11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi My DD told me yesterday that she hadn't covered pints to litres or miles to km in school so couldn't answer the questions in her practice test - what else would she be expected to know in this area of conversion factors including for advanced maths like HBS?

It's possible she has done it but forgotten, but really it does fit in with what I have seen- her teacher has just left and in the upheaval I am feeling her state primary has been slipping behind with some areas missing from her knowledge altogether.

Thanks folks!

My DD has learnt pints to litres, miles to km, inches to centimetres, kg to pounds at primary.
Whether its needed I can't say. For life in general its very useful though. In my line of work we get some very strange units.

In Y7 DS1 was expected to know those two you've mentioned, plus how many pounds in a kilogram (2.2) and how many litres in a gallon (4.5). He didn't learn any of the reverse conversion factors (e.g. how many kilograms in a pound) but knew he could work them out if necessary (e.g. by dividing 1 by 2.2).

He also had to learn how many ounces in a pound, how many pounds in a stone, how many inches in a foot, how many feet in a yard and how many pints in a gallon.

If it help a former maths teacher of mine taught us these rhymes many moons again.

2 and a quarter pound of jam weighs about a kilogram.

A litre of water is a pint and three quarters.

Here's a metre so you see, it's about 3 foot 3.

Obviously not strict conversions, but useful for everyday life and helps to remember the more exact conversion.

Thanks so much.

I'm using the Bond 10 minute practice tests to identify weak, and in this case missing areas - who knows if it will come up on the exam but it is an important general knowledge area everyone can use, true.

I like the rhymes- I'll do the numbers first but poetry will definitely appeal more to dd than memorising facts- as long as she understands they are approximate.