PSLE Maths question. How to solve?

[Vid]

It's the Alcohol ... 😂

 

What are you drinking now?

[Chowyunfatt]

 

What are you drinking now?

Who cares ... 😂

[Jellandross]

Anyone know what's the big hoo haa over this ah?

 

Although my son is still very young but I would expect him to have enough common sense to answer this question when he's older leh. Or am I missing something. Still scratching my head to understand the nature of the complaint here.

 

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/psle-maths-question-on-1-coins-weighs-heavy-on-parents-minds

 

PSLE maths question on $1 coins weighs heavy on parents' minds

SINGAPORE (MY PAPER) - How heavy are eight $1 Singapore coins? Six grams, 60g, 600g or 6kg?

That question in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) mathematics paper on Friday (Oct 2) has upset a number of people, including parents.

At least one person suggested the question is not related to maths and that it must have baffled many pupils sitting the exam, Chinese evening daily Shin Min Daily News reported on Tuesday.

The person, surnamed Lee, posted on the Ministry of Education's Facebook page seeking clarification.

Lee Xun Yi‎ Ministry of Education, Singapore

2 October at 02:51 ·

I can't understand why PSLE came out with a Maths question asking how heavy is 8 $1 coins when they do not even tell students its 6g each. Are we having IQ exams or Maths exam? Misleading! Because coin can be gold coin, plastic coin or even based on ur paper, paper coin. So is 6g the answer? Please, this question has so many doubts. I hope MOE can clarify my IQ question. Am I 40kg, 70kg, 100kg or 200kg if my mother is 75kg? Thank you.

"Are we having (an) IQ exam or maths exam?" wrote the Facebook user, who also believed there could be more than one answer since the candidates were not told the weight of each coin.

To tackle the talking points raised in a new video series called Why It Matters, ST digital news editor Ernest Luis speaks with education reporter Amelia Teng who has been covering the stories on this issue.

According to a mother whose letter was published by Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, the exam question has generated a lot of discussion among parents.

"Our children found it difficult to answer," wrote Yin Xiuping, who said many pupils simply resorted to perception and estimation.

Some picked 600g because they had noticed how the pockets of their pants had sagged each time they placed coins in them, said Ms Yin.

Some based their answer on the belief that the weight of eight $1 coins is close to that of a 500ml mineral water bottle, she added.

But private tutors told Shin Min that such questions are not uncommon in primary school exams.

"The question is in line with the maths syllabus. For example, pupils are taught to estimate the weights of objects such as a watermelon," said Ann Tan.

Some teachers have even brought their pupils to supermarkets where they can check out some common items first-hand, added Ms Tan.

According to another tutor, who wanted to be known only as Ms Sng, many pupils still cannot answer such questions although they have appeared before in the PSLE.

"Some parents want their children to only attend classes, take tuition and do their homework... They are not even allowed to make purchases on their own. But maths is all around us and children should learn from their surroundings," said Ms Sng.

Ms Yin wrote: "The conclusion among parents from this question is that their children should be made to do more housework so they could acquire basic knowledge on life."

And the answer to the question? Based on a photo showing eight $1 coins on a weighing machine, which Shin Min got from a reader, the coins weigh 61g.

Netizens responding to Lee's original Facebook post appeared to be divided over the merits of the question.

User Cat Wu wrote that these type of questions have been the norm, while Sue Ng suggested it was to test "common sense".

The question was also featured by The New Paper, which found out - according to information from the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB)- that such multiple choice questions constitute a small percentage of the total marks in a paper, being worth either one or two marks.

A check of SEAB's syllabus also showed that one of the objectives for primary school curriculum is for pupils to be able to "develop ability to perform estimation".

The paper concluded that the question was asking pupils to show their ability to estimate.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Jellandross

[Darryn]

Anyone know what's the big hoo haa over this ah?

 

Although my son is still very young but I would expect him to have enough common sense to answer this question when he's older leh. Or am I missing something. Still scratching my head to understand the nature of the complaint here.

 

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/psle-maths-question-on-1-coins-weighs-heavy-on-parents-minds

The complaint is because you won't get the answer simply by doing the 10 year series and rote practising exam papers - so some parents upset.

But like I said earlier - I think it's fully in line with math, the syllabus and also mathematical principles.

 

1. The answers were 6g, 60g, 600g and 6kg - you'll notice each one is a factor of 10 - or one place further along in the metric system. Which is a very basic concept I work with my kid on when she does complex answers. (eg - if someone shares 3kg among 6 people, is the answer going to be in kg or g?) not a difficult thing to think about, and estimation is a very integral part of mathematics.

2. As the article says - the kids do a whole unit on estimation - it should be relatively trivial to guess whether one coin is approx 1 g, 10g, 100g or 1kg

[F355]

A feather weighs about 1g . So 6g is about the weight of 6 feathers . Too light for 8 coins.

 

1 litre of water is 1kg , so 600g is about 600ml of water , or 2 cans of Coke . Too heavy for 8 coins.

 

From the choices given , it is obvious one would pick 60g as your answer .

 

Yes , the question is not about maths , its about your ability to relate your maths to the norms in life . This skill is not useless . Imagine if the question is phrased in another way where students were given the weigh of one coin and were asked to calculate the weight of 8 coins . And in the process he makes an error , and arrive at 600g . A student who knows his norms will realise that this is illogical and will re-check his sums , whereas a student that does not know the norms will just leave 600 as his answer .

 

Like that also parents want to complain .

[Jellandross]

The complaint is because you won't get the answer simply by doing the 10 year series and rote practising exam papers - so some parents upset.

But like I said earlier - I think it's fully in line with math, the syllabus and also mathematical principles.

 

1. The answers were 6g, 60g, 600g and 6kg - you'll notice each one is a factor of 10 - or one place further along in the metric system. Which is a very basic concept I work with my kid on when she does complex answers. (eg - if someone shares 3kg among 6 people, is the answer going to be in kg or g?) not a difficult thing to think about, and estimation is a very integral part of mathematics.

2. As the article says - the kids do a whole unit on estimation - it should be relatively trivial to guess whether one coin is approx 1 g, 10g, 100g or 1kg

Yeah I think drilling the kids too much on ten year series and academic model answers may impede the development of creativity, personal judgement and critical thinking. The kids may become too "robotic" such that whenever a decision needs to be made, there's an over dependence on external "inputs" before the "correct" decision can be derived. If there's insufficient or no inputs, system hang liao.

 

This reminds me of a story from a teacher. So the various classes were asked to be creative and go decorate their classroom interior. The less academically-inclined classes were able to display more independence and creativity by completing their deco with minimal guidance. The so-called "top" classes' typical first questions were - "Where's the template?", "Any model answers?", "What's the correct design?", "How many marks for this projects?", etc.

 

There's no ten year series for our University of Life, and there's no model answers to help us live the "correct" life.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Jellandross

[Jamesc]

A feather weighs about 1g . So 6g is about the weight of 6 feathers . Too light for 8 coins.

 

1 litre of water is 1kg , so 600g is about 600ml of water , or 2 cans of Coke . Too heavy for 8 coins.

 

From the choices given , it is obvious one would pick 60g as your answer .

 

Yes , the question is not about maths , its about your ability to relate your maths to the norms in life . This skill is not useless . Imagine if the question is phrased in another way where students were given the weigh of one coin and were asked to calculate the weight of 8 coins . And in the process he makes an error , and arrive at 600g . A student who knows his norms will realise that this is illogical and will re-check his sums , whereas a student that does not know the norms will just leave 600 as his answer .

 

Like that also parents want to complain .

 

The only parents that complained

 

are those that kids got it wrong.

 

The real problem with all this is

 

when kids go to work

 

there is no past year series

 

to help them make decisions.

 

[Jamesc]

Yeah I think drilling the kids too much on ten year series and academic model answers may impede the development of creativity, personal judgement and critical thinking. The kids may become too "robotic" such that whenever a decision needs to be made, there's an over dependence on external "inputs" before the "correct" decision can be derived. If there's insufficient or no inputs, system hang liao.

 

This reminds me of a story from a teacher. So the various classes were asked to be creative and go decorate their classroom interior. The less academically-inclined classes were able to display more independence and creativity by completing their deco with minimal guidance. The so-called "top" classes' typical first questions were - "Where's the template?", "Any model answers?", "What's the correct design?", "How many marks for this projects?", etc.

 

There's no ten year series for our University of Life, and there's no model answers to help us live the "correct" life.

 

Couldn't agree more, very well said.

 

That explains why we have so many managers

 

that cannot make smart decisions.

 

No 10 year series to help them.

 

Edited October 11, 2015 by Jamesc

[Ender]

This 8X coins question is a legit math question. In math they will have to learn to estimate. By university, they would be able to guesstimate the number of jellybeans in a jar.

 

Here's the mathematics of 'jelly beans in a jar"

http://www.mathworksheetscenter.com/mathtips/jellybeanjar.html

[Darryn]

My dotter won a math contest doing this...

Except she estimated money in the coin bank.

This 8X coins question is a legit math question. In math they will have to learn to estimate. By university, they would be able to guesstimate the number of jellybeans in a jar.

 

Here's the mathematics of 'jelly beans in a jar"

http://www.mathworksheetscenter.com/mathtips/jellybeanjar.html

[Car_byte]

Sometimes is question on Logic or is Math?

Some time back some one asked:

 

2 birds were resting on a tree.

Hunter came and shot 1 dead.

How many bird is left?

 

Math wise answer is 1.

But some smart guy may say zero (0) as the other will fly away!

So is 1 or 0 the acceptable answer

[Maxus-MIFA9]

Sometimes is question on Logic or is Math?

Some time back some one asked:

 

2 birds were resting on a tree.

Hunter came and shot 1 dead.

How many bird is left?

 

Math wise answer is 1.

But some smart guy may say zero (0) as the other will fly away!

So is 1 or 0 the acceptable answer

[Darryn]

Sometimes is question on Logic or is Math?

Some time back some one asked:

 

2 birds were resting on a tree.

Hunter came and shot 1 dead.

How many bird is left?

 

Math wise answer is 1.

But some smart guy may say zero (0) as the other will fly away!

So is 1 or 0 the acceptable answer

[Maxus-MIFA9]

Can answer 2 - they were both democrats? 

 

You mean the hunter a Republican ! 

 

Firing blanks ...

[Hiphiphoray]

1/4 of the fishes in an aquarium are goldfish.

There are 4 more guppies than goldfish in the aquarium.

The remaining 16 fishes are craps.

How many fishes are there in the aquarium?

 

[Samshio]

1/4 of the fishes in an aquarium are goldfish.

There are 4 more guppies than goldfish in the aquarium.

The remaining 16 fishes are craps.

How many fishes are there in the aquarium?

 

 

 

40

 

using models:

 

[  gold: 1/4  ] [  1/4 ]  [ 1/4 ]  [ 1/4 ]

 

guppies = gold + 4 = [ 1/4 ] + 4

 

remaining = carp = [1/4] [1/4] - 4 = 16

 

thus [1/4] = 10

 

4/4 = 40 fishes

[Porker]

1/4 of the fishes in an aquarium are goldfish.

There are 4 more guppies than goldfish in the aquarium.

The remaining 16 fishes are craps.

How many fishes are there in the aquarium?

 

Cannot be solved because never heard of a fish called crap

[Coltplussport]

1/4 of the fishes in an aquarium are goldfish.

There are 4 more guppies than goldfish in the aquarium.

The remaining 16 fishes are craps.

How many fishes are there in the aquarium?

 

I try try.

 

Let y be number of fishes.

 

1/2 y - 4 = 16

 

Y= 40