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From trigonometry to the Pythagorean theorem, there are plenty of math terms you might remember from school – but could you actually answer a question now?
After a survey revealed that half of UK parents admit they would fail their secondary school exams if they had to retake them, MailOnline has put together some sample questions for you to test yourself.
Long divisions, the elements of the periodic table and even the dates of the two world wars are some of the things that parents would have forgotten from their schooling.
Some 44 percent say they have no idea when it comes to helping with secondary school homework, while a third (34 percent) cannot help their school-age children. ‘primary school.
Trigonometry (52%), Pythagorean theorem (46%), algebra (46%), calculating Pi (39%) and the periodic table (35%) all leave parents perplexed.
Some 15 percent have forgotten most of the world’s flags and 21 percent admit they no longer know the difference between a noun, a verb and an adjective.
One in three people don’t know how to convert fractions, while a similar number dread the appearance of long division.
The difference between the types of triangles (26 percent) and the dates of the two world wars (19 percent) also leaves moms and dads perplexed.
On average, parents spend four hours a week trying to help their children with their homework, and 73% of them end up arguing about it.
Nearly nine in ten (87%) say homework has become much more difficult than when they were at school, with 77% believing their children are working much harder than at the same age.
Maths (57%) is the subject that British parents have the most difficulty with, according to research commissioned by MyTutor, a leading online tutoring company.
Two thirds (66 per cent) are embarrassed when they are unable to do their children’s homework and 16 per cent say they argue with their children because young people are smarter than them.
One in five (19 percent) of the 2,000 parents surveyed have contacted their child’s school to ask for additional help and a quarter (27 percent) have considered hiring a tutor.
Florence Milner from MyTutor said: “Although most parents spend a lot of time each week helping their children with their schoolwork, it’s no surprise that many find the task daunting.
“Few people claim to be experts in every subject, many left formal education years ago and the vast majority, according to our survey, recognize that the curriculum is much more demanding today than when they were at school .”
Now take MailOnline’s six-question math quiz to see how well you can succeed:
QUESTIONS
1) TRIGONOMETRY
Calculate the exact value of sin (60°) + cos (30°) without a calculator.
2) PYTHAGORES THEOREM
In a regular right triangle whose two shortest sides measure 8 cm (side A) and 14 cm (side B), what is the length of the third side (side C)?
3) ALGEBRA
Solve this equation: x + 2 − 15/x = 0
4) IP
How to calculate Pi?
5) PERIODIC TABLE
For the element with atomic number 13, what is the electronic structure of an atom? And what is the element?
6) CONVERSION OF FRACTIONS
Express 13/20 as a decimal.
ANSWERS
1) TRIGONOMETRY
Sin (60°) = √3/2
Cos (30°) also = √3/2
The calculation is therefore √3/2 + √3/2, which equals √3. So the answer is √3.
2) PYTHAGORES THEOREM
The third side (side C) is the hypotenuse of the triangle – the longest side, opposite the right angle. You can use the Pythagorean theorem, which is a² + b² = c²
In this triangle, either 8² + 14² = c², or 64 + 196 = c²
c² is therefore 64 + 196, therefore 260.
You then need to square root both sides to get c.
The square root of 260 – represented by √260 – is 16.1, to one decimal point. So the answer is 6.3 inches.
3) ALGEBRA
The first thing to do is to get rid of the fraction, which can be done by multiplying the entire equation by x.
This gives you x² + 2x – 15 = 0
Next, factor the equation by putting it in parentheses, which gives (x+5)(x-3) = 0.
Solve the equation, i.e. x = -5 or x = 3. These two answers are the solution.
4) IP
Pi, expressed as π, can be calculated from all circles when you divide the length of the circumference by the length of the diameter.
The first 10 digits of pi (π) are 3.1415926535.
5) PERIODIC TABLE
The first shell, closest to the nucleus, contains up to 2 electrons.
The second shell must be full, with 8 electrons, before electrons can occupy the third shell.
Therefore, since the atomic number is 13, the last 3 electrons occupy the third shell.
The electronic structure is 2,8,3 – what is the answer.
For a bonus point, the item is aluminum.
6) CONVERSION OF FRACTIONS
You can divide 13 by 20, but there is an easier way.
Getting to a point where you can divide by 100 is much easier.
You can achieve this by multiplying both parts by 5.
This will give 13×5 = 65 and 20×5 = 100.
So this gives a new fraction of 65/100, which can easily be expressed in decimal form as 0.65 – what is the answer.