Transum Software

Using a Calculator

Questions to test your ability to use a basic calculator, scientific calculator and a graphic display calculator.

BIDMAS Workout Basic Scientific Graphic display Description Help More...

There are three levels of calculator questions. Those you can do with a basic calculator, those testing proficiency with a scientific calculator and those requiring the advanced abilities of a graphic display calculator. Click on a calculator below to see the related questions.

Basic Scientific Graphic Display
Basic Calculator

Click on a calculator
to begin.

Scientific Calculator  GDC

Instructions

Try your best to answer the questions above. Type your answers into the boxes provided leaving no spaces. As you work through the exercise regularly click the "check" button. If you have any wrong answers, do your best to do corrections but if there is anything you don't understand, please ask your teacher for help.

When you have got all of the questions correct you may want to print out this page and paste it into your exercise book. If you keep your work in an ePortfolio you could take a screen shot of your answers and paste that into your Maths file.

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Factorising

Factorising

Practise the skills of algebraic factorisation in this structured online self-marking exercise. So far this activity has been accessed 53851 times and 34070 Transum Trophies have been awarded for completing it.

Why am I learning this?

Mathematicians are not the people who find Maths easy; they are the people who enjoy how mystifying, puzzling and hard it is. Are you a mathematician?

Comment recorded on the 10 September 'Starter of the Day' page by Carol, Sheffield PArk Academy:

"3 NQTs in the department, I'm new subject leader in this new academy - Starters R Great!! Lovely resource for stimulating learning and getting eveyone off to a good start. Thank you!!"

Comment recorded on the 12 July 'Starter of the Day' page by Miss J Key, Farlingaye High School, Suffolk:

"Thanks very much for this one. We developed it into a whole lesson and I borrowed some hats from the drama department to add to the fun!"

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Shunting Puzzles

Shunting Puzzles

These puzzles are Transum's versions of the shunting or switching puzzles made popular by train enthusiasts and logic puzzle solvers.

Answers

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Go Maths

Learning and understanding Mathematics, at every level, requires learner engagement. Mathematics is not a spectator sport. Sometimes traditional teaching fails to actively involve students. One way to address the problem is through the use of interactive activities and this web site provides many of those. The Go Maths page is an alphabetical list of free activities designed for students in Secondary/High school.

Maths Map

Are you looking for something specific? An exercise to supplement the topic you are studying at school at the moment perhaps. Navigate using our Maths Map to find exercises, puzzles and Maths lesson starters grouped by topic.

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When planning to use technology in your lesson always have a plan B!

Transum,

Thursday, June 13, 2019

"I have just noticed something I hadn’t realised about the Windows calculator. When running in standard mode it operates LTR (2+3x5=25) while in scientific mode it obeys the normal order of operations (2+3x5=17). Worth knowing when learning about BIDMAS or PEMDAS

Windows calculator

"

Dave Grochocki, Twitter

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Do you have any comments? It is always useful to receive feedback and helps make this free resource even more useful for those learning Mathematics anywhere in the world. Click here to enter your comments.

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Description of Levels

BIDMAS - Learn about the order of operations.

Calculator Workout - Examples of all the major calculator operations.

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Level 1 - Basic calculator quiz.

Level 2 - Scientific calculator quiz.

Level 3 - Graphic display calculator quiz.

More on this topic including lesson Starters, visual aids and investigations.

Answers to this exercise are available lower down this page when you are logged in to your Transum account. If you don’t yet have a Transum subscription one can be very quickly set up if you are a teacher, tutor or parent.

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Examples

Click on a link below to see an example and an animated key-press diagram of a calculator.

Skill 1: Basic Operations e.g. Calculate the value of \(9+4−7\)

Skill 2: Using Brackets e.g. Calculate the value of \(5(9-4)\)

Skill 3: Percentage of a quantity e.g. What is \(24% of 1800\)?

Skill 4: One quantity as a percentage of another e.g. What is \(45\) as a percentage of \(150\)?

Skill 5: Squares and square roots e.g. Calculate the value of \(\sqrt{5^2 + 12^2}\)

Skill 6: Indices e.g. \((3^3 + 2^4)^2\)

Skill 7: Cube roots e.g. Find the value of \( \sqrt[3]{27} \)

Skill 8: Standard Form e.g. Express \(236731\) in standard form correct to 3 significant figures.

Skill 9: Areas of circles e.g. [Give all answers correct to three significant figures]. e.g. Find the area of a circle with a radius of 9cm.

Skill 10: Fraction calculations e.g. Find the value of \( 3\frac13 + 2\frac25 \)

Skill 11: Trigonometry e.g. Evaluate \(21 \sin34°\) to three significant figures 1.

Skill 12: Degrees (or Hours), Minutes and Seconds e.g. Convert the angle 16°35'40" to its decimal equivalent.

Skill 13: Using Variables e.g. If \(A = 1.62\), \(B = 9.87\) and \(C = 5.62\)
evaluate \(AB+BC−AC\).

Skill 14: Combinations e.g. How many different groups of 3 can be selected from 8?

Skill 15: Permutations e.g. In how many different ways could 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes can be awarded to 3 of 8 competitors?

Please remember to type in the zero before the decimal point for answers such as 0.4 because only typing in .4 will be marked incorrect.

Don't wait until you have finished the exercise before you click on the 'Check' button. Click it often as you work through the questions to see if you are answering them correctly. You can double-click the 'Check' button to make it float at the bottom of your screen.

Answers to this exercise are available lower down this page when you are logged in to your Transum account. If you don’t yet have a Transum subscription one can be very quickly set up if you are a teacher, tutor or parent.

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