Difficult PSLE 2019 Math Question!

[Wind30]

13 minutes ago, Ender said:

You already mentioned you from gifted program. I would expect this type of pattern, sequence recognition comes easy for you.  The part C, i really couldn't figure within the exam duration constriant. This type are considered math Olympiad type of question. It's not taught in school, but exams do throw in one of these question.  I always tell my kids to put this type of question for last. 

To me, All PSLE questions are not difficult. In exams, the question cannot be too Long and tedious. If u look at the three question quoted in this thread, the answer can be obtained very fast assuming u see the trick. That itself is a big hint on how to solve it. Don’t look for Super tedious way....

Another thing about exam technique, i teach my Daughter quite differently. I don’t ask her to finish everything then check again. 

I ask her to read the question slowly and check after each question. U need to have speed and good time management but this is much better than checking again after u finish everything. I always feel checking a question 20 min later is unproductive as u are unlikely to spot mistakes. Do it right the first time is more effective.

i send my Daughter to her school maths Olympiad extra class on weekends. Her school got hire people to teach and it is just pay money can go kind, no selection. To allow her exposure to such questions.

 

Edited October 3, 2019 by Wind30

[Ender]

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/tough-2019-psle-maths-paper-5-challenging-questions-over-the-years

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'Tough' 2019 PSLE maths paper: 5 challenging questions over the years

SINGAPORE - A Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) mathematics paper last Friday (Sept 27) was said to be so difficult that some pupils who took it were left in tears.

Many parents then took to social media and online forums to voice their concerns about how challenging the paper was.

Discussions over tough PSLE maths questions are an annual affair, with parents taking issue with "tricky" questions from the national examination in 2015 and 2017.

The 2019 paper was said to be among the more challenging papers, with one of its questions brought up repeatedly by tutors.

According to six maths tuition teachers The Straits Times spoke to, the question was harder than many others, but they also noted that there are usually a few difficult PSLE maths questions every year.

And because the difficulty of the maths questions are subjective and depends on the pupils taking the exam, it can be tough to say which questions are definitely the most challenging over the years.

Most of the tutors noted that students struggled particularly with applying concepts they were taught to unique questions they had not encountered before.

These new questions often involved a more cognitive approach, said Mr Wallace Wong, 38, co-founder of Study Room.

"We have noticed a shift in recent years from more standard problem sums which can be drilled, to more creative questions that require thinking and visualisation," said Mr Wong, who has almost 10 years of experience teaching PSLE maths.

Here are some of the tougher PSLE maths questions, by year, according to maths tutors.

1. 2009: Jim bought some chocolates and gave half of them to Ken. Ken bought some sweets and gave half of them to Jim. Jim ate 12 sweets and Ken ate 18 chocolates. The ratio of Jim's sweets to chocolates becomes 1:7 and the ratio of Ken's sweets to chocolates becomes 1:4. How many sweets did Ken buy?

Answer: Ken bought 68 sweets.

Why it was difficult: Mr Zhou Shicai, 35, founder and maths educator at NickleBee Tutors said this question was challenging because it requires more advanced methods to solve. "The efficient approach to solve this question requires simultaneous equations which is a secondary school maths topic," he said. "The pupil could still solve it using the 'Singapore Model Method' or 'Guess and Check' but it would be rather tedious in an exam setting. Nowadays, students are taught the 'Units and Parts' approach to solve this type of questions effectively."

2. 2012: A bakery and a library are 120m apart. They are located between Hong's house and Jeya's house, as shown below. The bakery is exactly half-way between the two houses.

One day, Hong and Jeya started cycling from their houses at the same time and they arrived at the library together. Jeya cycled at 70m per min while Hong cycled at a speed 15m per min faster than Jeya.

a) How much further did Hong cycle than Jeya?

b) How far is Jeya's house from the library?

Answers: a) Hong travelled 240m further than Jeya.

b) Jeya's house is 1,120m from the library.

 

Why it was difficult: While seemingly straightforward, there was a logical element to the problem which tricked students.

Mr Teo Keng Lik, 43, who has been a tuition teacher teaching primary school maths and science, as well as O and A-level maths, for 18 years, explained that most pupils will think that the difference in the distance travelled is 120m.

But the distance covered by Hong is 120m more than half the distance between the two houses, while the distance covered by Jeya is 120m less than half the distance between the two houses.

This means that the difference in the distance they covered is actually double that of 120m, or 240m.

3. 2013: One machine took 70 minutes while another took 100 minutes to print the same number of copies of a newsletter. The faster machine printed six more copies of the newsletter per minute that the slower one.

a) The slower machine completed the job at 1pm. At what time was the printing started?

b) What was the total number of copies printed by the two machines?

Answers: a) The printer started at 11.20am.

b) The total number of copies printed was 2,800.

Why it was difficult: Mr Teo said that it was a rate question but Primary 6 pupils do not learn the rate concept until secondary school.

"So this question requires pupils to adapt the concept of speed, which they have learnt, to the concept of rate, on their own."

4. 2017: Jess needs 200 pieces of ribbon, each of length 110cm, to decorate a room for a party. Ribbon is sold in rolls of 25m each. What is the least number of rolls of ribbon that Jess needs to buy?

Answer: Jess needs to buy at least 10 rolls.

Why it was difficult: Mr Wong said that the solution is not obvious and requires some creative problem solving.

The ribbon problem requires a pupil to recognise that the unused portion of each roll is discarded.

Once a pupil realises that, the mechanics of solving the problem is straightforward because it simply requires division, so it does not require vigorous maths skills, he said.

5. 2019: This question is based on pupils' recollection of the question in the exam and has not been officially published.

a) Fill in the graph above.

b) Find the total number of grey and white triangles for Figure 250.

c) Find the percentage of grey triangles in Figure 250.

Answers: a) Total number of triangles in Figure 1: 1, Figure 2: 4, Figure 3: 9, Figure 4: 16, Figure 5: 25; white triangles in Figure 5: 15; grey triangles in Figure 5: 10.

b) Figure 250 has 62,500 triangles.

c) The percentage of grey triangles in Figure 250 is 50.2 per cent.

Why it was difficult: Mr Alex Tiew, 32, who has 10 years of tutoring experience, said that typically, for such pattern questions, if a particular row's value is higher than the other, it should be consistent when moving from one figure to another, in ascending order.

But in this question, for the white and grey triangles, their values alternate.

"From memory, I do not recall such situations occurring frequently in past years' PSLE papers," he said, noting that pupils generally find something challenging when they are not exposed to them often.

"Many a time, the materials used by pupils would be past years' PSLE papers and papers from other primary schools. However, there are bound to be new kinds of questions each year, which I think differentiates the A pupils from A* ones."

 

 

[Pratakosong]

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/why-psle-maths-papers-can-upset-parents

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Parents upset over PSLE 2019 maths paper: Experts say tough questions assess range of skill

Many expect clear-cut answers, but experts say tough questions assess range of skills

Question: Why do parents seem to frequently find fault with "difficult" mathematics questions at the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), as they did this year?

Answer: That is because mathematics is the only subject which is seen to have a clear-cut formula for doing well, said tutors.

They added that the subject, compared with languages, has black-and-white answers, and some parents think it is the only practice-based subject where an A-star or full marks are within reach.

Mr Zhou Shicai, founder of NickleBee Tutors, which provides maths tuition, said: "In languages or science, there can be multiple acceptable answers, explanations or composition formats.

"But most maths questions have only two answers, the right answer and the wrong answer, leading to parents and students having a quick way of assessing how they did for the exams by comparing answers with each other."

Ms Regina Ong, who has been a private maths tutor for 17 years, said: "Languages are very subjective. No one can be certain if they have the right answer or not.

For maths, you know if you have aced the paper or not right away."

The latest bout of unhappiness centred on three questions in the second section of the maths paper in this year's PSLE, which were singled out by pupils for being difficult, stumping many and leaving some in tears.

The questions were shared online after the paper last Friday, and a Facebook post by a parent airing her grievances on Monday was shared more than 1,000 times. Parents also took issue with tough maths questions in the PSLE in 2015 and 2017.

But educators and parents acknowledged that it is necessary to have a handful of challenging questions in any exam to assess a range of skills and abilities in pupils.

A parent of a Primary 6 pupil, who wanted to be known only as Ms Kiran, said it is "fine to have a fair set of hard and easy questions in any exam", but added that it is important to note that these pupils are still young.

Said the 42-year-old, who works in a multinational corporation: "The first thing my son told me when he came home was, 'Mum, I failed. I tried but I don't think I can even pass.'"

She said she consoled him and advised him to take the experience as a stepping stone, and give his best for the other papers.

The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) has also said that there is a balance of "basic, average and challenging" questions in each national exam to maintain yearly standards.

Mr Zhou said: "Some of the questions are naturally more challenging, and they exist to provide all students the chance to do their best at applying the maths problem-solving concepts and heuristics, as taught by their teachers in school, to those questions."

In a recent article on Schoolbag.sg, a publication by the Education Ministry, former chief executive of SEAB Tan Lay Choo said PSLE questions can be challenging, but have "invisible scaffolding" to help students make some headway in answering. "At least, they can get started," she said. "Kids will feel, 'I can do part one, just not part two'. But part one may give them a hint to part two and so on."

Secondary 1 student Deborah Toh, 13, who attempted the three questions out of interest, said: "My first impression was that some of the questions looked very difficult. But after thinking and trying to visualise for about 10 minutes, it was quite easy to work out an answer."

But under exam conditions, she might have had trouble, she added.

Mr Zhou said most students have different strengths even in maths, and it is not necessarily true that only bright students can handle challenging questions. 

"Some are better at spatial analysis, some are good at pattern recognition, some prefer to use more visual approaches to solving questions, while others are adept at using more abstract problem-solving methods."

Observers said parents play an important role in supporting their children as they sit exams, by helping them to regain confidence even in difficult circumstances. 

Dr Jessie Chua, a senior clinical psychologist from Resilienz Clinic, said that parents must constantly remind children that how they fare in a difficult exam is not representative of their self-worth, character or intelligence. 

Having their parents' support at times like these can help children feel validated, loved and respected, she added. This "eventually helps them to become resilient and resourceful individuals able to tackle challenges as they come".

 

 

Edited October 24, 2019 by Pratakosong

[Heartlander]

My P5 girl told me the other day that her maths teacher complained to the class why anyone would complain that this year's math paper is so difficult. She just completed the PSLE marking and quite a few got full marks haha! 

[Tianmo]

2 hours ago, Heartlander said:

My P5 girl told me the other day that her maths teacher complained to the class why anyone would complain that this year's math paper is so difficult. She just completed the PSLE marking and quite a few got full marks haha! 

Every year the same one lah... 

 

[1fast1]

Actually, there's nothing wrong with throwing a curveball in an exam, as long as it's limited to just one or (at most) two especially hard questions. Separate the men from the boys. 

We always like to think it's the local guys who set especially hard questions because Asians are masochistic or something. But I've seen even worse examples in Cambridge exams. 

During my year's A level Physics paper, the electronics question was a goddamn down counter. Something most of us had never seen before. A series of flip flops (bistables) with the *inverted* output of one chained to the input of the next. So it would be a 4 bit countdown, 1111,1110,1101,etc. The truth table was quite a mind-fark.

Mind you, this was normal A-levels, not the S-paper (which I also did and found less challenging than that one question). 

So even the AMDK can torture students with the hitherto unseen and untaught. Granted, from what I've heard, the locally administered Cambridge exams are more challenging than the ones in the UK (not sure if it's true) but my point still holds. 

Edited October 24, 2019 by Turboflat4

[Wind30]

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/psle-maths-thorn-in-the-side-of-parents-or-challenge-to-embrace-12141208