Miss James Maths Class

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Hello. Are you all coping with going back or moving on? I hope so. In the next few days you teachers will be asking you to sit assessments, certainly in core subjects and probably across the board.
I know it seems unfair that you have "exams" straight off but the reason is sound.
Everyone is different. You might have worked through the text book during lockdown or you might have gone to the beach. You could have developed your skills in maths... or perhaps in Call of Duty.
No one is trying to catch you out. What tutors are looking for is Skills Gaps.
Basically are you acing fractions but confused by ratio? Are you fab at algebra but can't face geometry?
By taking a baseline assessment teachers can help you to plan your learning and they know how to pitch lessons.
So do your best... but don't worry about the marks. Let get a proper picture of what you need to do and make the most of the next ten months.
Good luck

Didn't get what you need?
Thinking of trying for November? Miss James Maths Class runs Boot Camp revision to get you through. A full days course.
Email [email protected] for details.

A massive congratulations to everyone getting a GCSE result today.
Well done!

Another U turn. I hope everything goes well for you on Thursday. Good luck

I am not a quitter. However the way things are regarding qualifications in the UK I find I have nothing to say except
GOOD LUCK

media0.giphy.com

On the Countdown agenda today was choosing to appeal. However its tricky as I see the criteria are still changing. The Government has agreed to refund the cost of appeals but OfQual are imposing tough conditions.
If you want to appeal on the basis of mock results the school or college must be able to demonstrate that the mock covered most if the course content and was held under exam conditions. There must have been no opportunity to make corrections for example. In terms of maths this will mean that you had to sit the three papers including the non calculator paper.

Remember that you cannot appeal only your school or college. There will be huge demand and you may find you are squeezed out as the rules tighten.

Never forget that you grade can go down as well as up.
At time of posting the situation remains fluid.

Countdown to Results

One of the options you have if you are unhappy with your grade is to sit an exam in November. I actually think this is a brave choice.
If you are at secondary school and have always felt happy with your maths study then you could choose to sit the exams. Think about the following:
You will have about six to seven weeks after going back to school to prepare
A pass is a pass .. is it worth it for an improved grade? It is a risk
What us your next step? What does the sixth form or the college want from you?

So, are you confident? Have you continued to study during lockdown? Do you need a higher grade? Could you wait and resit in Summer
2021 after a full school year of study?

If you feel you definitely want to sit the November exams, make it clear to your school or college at the earliest opportunity.

Get a set of exam papers and complete them. Get them marked and identify your skills gaps.

Prepare a study map to fill those gaps, concentrating on key areas... try not to stress out on Trigonometry and simultaneous equations.. ratio, fractions, real life maths are good areas to be working on.

Work your socks off, learn to relax and good luck!!!!

Firstly congratulations to everyone who received A Level and Vocational results today.

Today in countdown to GCSE results we need to look at how your results were calculated.

Firstly you tutors were asked to provide a predicted grade. They will have done this by assessing your work and looking at mock results.

If you have been at the same school throughout and you sat a full set if maths exam mocks this will be more informed than if you are doing a one year college course and mocks were not completed in full exam conditions by mid March.

The school or college will go through a standardisation process, ensuring bias is eliminated.

The examining body then assesses these results, they say it is a "fair and rigorous " process. They have assessed against national attainment and your school or college results for last year.

This is where the dispute is and why the Government has made concessions.

I just feel you need to understand the process before we go on to look at options in the next couple of days.

It is difficult to count down when the Government keep changing things. At time of posting you can either accept the grade given; ask your school or college to appeal for your assessed or mock grade; ask your school if you can sit an exam on November.
So on day 9 to results day i would suggest you think about these options for a short while..can you contact your teacher? Discuss with people you trust. And think about the right thing for you not your friends.
You need to consider options for grades below 4 and those higher grades.

Good luck.

Counting down to Thursday 20th.
Ten ... relax. You don't know. You can't change it. Go and do something fun.

There are currently good offers in shops and online on your back to school kit. Its tempting to leave this till exam time but how can you effectively study without the correct kit?
For maths you need

A scientific calculator - please learn how to use this and don't rely on your phone
Pens and pencils
A 30 cm ruler
A protractor
Compasses

If you dont know how to use the last two .. do find out... and practice

A good hardback notebook plus a folder for handouts
Or a lever arch file, and paper.

Desirable...
Dividers for your file
Coloured pens
Highlighters
Pencil eraser and sharpener

In the exam your pencil case needs to be see through.. there are quite cheap ones available
which will hold everything except your files. It's good to have it all together.

Trying new technology.. comments please

What's it like to be afraid of maths? Is it really the maths you are afraid of? Or is it because of one or more of these:
A. A teacher in the past made you feel stupid or humiliated because you hadn't grasped a maths topic
B. Other students made you feel daft because you fudnt grasp a maths topic
C. You made yourself feel bad because...

You see where I am going here?

Its okay not to understand something. It really is. I took 13 driving tests over 30 years before I passed.
Do you play any games online? Candy Crush, Solitaire, or anything more sophisticated with levels to pass? What do you do if you don't pass a level first time? Flounce off and delete the game, swear never to try it again and tell everyone you "don't do Candy"?
No, you give it another go. And another, and then you try it a different way. You tweak your method a bit. Sometimes you just see it, crack the code, is that all there was? Hoorah.
Maths can be tackled like that.
And it's okay to take a few goes at something until you get it, through pure luck or through a lot of effort, but it will pop.
But....
Never, EVER be afraid to ask for help.

Interesting woman on Womans Hour, Radio 4. She is talking about girls believing that they are no good at maths.
There is actually no difference whatsoever between the abilities of girls and boys when it comes to maths. No left brain skills or right brain skills.
The biggest determining factor is how you have been taught.
What is/was your maths teacher like?

Mine believed completely that girls "can't do maths" and both my sister and I suffered from that attitude.

Trust me girls can help anything.
And this is a message both boys and girls need to learn

I know some students are getting prickly about being away from school or college for so long. You can use this time to your advantage. You cannot change the results you will get next month. However you could be planning for September.
Have you looked at options for next year? If you do less well than expected what choices will you have? And if you do better than expected? Autumn exams? A different route or subject area? Apprenticeships and vocational courses, or A levels?
Are you ready to take a chance on something new?

Build a little planning time into your day and do your research. This good habit can then become study time from September onwards. And you might like to keep notes in a journal on what you find. Good luck!

Don't let your maths skills slip during the long summer break. Look for ways to calculate... puzzles or games are good. Also when going about your day try things like adding up the shopping in your basket; work out the advertised discounts in sales; if you are going somewhere calculate the time it takes or convert miles to kilometres. Estimate how long it will take for the kettle to boil. Work out how many cups of coffee a full jar will make.
Just keep your maths brain working. You will be ahead of the curve when you get back to study in September

You will have heard a lot in the news about GCSE grades. At this stage its best not to worry. You can't change them now.
But word is, they will be about the same as last year

Good luck

Miss James Maths Class is available as a full learning
and online tuition resource.
If you are going back to Year 10
And need extra help, please contact me at [email protected]

I promised you algebra...

Here goes.

I thought I would start with vocabulary.. The words used in algebra questions
The first of these is SOLVE

This SOLVE process is the one we are most familiar with.

To SOLVE means to find a value for the unknown - so a number value for the letter in the sum.

An easy for example then.... SOLVE x + 5 = 12
Some of you will instinctively think "oh, you add 7 to 5 to make 12" and that's great. But I want to show tho process so that you can use it in more complex questions.

So, if x + 5 = 12

Move the + 5 to the other side of the = sign. If you do this you MUST change the sign in front of the 5, so the opposite of +5 is -5

We now have x = 12 - 5

Calculate and you get x = 7

Try this one. y + 6 = 17

Post your answer below.

Next. a - 7 = 11

Post your answer below.

What about times and divide?

p x 3 = 6

The rules of changing to the opposite function apply. What is the opposite of times?
Correct, divide

p = 6 /3

Calculate and p = 2

Try this one and post your answer below.

y x 4 = 24

And this one. a/7 = 3

What about this one? x^2 = 49. ( x squared = 49)

It's a bit harder. The opposite of squared is square root

So x =√49

Post your answer below

Any questions please ask. I am always happy to help.

Next week is algebra week in Miss James Maths Class. Algebra is a branch of maths that uses symbols, normally letters, and we need to learn the rules of use.
Some people find this clicks with them straight away.

Algebra comes from the Arabic word al-jabr which apparently means bonesetting. You can find good histories of algebra online.

The symbols can denote an unknown that we need to find...

x + 5 = 7

So some number added to 5 gets 7

7 - 5 = 2

So x = 2

Sometimes we don't need to find a value for the symbol...

2(y + 6) expand

So we multiply everything inside the brackets by the number outside

2 × y = 2y and 2 × 6 = 12 giving

2y + 12

We don't need to find the value for y.

If you have any questions for Miss James on algebra or any other maths topic dont forget to ask.

Today let's look at the rules of maths..
Many of you know the acronym BIDMAS sometimes BODMAS.
This is the rule we use to make our calculations in the correct order

B = brackets
I = indices
D and M = divide and multiply
A and S = add and subtract

Let's look at a sum

3 × 2 + 7

Without a rule we could get different answers..

Which of the answers is correct?

13 or 27?

Using BIDMAS, do the multiply first

3 × 2 = 6
Then the add

6 + 7 = 13.

So the correct answer is 13.

However, if we put some brackets un we can change the outcome 3 × (2 + 7)

We do the brackets first, as BIDMAS tells us to

So we do 3 × 9 in this case and get the answer 27

A harder sum

4 × (3 × 4) - 4squared
(Sorry cant do the proper symbolism)

4squared is an index, the I in BIDMAS

So
Brackets first 3 × 4 = 12
4squared = 4 × 4 = 16

Now we put it together

4 × 12 - 16

48 - 16 = 32

Why have a rule?
So that everyone all over the World gets the same answer to the same sums. Scientists, engineers and others often work together in different places, different countries, different continents. They are using long complicated calculations. They all need to be getting the same result.

Remember, BIDMAS always applies, and your calculator knows that too.

Today it is MY favourite number.
6.
Why? Because it is perfect. In fact it is the first of the perfect numbers. A perfect number is any number where the factors add up to the number itself.
(All the numbers except the number itself...)
So 1, 2, and 3 all divide exactly into 6. No remainders.
Add them
1 + 2 + 3= 6

Perfect.

The next perfect number is 28

1, 2, 4, 7, 14...
Add
1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14 = 28
Perfect numbers are used in number theory (Very Hard Sums).

Can you find any more??

Do you have a lucky number? Can I guess, is it 7? In a 2015 survey 12.6% of people said 7 was their favourite almost twice as many as the next most popular. (4)

Why?

We are surrounded by the number 7, 7 days a week, 7 wonders of the World, 7 continents, 7 deadly sins, 7 colours of the rainbow.

Beckham wore the number 7 shirt playing for Manchester United. The club always used number 7 for its best players, George Best, Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona.

The two opposite sides of a dice add to 7, 1 + 6, 2 + 5.

So what is your lucky number?

The first thing that made me feel that numbers are magic is the number 11.
To multiply a 2 digit number by 11, add the digits and put in the middle.
23 × 11 = 253... 2 + 3 = 5, and put between 2 and 3
42 × 11 = 462
29 × 11 = 319... 2 + 9 = 11, so add 1 to 2 and the other 1 in between

Because 11 is prime, this is useful when finding prime factors.
I just like it because it so easy.
Try these and check with a calculator

17 × 11
26 × 11
64 × 11
53 × 11
81 × 11

Can you find a quick trick for multiplying 3 digit numbers by 11?

The R rate is one of the numbers in the News at the moment. It is a measure (a bit arbitrary- Google it) of the infection rate, how many people one person with Covid 19 will further infect.
It is currently less than 1, about 0.7
What does that mean?
That 1 person will infect 0.7 of another person? Or that they will make them 0.7 sick?

It is a lot easier to understand if you look at 100 people infected with Covid19.
An R rate of 0.7 means that those 100 people will infect 70 more people (0.7 × 100 = 70)

If the rate is, say 1.1, then 100 people will infect 1.1 × 100 = 110 people.

Why does it matter if it is more or less than 1?

Let's take the next step

With R at 0.7, we have a new set of infected people, 70 if them
Those 70 go on to infect at the same rate
70 × 0.7 = 49
And again
49 × 0.7 = 35
So the virus begins to die out

With R at 1.1
Our new cases are 110
110 × 1.1 = 121
And then
121 × 1.1 = 133
So the number if infected people keeps growing.

Dont forget to see if you can find out where the Government is getting its R number from!

One question I get asked on a regular basis...
Why do we need to know this?
The first and most obvious answer is, you are going to sit a maths exam, so it's useful to know the maths!

Secondly, these days most jobs ask for GCSE maths and English. Even if your current job doesn't require you to have these two GCSEs, one day you might want to move forward in your career, change direction or go to University. You will need maths and English then for sure.

Thirdly maths is really useful. The ability to calculate efficiently is good in life and in work.
Ah, but what about algebra? Well algebra is a great brain training skill. It enhances your ability to solve problems. If there is one saleable skill for future employment it will be problem solving.

Fourthly this is an increasingly digital world and that relates back to numeracy. Studies have found that being unable to effectively handle numbers is worse for your life chances than being illiterate. And it's worse for women than for men. It affects your health, mental a d physical it drastically affects your earnings, it has a bad effect on how you handles finances and financial decision making, it can mean that you engage less in society and politics.

Thought provoking? I hope so.

I promised I would show you the times tables thing on the whiteboard here it is.

Jot down 1 times table, 2 times table, 5 times and 10 times...
Then use them to calculate.
3 times table is 1 + 2.
4 is 2 × 2.. and so on.
It flexible to....
15 times table, 5 + 10

20 times, 2 × 10

Lots of useful numbers for any work you are doing, including non calculator exams..
Worth spending a couple of minutes at the start???

Maths joke;
A couple go hang gliding and something goes wrong, they crash into a tree. They cdont know where they are to summon help.
But it's okay there is someone walking a dog. "Excuse me, mate, could you tell me where we are?" They ask

The dog walker takes a good while to answer, looking around and thinking. He eventually answers "in a tree".
And off he goes.
One of our couple says :Trust us to get a mathematician."
His friend... "how do you know hes a mathematician?"
"He is 100 percent correct, he took ages working it out, and he was no flipping use whatsoever!"