Function Junction. Student Book Achieve Functional Skills in Mathematics

Sa m pl e Function Junction M AT H E M AT I C S Student Book Achieve Functional Skills in Mathematics

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Contents 1 Introduction 2 2 Functional Skills criteria for Mathematics 4 3 Recording progress 6 4 Activities for building skills 7-34 5 Activities for practising and applying skills 35-37 6 Preparation for assessment 38-43 7 Development Course 44

1. Introduction Welcome to Function Junction: Mathematics 1 Introduction Function Junction: Mathematics page 2 The activities in this book are relevant to everyday contexts and appropriate for students on programmes such as CoPE, GCSEs, Diplomas or Foundation Learning. If you are a GCSE student, Functional Skills will be built into your GCSE Mathematics course as well. The activities will help you to build and practise your Functional Mathematics skills. They will also help you to learn to apply your skills to solve problems. Your tutor will help you choose the activities you need to try and will make sure that they are part of the course you are on. Use this book to keep a record of everything you have learnt and the feedback your tutor has given you. You can also keep a record of your own thoughts about what you have done well and things that could be improved. When you have completed the activities and your tutor has helped you to record what you have done, you will be ready to take the Functional Mathematics practice assessment at Level 2. When your teacher agrees that you are ready, you will be able to take the Functional Mathematics assessment at Level 2. Good luck and enjoy the activities on your way to success in Functional Mathematics!

2. Functional Skills criteria for Mathematics 2 Criteria Function Junction: Mathematics page 4 Functional Mathematics is about the skills and abilities you need in your everyday life, the workplace and at school or college. The Functional Mathematics criteria have two sections: A Process skills The process skills and the framework for Functional Mathematics help you to develop your skills in tackling problems and to: understand a situation choose an approach to tackle the problem identify the information you will need decide what Mathematics you will need to use use Mathematics to find answers check your answers interpret your results communicate what you have found out They also help you to apply and adapt your problem-solving and Mathematics abilities to other situations as they arise. There are three process skills: Representing Analysing Interpreting Making sense of situations Processing and using Mathematics Interpreting and communicating the results of the analysis There is more information in the table on the next page. The challenges in Section 5 will help you to develop and practise these skills.

4. Activities for building skills The activities in this section will help you build and practise your skills in Mathematics. You may need to use other equipment, including a computer, to complete some of the activities. Your teacher will help you to choose the activities you need to do you may not need to do all the activities in this section. For each of the activities: think about the what you need to do decide what Mathematics you will use practise the Mathematics using the exercises write your answers in the spaces provided You may use a calculator for all the tasks, but remember to use checking procedures (such as estimating or reverse calculations) to check all your answers. Activity One Practise reading maps and working with distances and scales. Then plan two journeys, using a different type of map for each. Functional Mathematics (coverage and range): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 1 Ask your teacher to lend you copies of the three different types of maps. Which one would you use: (a) To drive from Ipswich to Edinburgh? (b) To get to an address in your home town? (c) To find a town in your local area? page 7 Function Junction: Mathematics 4 Building Skills

3 You have decided that the cornflakes would keep longer in an airtight container. The local shop has a range that looks OK but you would like to be sure that the cornflakes would fit. Your cornflakes come in a box that measures 95mm x 240mm x 320mm tall. The box is only 7/8 full. 4 Building Skills Function Junction: Mathematics page 28 A The containers are cylindrical. A is 32cm tall with a diameter of 16cm, B is 16cm tall with a diameter of 20cm. (a) Which container should you buy to store a whole box of cornflakes? (b) How can you check your answer? B 4 Which is the better buy: two pints of milk for 90p or one litre of milk for 84p? (Show your working and how you could check your answer). Answer:

5. Activities for practising and applying skills 4 Building Skills Function Junction: Mathematics page 34 This section gives you a choice of activities to practise all your skills. The activities use a problem-solving approach, as required by the Functional Skills standards. In our daily lives we have to use our Mathematics skills in many different situations and we need to make decisions about how best to apply them according to the context. There is nearly always more than just one way of tackling things. It is best to approach such a problem scenario in a logical way, with sensible steps taken in sequence to reach a solution. Think about how you will solve the problem, what information you will need and what Mathematics you will use. Remember to check your working and to present your results and findings in a clear and suitable way, so that other people can understand what you have done. The questions below can be applied to all the situations set out in the following pages. Carry out the activities as described, or choose alternative ways of practising and applying your skills. Before you start: What are you hoping to find out? What information will you need? Where will you find the information? What Mathematics will you need to do? What resources will you need (e.g. calculator, computer)? How will you present your results and findings? When you have finished, ask yourself: Have I checked all the answers? Have I used the best methods? Have I solved the problem? Do my results make sense? Could I have done this in a better or different way?

Context: You are looking for job opportunities in your local area and want to know whether you will be able to find a job that suits you. Activity 7 Research patterns of employment, including part-time and full-time working, flexible work practices and holiday entitlement, in your local area. You could find out information by looking at newspaper supplements, visiting the Job Centre or speaking to a Connexions adviser. Produce an information leaflet for job seekers about the types of employment typically available in your area. Functional Mathematics (coverage and range) reference may include: 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11 Context: You want to investigate the weather conditions in your area to compare with the average for your region. Make or buy suitable equipment to measure air quality or other weather data (e.g. temperature, air pressure). Keep a note of the readings every day for a week. Find out data on the average conditions for your region at a similar time of year. Draw graphs to compare the two sets of data. What conclusions can you draw? Suggest reasons for any differences between your measurements and the average. Functional Mathematics (coverage and range) reference may include: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11 Context: Work with 2-D and 3-D shapes to create and produce decorations Design and produce seasonal decorations for a multi-cultural nursery. Research traditional decorations and choose five that you will make, including both 2-D and 3-D shapes. Work out what materials and templates you will require to construct the decorations and think about how the different designs could fit together. Use what you have made to decorate a nursery and ask for feedback on how successful your designs have been. Activity 8 Activity 9 page 37 Function Junction: Mathematics 5 Practising and Applying Skills Functional Mathematics (coverage and range) reference may include: 2, 3, 6, 7, 8

6. Preparation for Functional Mathematics assessment 6 Preparation for Assessment Function Junction: Mathematics page 38 The following example tasks are taken from Level 2 Functional Mathematics assessments. You will need paper (lined and graph/squared), a calculator, a pencil and a ruler. Remember to read through the tasks before you start work. One of the tasks includes an information booklet make sure that you look at all the information before you start. You can ask about any words that you do not understand but try to do all the working on your own. You will see that some of the tasks show the number of marks for each section. It is important to check that you think you have done enough to earn the marks. Remember that you will be assessed on the process skills as well as the Mathematical skills you use, so it is important to plan what you will do, write down all your calculations, check all your answers and present your work clearly. When you have finished an example task, ask your teacher to mark it for you. The example tasks start on the next page.

POSTAGE SURVEY 6 Preparation for Assessment Function Junction: Mathematics page 42 Item Number of packages sent Postage cost of packages sent CDs 342 328.92 DVDs 276 129.86 Flash drives 540 1,043.40 Inkjet cartridges 665 1,054.25 Toner cartridges 489 1,320.30 Formula: Total postage and packing cost (including labour and materials cost) = 107.5% x postage cost Assessment tasks As you work through the tasks, make sure that you: Lay out your work clearly, including all the methods/working that you have done even if you have used a calculator or done them in your head Check all your answers and show the checks you have made Task 1 Sending packages by post (4 marks) This task is about packaging USB flash drives for sending through the post. USB flash drives are packaged in boxes with the dimensions shown below: 8 cm 2.7 cm 1.3 cm Each flash drive weighs 24g. Customers must buy a minimum of five flash drives. The company expects that 1,500 people will order the minimum number. The five flash drives are to be packed in a small box to keep them together and make sure that they arrive undamaged. The diagram shows how the flash drives will be packed in the box. 8 cm The box is then packed in a padded mail bag. (Assume length and width of the filled mail bag are the same as the unfilled bag, with a thickness of less than 2.5cm). 2.7 cm

Development Course 7 Development Course Function Junction: Mathematics page 44 If you have completed activities in this book you could count your work as a Development Course for two credits into the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) and other ASDAN Programmes (Bronze, Silver, Gold, FE Awards). You must: Complete the record of progress on page 5 Spend a minimum of 20 hours working on activities from sections 4, 5 and 6 Complete the sections of the book you have worked on Fill in the relevant sections of the book as you go Ask your tutor to verify completion with a signature and date in the box below Sign and date in the box below to verify that it is your own work If you would like certificates: Ask your tutor to contact ASDAN for details about how to register Check that all the necessary activities and record of progress are complete Complete the verification box below Development Course Verification Tutor I verify that has completed work in this book according to the criteria. Signed: Student I verify that the completed work in this book is my own. Signed: Date: Date: