11 Plus Exams Forum

I'm trying to get ready for a day out and DS2 is booing his eyes out because he can't work out one of his homework sums ....I don't want to give him the answer , but can't help as I don't know how to do it either !

Apologies if it's a really easy one...I am dim , you know

1/2 - 9/11 .

He's changed the denominator into 22 for both , but then how do you take 18 from 11 ????

Thanks.

....end up with a negative answer


1/2 - 9/11 = 11/22-18/22

answer = -7/22

Poor Scarlett, not a morning person?

Herm's answer, unless he wrote the sums round the wrong way!

DS1 did say it would be Herman's answer....but DS2 said he hadn't covered anything like that in class and I did think it seemed a bit tricky for year 5 Thanks anyway .

P.S I shall be taking special note as to your weak spots over the coming months, WFG...

Yes - they don't normally look at fractions with different denominators and a negative answer is a bit weird!

Yes, my DS1 has just looked at the replies and said ," But that's secondary school work ! "

Wondering now if I should tell DS2 to leave it or tell him it's a negative answer ( and leave him to work it out )

is it on a printed sheet or did he write it down?

It's on a printed sheet...some of his previous homework questions I often thought weren't quite right such as the one which states...

In a box there are 12 pieces of paper , each with a number. The first numbered 2, the second 4, the third 6 and so on until 12 ???? Surely that should read 24 ? It then goes on to say that if the box is shaken and the numbers are drawn out in pairs and the sum of each pair are.... 8, 12 , 24 , 28 , 40 and 44 what are the numbers that make up the pairs. However , we were told the numbers only went up to 12 so DS couldn't really do it ( but could with the numbers up to 24...but kept telling me it was just up to 12 as that's what the teacher had written.)

Just to be pedantic if it is a take away it is not a sum but a calculation