortage.
Example 1
Tom packed 5 balls into each bag and found that he had 8 balls left over. If
he packed 7 balls into each bag, he would need another 4 more balls.
a) How many bags did he have?
b) How many balls did he have altogether?
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Example 2
When a stack of books were packed into bags of 4, there would be 3 books
left over. When the same number of books were packed into bags of 6,
there would still be 3 books left over. What could be the least number of
books in the stack?
Important: You are not able to use the earlier method because the number
of bags is not the same in both cases.
Step 1: List out the possible number of books for the first case
7, 11, 15, 19, 23…
Step 2: List out the possible number of books for the second case
9, 15, 21, 27…
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Example 3
Mary had some money to buy some pens. If she bought 12 pens, she would
need $8 more. If she bought 9 pens, she would be left with $4. How much
money did Mary have?
12 pens
Amount of money
$8
9 pens
$4
Step 1: Find the difference in the pens
12 – 9 = 3
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Difference Concept
Similar to the previous concept, here are some common types of problem
sums which require you to find the difference to solve the question.
Example 1
John packed some marbles equally into 10 bags. 4 bags were torn, so he
transferred the marbles from the 4 bags equally into each of the remaining
6 bags. The remaining bags had 20 more marbles as a result. How many
marbles were there altogether?
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Example 2
Alice and Betty were given an equal amount of money each. Alice spent
$20 each day and Betty spent $25 each day. When Alice had $157 left,
Betty had $82 left. How much did each girl receive?
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Grouping Concept
Below are some common questions which require you to group items
together followed by finding the number of groups.
Example 1
Mark bought an equal number of shorts and shirts for $100. A shirt cost $8
and each pair of shorts cost $12. How much did he spend on the shirts?
Example 2
John bought 2 more pairs of shorts than shirts and paid a total of $124. A
shirt cost $8 and each pair of shorts cost $12.
(a) How many shirts did he buy?
(b) How many pairs of shorts did he buy?
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Step 2: Find the total cost of equal number of shorts and shirts
124 – 24 = $100
Example 3
Mary makes $2.50 for every bottle of pills she sells. She will be paid a
bonus of $10 for every 50 bottles she sell. How many bottles must she sell
in order to make a total of $450?
Step 3: Find the number of bottles she sell to earn the remainder of $45
45 ÷ 2.5 = 18
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Example 4
Solutions:
3 7 21
Girls : 2 7 14
Boys : 5 3 15
Step 3: Find the difference between the number of lollipops each group of
girls and boys receive.
15 – 14 = 1
4 1 4
2 4 21 168 (Answer)
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This is a very useful concept. You need to multiply the number of objects
by its value to get the total amount.
Example 1
The ratio of the number of 50 cents coins to 1 dollar coin is 3 : 1. The total
value of the coins is $12.50. How many coins are there in total?
Step 2: Group three 50 cents coins and one $1 coin into 1 group
3 × 0.5 = $1.50
1 × 1 = $1
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Example 2
James has 44 more 20 cents than 50 cents coins. The total value of the 50
cents coins is $2 more than the total value of the 20 cents coins. How much
money does James have?
Step 1: Write down the number of 20 cents coins and 50 cents coins in
terms of units
50 cents u
20 cents u + 44
Step 2: Find the total value of the 20 cents coins and 50 cents coins
50 cents u × 0.5 = $0.5u
20 cents (u + 44) × 0.2 = $ (0.2u + 8.8)
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Example 3
1 kg of cherries cost $0.50 more than 1 kg of grapes. Mr Tan collected
3
$312 for selling some cherries and grapes. He sold as much cherries as
4
grapes. The total amount collected from the sale of grapes was $24 more
than the amount collected from the sale of cherries.
a) Find the mass of grapes sold.
b) Find the cost of 1kg of cherries.
Step 3: Find the cost of 1 unit and cherries and 1 unit of grapes
1 unit of Cherries = $144 ÷ 3 = $48
1 unit of Grapes = $168 ÷ 4 = $42
Step 4: Find the difference between 1 unit of cherries and 1 unit of grapes
$48 – $42 = $6
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Guess and Check method can be pretty time consuming. There is a faster
and more systematic way which require you to make assumption or
supposition. From your assumption, you then tweak it slightly and see the
pattern.
Example 1
Miss Lee bought some pencils for her class of 8 students. Each girl
received 5 pencils and each boy received 2 pencils. She bought a total of 22
pencils. How many boys were there in the class?
Step 1: Start with an assumption (You can start with girls or boys).
Suppose there are 8 girls
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Example 2
Miss Tan has a total of 100 two-dollar and five-dollar notes. The total value
of the five-dollar notes was $290 more than that of the two-dollar notes.
How much money does she have?
Step 2: Find the difference in the value of five-dollar notes and two-dollar
notes
100 × $5 = $500
Step 4: Find the difference in the value of five-dollar notes and two-dollar
notes
99 × $5 – 1 × $2 = $493
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Example 1
1
Amy and Billy had a total of $400. Amy spent of her sum and Billy
4
2
spent of his. They then had a total of $255 left. How much did Amy
5
spend?
Step 2: Form a first equation using their total amount of money at first
4u + 5p = 400
Step 3: Find the amount of money Amy and Billy have left
A 4u – u = 3u
B 5p – 2p = 3p
Step 4: Form a second equation using their total amount of money left
3u + 3p = 255
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Step 5: Simplify the second equation to make the number of units the same
as the first equation
3u + 3p = 255
u + p = 85 (Divide every term by 3)
4u + 4p = 340 (Multiply every term by 4)
Step 6: Use the first equation minus the second equation to find 1 part
4u 5 p 400
(4u 4 p 340)
p 60
Example 2
2
Ahmad and Bernard had a total of $240. Ahmad spent of his money and
3
3
Bernard spentof his money. As a result, Bernard had $8 more than
5
Ahmad. How much did they spend altogether?
Step 2: Form a first equation using their total amount of money at first
3u + 5p = 240
Step 3: Find the amount of money Ahmad and Bernard have left
A 3u – 2u = u
B 5p – 3p = 2p
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Step 4: Form a second equation using the $8 which Bernard have more
than Ahmad
2p – u = 8
Step 5: Simplify the second equation to make the number of units the same
as the first equation
2p – u = 8
6p – 3u = 24 (Multiply every term by 3)
Step 6: Use the first equation plus the second equation to find 1 part
3u 5 p 240
(6 p 3u 24)
11p 264
p 24
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This is another common concept to use when you are given a final value,
and you need to work backwards to find the initial value.
Example 1
Example 2
1
Amy and Betty have a total of 48 sweets. Amy gave of her sweets to
4
1
Betty. Betty then gave of her total sweets to Amy. In the end, each of
3
them had the same number of sweets. How many sweets did each of them
have at first?
Step 1: Find the number of sweets each of them had in the end.
48 ÷ 2 = 24
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A B
Start
AB
BA
End 24 24
B 24 ÷ 2 × 3 = 36
A 48 – 36 = 12
A B
Start
AB
12 36
BA
End 24 24
A 12 ÷ 3 × 4 = 16 sweets (Ans)
B 48 – 16 = 32 sweets (Ans)
A B
Start 16 32
AB
12 36
BA
End 24 24
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Double If Concept
Example 1
A farmer has some chickens and ducks. If he sells 2 chickens and 3 ducks
every day, there will be 50 chickens left when all the ducks have been sold.
If he sells 3 chickens and 2 ducks every day, there will be 25 chickens left
when all the ducks have been sold.
a) how many ducks are there?
b) how many chickens are there?
Step 2: Make the ratio of ducks to be the same as all the ducks are sold out
in both cases.
Case 1 (Times 2 to both sides)
Chicken : Duck = 2u : 3u = 4u : 6u
Example 2
If Sam gives Terry $350, he will have 4 times as much money as Terry. If
Sam gives Terry $550, he will have thrice as much money as Terry. How
much money does Sam have?
Step 1: Using the first ‘if’, write down the final ratio
S:T
= 4u :1u
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Conclusion
We have come to the end of this guide.
As you are learning the concepts which I just shared, keep in mind that
your child may have other methods of doing the same question.
Keep an open mind to more methods and ideas. In Math, sometimes, there
are more than 1 way to get the same answers.
And it will be beneficial for your child to learn more methods. Knowing
more methods will ensure your child have more tools to use in exams.
The concepts which I have shared with you are a small part of all the
concepts which your child needs to learn for PSLE.
The rest of the concepts are covered in more details in our PSLE Math
Online Course and tuition classes.
If you need more help, check out more details in the next page.
As the saying goes,
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish
and you can feed him for a lifetime.”
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