Multi-topic questions
Students find questions more challenging when different topics are combined within a question and the setting of the question is slightly unfamiliar. The level of the questions available will, over time, cover Grades 3/4 to Grades 10/11 (and hopefully beyond!)
Sign up here to receive the Mathematics Questions – Newsletter. Once you sign up to the newsletter, you will receive it periodically for those mathematics questions where I can provide extra help, ideas and other support for their use in the classroom. Plus, over time, the newsletter will include feedback from teachers who have used the questions in the classroom.
The Questions
Mathematics Questions 1 to 6 – December/January 2020
The Mathematics Questions 1 to 3 are available here in one zip file.
The Mathematics Questions 4-6 are available here in one zip file.
To receive Mathematics Questions 1 to 9, plus the supporting newsletter, sign up here for the Mathematics Questions – Newsletter.
Monday 8th February 2021
Mathematics Question 7 – ratio, algebra, solving equations
This week’s question is for lower grades. It deals with three brothers who have each been given some money by an elderly relative. It is my first question where I have specifically stated the working must be shown. (More about this in Mathematics Questions – Newsletter No. 3. Sign up here to receive it.)
Three brothers, Andre, Emmanuel and Pierre, each receive money from an elderly relative, in the ratio 12:7:15.
Andre decides to give Emmanuel £4.
Pierre decides to give Emmanuel £22.
The brothers each now have the same amount of money.
How much money did each brother receive from the elderly relative?
You must show your working.
Download Mathematics Question – Number 7 – without answers
Download Mathematics Question – Number 7 – with answers
Monday 15th February 2021
Mathematics Question 8 – bearings, scale drawing, properties of quadrilaterals, symmetry, cosine rule, sine rule
This week’s question looks like it might be the one that covers the most topics yet! (If you ask the students to do a scale drawing/they decide to find answers using particular strategies.) The question uses few words but, after drawing a rough diagram, students will see it is rather complicated! Again, I have stated that students must show their working.
Caster is 22 km from Beau on a bearing of 54o.
Sien is 16 km from Caster and 32 km from Beau.
Find the bearing of Beau from Sien.
You must show your working.
Download Mathematics Question – Number 8 – without answers
Download Mathematics Question – Number 8 – with answers
Monday 22nd February 2021
Mathematics Question 9 – equation of a circle, ratio, cosine rule
Equation of a circle appears for the first time this week, within a question about four concentric circles. (More about a sport that uses such a set of circles in Mathematics Questions – Newsletter No. 3. Sign up here to receive it.)
The diagram shows four concentric circles, A, B, C and D, each with centre O.
The four circles have radii in the ratio 12:8:4:1
The equation of circle C is x2 + y2 = 4
R and S are each a point on a circle.
RS = √76 cm
(The diagram is not drawn accurately.)
Work out the size of angle ROS.
Download Mathematics Question – Number 9 – without answers
Download Mathematics Question – Number 9 – with answers
Monday 1st March 2021
Mathematics Question 10 – ratio, mean, simple algebra
This week’s question is for lower grades. Looking at handling data for the first time.
Here are two sets of data – S and T.
| S | T |
| 210 150 114 90 | 260 410 473 310 b |
mean of set S : mean of set T = 3 : 7
Find the value of b.
Download Mathematics Question – Number 10 – without answers
Download Mathematics Question – Number 10 – with answers
Sharing your students feedback
To share students’ solutions to any question, and any feedback they give you about working with the questions, email nilsbird training. They can then be shared in the Mathematics Questions – Newsletter and on this page.
To share your experiences of using any question with students, email nilsbird training. They can then be shared on this page.
Books for sale
Two ex-author copies available of Cambridge IGCSE® Additional Maths Teacher’s Guide, supporting IGCSE® and O Level Additional Mathematics syllabuses (0606/4037), examination from 2020.
£70 each plus postage.
Please email nilsbird training for further information.
Keeping up to date
Follow nilsbird training on Facebook or Twitter to keep up to date with regular posts about the webinars. Complete this form to be emailed updates about face-to-face training and webinars.
Survey
Complete this survey to enable nilsbird training to support the continuous professional development (CPD) needs of teachers worldwide through the use of webinars. (Completely anonymous.)
Privacy policies
nilsbird training, paypal, stripe and square