The document summarizes key points from a seminar for parents on helping children prepare for the PSLE mathematics exam in Singapore. It provides examples of math problems and explains the level of working expected from different primary grades. It emphasizes the development of mathematical problem solving and visualization skills.

1. A Seminar for Parents Helping Your Child Prepare for PSLE Mathematics Yeap Ban Har National Institute of Education Nanyang Technological University Singapore [email_address]

5. MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM SOLVING

7. The rationale of teaching mathematics is that it is “a good vehicle for the development and improvement of a person’s intellectual competence ”.

19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56

20. Table 1 consists of numbers from 1 to 56. Kay and Lin are given a plastic frame that covers exactly 9 squares of Table 1 with the centre square darkened. (a) Kay puts the frame on 9 squares as shown in the figure below. What is the average of the 8 numbers that can be seen in the frame? 3 4 5 11 13 19 20 21

21. Table 1 consists of numbers from 1 to 56. Kay and Lin are given a plastic frame that covers exactly 9 squares of Table 1 with the centre square darkened. (a) Kay puts the frame on 9 squares as shown in the figure below. What is the average of the 8 numbers that can be seen in the frame? 4 x 24 = 96 96 ÷ 8 = 12 3+4+5+11+13+19+20 = 96 96 ÷ 8 = 12 3 4 5 11 13 19 20 21

22. (b) Lin puts the frame on some other 9 squares. The sum of the 8 numbers that can be seen in the frame is 272. What is the largest number that can be seen in the frame? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 34

23. Challenging Items: Visualization

24. Challenging Items: Visualization 40 x 30 x 60 = 72 000 72 000 ÷ 5 x 2 = 14 400 x 2 = 28 800 28 800 ÷ 1200 = 24 The height is 24 cm

25. Challenging Items: Visualization 40 x 30 x 60 ÷ 5 x 2 ÷ (40 x 30) = 24 The height is 24 cm. 40 x 30 x 60 ÷ 5 x 3 ÷ (40 x 45) = 24 The height is Tank B is 24 cm. It is the same for Tank A.

29. The rationale of teaching mathematics is that it is “a good vehicle for the development and improvement of a person’s intellectual competence ”.

30. It is so basic, students doing Foundation Mathematics are expected to have the ability …

31. Emphasis on Visualization is not new. John had 1.5 m of copper wire. He cut some of the wire to bend into the shape shown in the figure below. In the figure, there are 6 equilateral triangles and the length of XY is 19 cm. How much of the copper wire was left?

32. Emphasis on Visualization is not new. John had 1.5 m of copper wire. He cut some of the wire to bend into the shape shown in the figure below. In the figure, there are 6 equilateral triangles and the length of XY is 19 cm. How much of the copper wire was left?

33. Emphasis on Visualization is not new. John had 1.5 m of copper wire. He cut some of the wire to bend into the shape shown in the figure below. In the figure, there are 6 equilateral triangles and the length of XY is 19 cm. How much of the copper wire was left?

34. Emphasis on Visualization is not new. John had 1.5 m of copper wire. He cut some of the wire to bend into the shape shown in the figure below. In the figure, there are 6 equilateral triangles and the length of XY is 19 cm. How much of the copper wire was left?

35. Emphasis on Visualization is not new. John had 1.5 m of copper wire. He cut some of the wire to bend into the shape shown in the figure below. In the figure, there are 6 equilateral triangles and the length of XY is 19 cm. How much of the copper wire was left? 19 cm x 5 = 95 cm 150 cm – 95 cm = 55 cm 55 cm was left.

39. 11 kg 29 kg

40. 11 kg 29 kg

41. 11 kg 18 kg 11 kg

42. 18 kg 9 kg

43. 9 kg 27 kg

46. 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 $6 $6 – 10 x 20 cents = $4 $4 ÷ 5 = 80 cents She saved 80 cents on Monday.

47. With visualization, one does not need to know a formula to calculate the area of a trapezium. 9 cm 2 6 cm 2

54. 34 88 54

55. 34 54 – 34 = 20 34 – 20 = 14 3 x 7 = 21 girls wear goggles

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