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National 4/5 Apps of Maths

Unit 1 – Numeracy

Notes

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Adding and Subtracting
Learning Intentions:
 To be able to add numbers to 2 decimal places
 To be able to subtract numbers to 2 decimal places

N4/5 Example
a) 10.54 + 3.7 b) 5.6 – 2.8 c) 9.34 – 0.9
Solution

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BODMAS reminder

BODMAS is an acronym to help you remember the order of operations when carrying
out a calculation.

You may come across negative numbers when doing calculations.

When multiplying and dividing:
 2 positives make a positive, 2 negatives make a positive
 1 positive and 1 negative make a negative
When adding and subtracting:
 Adding a negative number is the same as subtracting
 Subtracting a negative number is the same as adding

N4/5 Example N4/5 Exam Example (non-calculator)

a) (6 – 42) + 10 ÷ 2

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Multiplication
Learning Intentions:
 To be able to multiply a whole number/decimal by a single digit
 To be able to multiply a whole number/decimal by multiples of 10, 100, 1000
 To be able to multiply a whole number/decimal by a two- or three-digit number

There are different methods for multiplication but the two most common are chimney
sums and grids. You can choose whichever method you prefer.

N4/5 Example
a) 4627 x 8 b) 3.45 x 5

N4/5 Multiplying by 10, 100 and 1000

N4/5 Example
7.092 x 100
Solution

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N4/5 Multiplying by multiples of 10, 100 and 1000
You are also expected to multiply and decimal numbers (with up to 3 decimal places)
by multiples of 10, 100 or 1000
The key to this method is splitting into two steps:
• Step A involves multiplying by a single digit using the method above.
• Step B involves multiplying or dividing by 10, 100 or 1000 (by moving all the digits
to the left or right).

N4/5 Example
34.2 x 30
Solution

N5 Long Multiplication:
This is when you multiply a whole number/decimal by a two- or three-digit number
N5 Examples
(a) 78 x 42 (b) 247 x 56
Solution

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 Hint: for multiplying 2 decimals together – ignore the
(c) 6.45 x 4.1 decimal points until the end! (eg. This calculation would
be 645 x 41)
When you have your final answer, count how many
decimal places the question had in total (eg. 3 in this
question). Then put 3 decimal places in your answer!

N5 Exam Example (non-calculator)

Division
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Learning Intentions:
 To be able to divide a number by a single digit
 To be able to divide a number by multiples of 10, 100, 1000
 To be able to divide a number by a 2-digit number
 To be able to divide by a decimal
Note: Being able to divide confidently requires secure knowledge of the times tables.
If you are not confident with the times tables up to 12 then it is worth practicing them.

N4/5 Division by a single digit

This is the division you will be most familiar with.

N4/5 Example
762 ÷ 6 5.685 ÷ 5 159 ÷ 7 (round to 2 dp)

N4/5 Dividing by 10, 100 and 1000

 Dividing by 10, simply move the decimal point one place to the left
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  Dividing by 100, simply move the decimal point two places to the left
 Dividing by 1000, simply move the decimal point three places to the left etc

N4/5 Example
Find the answers to the following
a) 250 ÷ 10 b) 186000 ÷ 1000 =
Solution

N5 Dividing by multiples of 10, 100 and 1000

Method:
 Firstly divide by either 10, 100 or 1000
 Then divide by the single digit.
N5 Example
1500 ÷ 30 24000 ÷ 400
Solution

N5 Division by a 2-digit number (long division)

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N5 Example
2844 ÷ 15
Solution

N5 Division by a decimal
To divide by a decimal:
 Multiply the decimal by either 10, 100 or 1000 to a whole number
 Multiply the number by the same
 Divide as normal
N5 Example
(a) 18 ÷ 0.3 (b) 427 ÷ 0.07
Solution

Scales

Learning Intentions:
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  To be able to read scales accurately
 To be able to interpret measurements and the results of calculations to make
decisions
 To be able to construct a scale drawing, including choosing a scale

N4/5 Example

Write down the value shown on each scale.

Hint: divide the range of your values by the number of sections, this will tell you what
the scale goes up in!

N4/5 Example

The diagram shows the speed a car is travelling.

What speed is the car travelling at?

N4/5 Exam Example (non-calculator)

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Rounding

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Learning Intentions:
 To be able to round a number to 1, 2 or 3 decimal places
 To be able to round a number to a given number of significant figures

N4/5 Rounding to a specified number of decimal places

When rounding using decimal places (dp), the degree of accuracy that is required is
always given.
However, calculations involving money should be given to two decimal places
to represent the pence.
To round to a decimal place:
 Look at the first digit after the decimal point if rounding to one decimal place or
the second digit for two decimal places
 Draw a vertical line to the right of that digit
 Look at the next digit
 If it is 5 or more, increase the previous digit by 1
 If it is 4 or less, keep the previous digit the same
 Remove any numbers to the right of the line

Example
Round 5.639 to 1 decimal place

Round 25.72057 to 3dp

Round 0.998 to 1 dp

Rounding to significant figures

The significant digits of a number are the digits that have meaning or contribute to
the value of the number. Sometimes they are also called significant figures (sf).
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All non-zero digits are significant 1234 has 4 sig fig
1.2 has 2 sig fig
Zeros between non-zero digits ARE significant 1002 has 4 sig fig
3.07 has 3 sig fig
Zeros to the left of non-zero digits are NOT significant 0.002 has 1 sig fig
0.0104 has 3 sig fig
Trailing zeros are NOT significant for whole numbers 123000 has 3 sig fig
3000000 has 1 sig fig
Trailing zeros ARE significant if at the end of a decimal 0.0030 has 2 sig fig
3.0 has 2 sig fig

Rounding to a given number of significant figures has most of the same rules as
rounding to decimal places, but you must not add any unnecessary zeros after the
decimal point.

Example
Round 5233 to 1 sf

Round 0.0273 to 2 sf

Round 155.98 to 2 sf

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Ratio and Proportion
Learning Intentions:
 To be able to solve problems involving direct proportion
 To be able to solve problems involving inverse proportion
 To be able to recognise the difference between direct and inverse
proportion
 To be able to perform calculations involving ratio

Ratio

A ratio shows how much of one thing there is compared to another.

Ratios are usually written in the form a:b.

The order in which a ratio is stated is important.

Changing the order of the numbers in a ratio changes the proportions.

Ratios can be simplified in a similar way to fractions and you can be asked to solve
problems involving ratios.

N4/5 Examples

a) What is the ratio of triangles to squares? Write the ratio in its simplest form.

b) Kyle, Steve and Murray win some money in the lottery.

Kyle wins £2000, Steve wins £5000 and Murray wins £8000.

i) Express their winning in a ratio

ii) Simplify the ratio

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Ratio Calculations

N4/5 Example

To obtain a particular shade of purple paint, you have to mix red and blue paint in the
ratio red:blue = 3:4.

If you have 15 tins of red paint, how many blue tins are required?

N5 Example

Merlin is making up one of his favourite potions.

It has three ingredients called misill, canthor and ruari.
For the potion, the ratio of misill to canthor to ruari must be 2:3:12.

a) If Merlin wishes to use 21 grams of canthor, how many grams of Ruari will he
need?

b) He decides to make up a potion weighing 85 grams.

How much of each ingredient will Merlin need?

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Sharing in a given ratio

When asked to share an amount in a given ratio, you should calculate how many
‘parts’ there are in total.

N5 Example

Katie gave some money to four of her Name Age nephews.

It was shared in proportion to their ages. Daniel 7
Harry 8
Harry’s share is £3320. Ben 12
Calculate the total amount Katie gifted John 3
her nephews.

Solution

Direct Proportion

Quantities are in direct proportion when as one amount increases, another amount
increases at the same rate.
For example, the more chocolate bars you buy, the more it will cost.

N4/5 Example
The cost of 5 books is £34.75.
If each book costs the same, how much would it cost to buy 7 books?
Solution

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Inverse Proportion

Quantities are in inverse proportion when as one value decreases, the other increases
at the same rate.
For example, the older the car, the less it is worth.

N5 Example
It takes 8 people 3 hours to paint a fence.
How long would it have taken 5 people, assuming they all work at the same rate?
Solution

N5 Exam Example (non-calculator)

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Linking fractions, decimals and percentages

Learning Intentions:
 To be able to convert between fractions, decimals and percentages.

You will be expected to know the follow off by heart!

Fraction 1 1 1 1 3 1 2 1 3
100 10 5 4 10 3 5 2 4
Decimal

Percentage

1 3
You should be able to see that if is 20% then is 60% (3 lots of 20%).
5 5

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N4/5 Example (non-calculator)

Write the following as a fraction and a decimal, simplify where possible.

a) 17% b) 30%

N4/5 Example (N5 non-calculator)

3
Change into a decimal (rounded to 3 dp), and a percentage (rounded to 1 dp).
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Solution

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N4/5 Example (N5 non-calculator)

5
Change into a decimal, round to 3 decimal places.
9
Solution

N4/5 Example (N5 non-calculator)

Write these values in order from greatest to least

5
0.655 62.25% 0.63
8

Solution

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Working with Percentages
Learning Intentions:
 Finding percentages of shapes and quantities
 Expressing a quantity as a percentage of another quantity
 Finding percentage rise and fall

Finding Percentages of quantities

To calculate a percentage with a calculator simply change the percentage into a
decimal (divide by 100). This creates your multiplier. Your multiplier is the number
you multiple with the value in question to get your answer.
N4/5 Example (calculator)
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a) 12% of £40 b) 2 % of £500
2
Solution

Without a calculator, you want to split your percentage up into groups of 10% and 1%
(to find 10%, just divide by 10, to find 1% just divide by 100). Remember: 5% is just
half of 10%, and 2.5% is just half of 5%.
Eg. 43% is 4 groups of 10% and 3 groups of 1%.
N5 Example (non-calculator)
a) 24% of £350 b) 7.5% of £12
Solution

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Expressing a quantity as a percentage of another
This can be done in 3 steps. Write out your problem as a fraction, then do the division
(this will give your fraction in decimal form), then simply multiply by 100 to get your
percentage.

N4/5 Example (calculator)

Of the 145 pupils in 5th year, 87 of them are doing the applications of maths course.
What percentage are doing applications of maths?
Solution

Percentage rise and fall

There are 2 ways of going about these types of questions. In the examples we will
cover both methods.

N4/5 Example (calculator)

A laptop is £550. The shop has a 15% off sale on. How much is it now?
Solution

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N4/5 Example (calculator)
A vintage car is bought for £35000. It increases in value by 12%. What is it worth
now?
Solution

N5 Percentage change
Sometimes you are asked what the change in a value is, and are asked to give the
change as a percentage.
To calculate percentage change, use the following formula: (you are not given this
formula)
difference∈ value
% change= ×100
orginal value

N5 Example (calculator)
The population of Ardnamurchan was 1890 in 2011 and 2122 in 2021.
Express this population change as a percentage. Round to 3 significant figures.

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Fractions
Learning Intentions:

 To be able to find equivalent fractions

 To be able to simplify a fraction
 To be able to calculate a fraction of a quantity
 To be able to convert between mixed numbers and improper fractions
 To be able to add and subtract fractions
 To be able to solve word problems involving fractions
 To be able to convert between fractions, decimals and percentages

Equivalent Fractions

To find equivalent fractions, you must multiply then numerator and denominator by
the same number.

It is useful to be able to express fractions with a common denominator in order to

compare fractions.

N4/5 Example Solution

5 3
Which fraction is larger? or
6 4

Simplifying Fractions

To simplify a fraction, you must find a number which divides evenly into the
numerator and the denominator.

Hint: keep halving the numerator and denominator (if they are even) until you reduce
the fraction to more manageable numbers.

The following examples will show you how to simplify a fraction.

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 4 54
24 90
7 5
14 35

Fraction of a quantity

To find a fraction of a quantity you can divide by the denominator and multiple by the
numerator (or vice versa).

Example (non-calculator) Solution

4
Find of 56
7

Finding Percentages using fractions

Some basic percentages can be thought of as fractions. if they are in their fraction
form, we can use the technique above to carry out calculations.

Percentage 100% 50% 1 25% 20% 10% 5% 1%

33 %
3
Fraction

N4/5 Example

Calculate 25% of £48 (non-calculator)

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Calculate 60% of 125 (non-calculator)

Mixed Numbers and Improper Fractions

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A fraction such as where the numerator is larger than the denominator is called an
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improper fraction. It may also be referred to as a ‘top heavy fraction’

1
A number such as 5 consisting of a whole part and a fraction part is called a mixed
3
number.

N4/5 Example

Write the following improper fraction as a mixed number

17
4

Solution

N4/5 Example

Write the following mixed number as an improper fraction

2
6
5

Solution

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Add and Subtract Fractions

In order to add/subtract fractions, the fractions MUST have a common denominator.

If the denominators are different, use equivalent fractions to make them the same.

N4/5 Example (non-calculator)

2 1 11 3
a) + b) −
5 6 12 4

Solution

Multiplying Fractions

To multiply fractions you simply multiply the numerators together then multiply the
denominators together, and simplify when needed.

N5 Example (non-calculator)

2 3 2 3 5
a) × b) × ×
5 7 3 4 6

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Dividing Fractions

We never actually divide fractions, instead, we use the keep, swap, flip method!

Keep this the 4 3 Flip this to

Eg. ÷
way it is 5 4 4
C become
3
Swap this for a
multiple sign
N5 Example (non-calculator)

2 6
÷
5 7

N5 Exam Example (non-calculator)

A basic mix for cookies requires butter, sugar, flour and chocolate chips.
1
of the mix is butter
6
1
of the mix is sugar
3
1
of the mix is chocolate chips
4
The rest of the mix is flour.
Calculate the fraction of the mix that is flour.

Solution

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Probability

Learning Intentions:
 To be able to express probabilities as fractions, decimals and
percentages
 To be able to find the probability of a single event
 To be able to find the probability of two events
 To be able to justify decisions using probability
 To know how to find expected values based on probability

Simple probability

The probability of an event is how likely it is to happen and is measured on a scale

between 0 and 1.

Probabilities can be given as fractions, decimals or percentages.

To calculate probability:

Number of favourable outcomes

P(event) =
Total number of outcomes

N4/5 Example
A fair dice is rolled. Find the probability of getting:
a) 5 b) an odd number
Solution

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N4/5 Example
Find the probability of winning a prize at a raffle if there are:
a) 2000 tickets with 50 winning numbers
b) 5000 tickets with 20 winning numbers
Solution

Probability of two events

When finding the probability of two events, it is useful to list all the possible
outcomes.
Sometimes the problem is eased by drawing a diagram to work out the total number
of possibilities.

N5 Example

Two different spinners are used for a game.

The scores from each spinner are added together.

Find the probability of scoring a total of:

(i) 11 (ii) more than 8

Solution

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N5 Exam Example (non-calculator)

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Justify decisions using probability

In order to compare probabilities of two separate events you need either:

 The probabilities written as decimals
 The probabilities written as fractions with a common denominator

N5 Example

John’s school sells 1200 tickets for a raffle. John buys 16 tickets.
John’s church sells 1800 tickets for a raffle. John buys 21 tickets.

In which raffle has he a better chance of winning the first prize?

Expected frequency

The expectation of an event is how often we predict it will happen.

To find the expected value:
Expectation = probability x number of trials

N5 Example (calculator)
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A store orders bottled beers in boxes of twelve.
The probability of a box containing at least one broken bottle is 0.018.
In a delivery of 900 boxes of bottled beers, 15 boxes contained at least one broken
bottle.
Is this more or less than expected?

Speed, Distance and Time

Learning Intentions:
 To be able to convert between seconds, minutes and hours.
 To be able to calculate speed, distance and time.
 To solve a problem involving time management
 To plan the timing of activities with some complex features, including
working across time zones

Time Conversion

SECONDS MINUTES HOURS

N4/5 Example

Change the following times into seconds:

(a) 5 minutes b) 6 hours

Solution

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N4/5 Example

Change the following times into hours:

(a) 30 minutes b) 21 minutes

Solution

N4/5 Example

Change the following times into hours and minutes:

(a) 2.5 hours b) 3.4 hours

Solution

N5 Exam Example (calculator – difficult!!)

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12 Hour to 24 Hour and vice versa

N4/5 Example

Convert 4.45 pm into 24 hour time

N4/5 Example

Convert 2315 to 12 hour time

Time Intervals

Amy got on the 1150 bus from Uxbridge to Ealing Broadway.

How long were they on the bus?

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Speed, Distance and Time

SPEED DISTANCE TIME

Note: the units must be consistent.

For example, if the speed is given in mph then the distance must be in miles and time
must be in hours.

CALCULATING DISTANCE

Calculate the distance travelled for each journey below.

Remember the working and the units !

N4/5 Example (non-calculator)

How far have you gone if you travel for .....

(a) 3 hours at an average speed of 60 km/h?

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N5 Example (calculator)

(b) 24 minutes at an average speed of 84 km/h?

CALCULATING SPEED PRACTISE

N4/5 Example (calculator)

(a) A car travels a distance of 320 km in 4 hours.

Calculate its average speed.

N5 Example (calculator)

(b) A car travels a distance of 120 miles in 2 hours 45 minutes.

Calculate its average speed.

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CALCULATING TIME PRACTISE

N4/5 Example (calculator)

(a) A car travels a distance of 320 km at an average speed of 64 km/h.

Calculate the time taken for the journey.

N5 Example (calculator)

(b) A person travels a distance of 5400 m at an average speed of 1.875 m/s.

Calculate the time taken for the journey, giving your answer in hours.

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N5 Exam Example (non-calculator)

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Time Management and Time Zones

Learning Intentions
 To be able to perform time calculations involving different times zones

Depending on where you are in the world, you will have a different time compared to
other places.

Time zones are calculated by their positive or negative difference away from the
Greenwich Meridian.

N5 Example

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It is 10am in Scotland. Using the table, write down the time it is in the following
countries.

Solution

N5 Example

Anna’s flight leaves from London at 8:30 am to New York.

The flight takes 6 hours and 30 minutes.
London is 5 hours ahead of New York.
Anna wants to phone her mum in England to tell her she has arrived safely.
What time is it in England when she lands?
What time is it in New York when she lands?

Solution

N5 Exam Example (non-calculator)

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Extra space for any notes!

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