So, I can do the actual working out of division itself pretty well. If I know the dividend and the divisor, then it's usually very easy to find the answer.
The problem arises with worded questions with no explicit calculation given. For some reason, I have a lot of trouble determining which number should be the dividend and which number should be the divisor.
For example, in the textbook I'm working from at the moment, one question was:
I didn't know which way to work this out at all, but after giving up and looking at the answer, it makes a little bit of sense, but not completely.
Then I came across a question on inverse proportion:
It's just not clear to me at all what numbers I have to divide, or even multiply, to reach the answer... and it's very frustrating and I'm really disappointed in myself that I can't think properly.
Can anyone provide a bit of advice?
Thanks
Whiteleaf
The problem arises with worded questions with no explicit calculation given. For some reason, I have a lot of trouble determining which number should be the dividend and which number should be the divisor.
For example, in the textbook I'm working from at the moment, one question was:
"A car uses 35 litres of petrol to travel 250 km. Assuming fuel consumption stays constant: a) Calculate how far to the nearest km the car can travel with 50 litres of petrol."
I didn't know which way to work this out at all, but after giving up and looking at the answer, it makes a little bit of sense, but not completely.
Then I came across a question on inverse proportion:
"A journey takes two and a quarter hours when travelling at an average speed of 30mph. How long would the journey take when travelling at an average speed of 45 mph?"
It's just not clear to me at all what numbers I have to divide, or even multiply, to reach the answer... and it's very frustrating and I'm really disappointed in myself that I can't think properly.
Can anyone provide a bit of advice?
Thanks
Whiteleaf