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Unitary Method

Test your understanding of the Unitary Method for solving real life proportion problems with this self-marking quiz.

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This is level 1: calculations that can be done without a calculator. You will be awarded a trophy if you get at least 7 answers correct and you do this activity online.

1) If two bicycle lamps cost £10 how much would five lamps cost?

Bicycle Lamp

Working:

pounds Correct Wrong
2) If 140g of pumpkin can make enough soup for two people, what weight of pumpkin is needed to make soup for nine people?

Pumpkins

Working:

g Correct Wrong
3) If seven tins of paint are enough for forty two doors, how many doors would three tins of paint cover?

Tins of paint

Working:

doors Correct Wrong
4) A student can jog 8km in 32 minutes. At the same speed how long would it take him to jog 5km?

Working:

minutes Correct Wrong
5) A student can swim six lengths in 36 minutes. At the same speed how long would it take her to swim five lengths?

Working:

minutes Correct Wrong
6) A recipe for samosas requires 350g of flour for seven samosas. How much flour will be needed for four samosas?

Working:

g Correct Wrong
7) Two carpenters are buying wood to make some shelves. If 27m of wood is needed for nine shelves how much wood do they need for eight shelves? Assume all of the shelves are the same length and width.

Working:

m Correct Wrong
8) The song "Out of Reach" is put on repeat play. If eighteen plays of the track last 63 minutes how many minutes would eight plays take?

Working:

minutes Correct Wrong
9) Given the information in the previous question, how many times would the track have to be repeated to last three and a half hours?

Working:

times Correct Wrong
10) Each time this page is refreshed you will get slightly different questions although it should take about the same amount of time to answer all ten questions. If a student refreshed and answered all the questions on this page 3 times in 9 minutes. How many minutes would it take to complete 2 versions of this page assuming the student did not get any faster with practice?

Working:

minutes Correct Wrong
Check

Instructions

Try your best to answer the questions above. Type your answers into the boxes provided leaving no spaces. As you work through the exercise regularly click the "check" button. If you have any wrong answers, do your best to do corrections but if there is anything you don't understand, please ask your teacher for help.

When you have got all of the questions correct you may want to print out this page and paste it into your exercise book. If you keep your work in an ePortfolio you could take a screen shot of your answers and paste that into your Maths file.

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Description of Levels

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Level 1 - Calculations that can be done without a calculator.

Level 2 - Calculations requiring written working and the use of a calculator.

Unit Pricing Learn how to compare prices of items in shops.

Proportion Direct and inverse proportion questions.

Exam Style questions are in the style of GCSE or IB/A-level exam paper questions and worked solutions are available for Transum subscribers.

Answers to this exercise are available lower down this page when you are logged in to your Transum account. If you don’t yet have a Transum subscription one can be very quickly set up if you are a teacher, tutor or parent.

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These problems can be solved using the unitary method. This is a technique in mathematics for solving particular types of problems. It involves scaling down one of the variables to a single unit, i.e. 1, and then performing the operation necessary to alter it to the desired value.

For example if six coins weigh 66g. What would seventeen coins weigh?

Coin Coin Coin
Coin Coin Coin

Consider the weight of one coin first

1 coin weighs 11g  (66 ÷ 6)

Now it is easy to calculate the cost of seventeen coins

17 coins weigh 187g (17 x 11)

Don't wait until you have finished the exercise before you click on the 'Check' button. Click it often as you work through the questions to see if you are answering them correctly.

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