Problem Solving with Areas (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Maths)

Problem Solving with Areas

What is problem solving?

• Problem solving, usually has two key features:

  • A question is given as a real-life scenario

    • eg. Mary is painting a bedroom in her house...

  • There is usually more than one topic of maths you will need in order to answer the question

    • eg. Area and percentages

What are common problems that involve area?

• Area is a commonly used topic of 'real-world' maths

  • For example, laying a carpet, painting a house or designing a sports field all involve area

• Typically, the 'real-world' scenarios also have a cost

  • A lot of area problems also involve calculations with money

How do I solve problems that involve area?

• There is often a lot of text in a problem solving question, which can make it seem harder than it is

  • Avoid focusing only on what the question asks you, think about what you can do with the information given

    • This may lead you to think of something else you can do

    • Eventually you may be able to see your way to answering the original question

  • Think about the context of the question, what makes sense?

• Look out for key information in the text:

  • Real-life context

    • A question involving the size of a field, will mean be talking about its area 

  • Key words

    • Types of measure: area, length, cost, ... 

    • Conditions: minimum, maximum, greatest, ...

  • Units

    • You may see compound units, e.g. $/m² , these may help you to identify calculations that you need to do

• Annotate diagrams with information that you can work out

  • Remember to do this in pencil in case you need to erase it!

• Problem solving questions could appear on either a non-calculator paper or a calculator paper