The Local Education Authority here in Wales are running a free voluntary course online for maths dunces like me to help us to help our 7-14 year olds with maths.
There's a free optional paper leading to a meaningless qualification, so I thought "why not", and starting to take a look at it... Not going to post the actual paper, but here's a link to the course:
https://www.agored.cymru/Units-and-Qualifications/Qualification/126848 Numbers (Level:Two) HD42CY038
I've posted the questions further down, but here's where I'm getting stuck:
- In question 1b, we do not know the intersection of the number of people who did not want both vegetables AND sauce, so how can we calculate the total number that DID want both? (Note that in any case, it's not asking for the fraction of the total guests, just those that opted for chicken, and of that subset, just those that wanted sauce AND veg, not those that wanted sauce and those that wanted veg.).
I asked the online tutor, who hadn't noticed this before, and he said "Paper can't be changed, write 'unsolveable' and you'll get the mark".
In question 2C, we are told that there are 200 guests. In question 1b we were told that 1/4 of the guests chose the salmon meal, but in question 3, we are told that 40 guests had salmon. Meaning that 10 guests didn't have salmon.
In question 4, we are not told whether the cost for the first 50 guests is per person or for that block of 50 guests. We are also not told if the VAT is included or not, just the VAT rate. The online tutor (who didn't set the paper and isn't marking it) said to assume "per person".
Surely in maths we must never assume missing data? (But if it's per person, the caterers are losing over £100 on just the salmon course!).
- We are asked to calculate the total cost, but we are not told if the guest that did not eat were still charged for food and drinks. And if that is the case, whether the ratio of the total number of guests that didn't eat salmon was constant across the other meal choices.
What I'm thinking here is: As someone who failed maths at school 50 years ago, if I'm right about this, then isn't it a bit alarming that this is the company setting papers for schools and private tuition, and how many of the other parents doing this course will make the "wrong" assumptions and unfairly fail the paper? How would YOU complete the paper before emailing it in?
To be clear, I'm not asking for the answers to the other questions to be done for me, just a sanity check on the problems I'm having with the questions!
The questions in question
Scenario:
You have been given the task of planning a Wedding at the venue where you work. You have the responsibility for planning the catering, arranging additional staff and ensuring that there are enough of tableware and seating for all guests.
1a) The menu choice for the wedding includes chicken, salmon, a vegetarian and a vegan option. 2/5 of the guests have chosen chicken. 1/4 of the guests have chosen salmon and 1/5 of the guests have chosen the vegetarian option. What fraction of the guests have opted for the vegan option?
1b) Of the 2/5 total guests that opted for the chicken option 1/20 did not want vegetables and 1/10 did not want sauce. What fraction of the total guests that opted for chicken wanted sauce and vegetables?
2c) The welcome drink is made by mixing pineapple, lemonade and passion fruit in the ratio of 4:2:4. There are 200 guests attending the wedding and each drink is 250ml. How many litres of each drink do you require, for each guest to have 1 drink?
3 ) The costings for the ingredients to make the salmon course for the 40 guests are below. [Question and data is OK but note the quantity.]
4 ) Problem Solving
You are in charge of working out the costings for the wedding to explain the options to the clients for their 200 guests. Wedding Costs:
- Minimum Number of Guests: 50
- Food & Drinks: £95
- Venue cost per day: £3200
- VAT: 20%
*The cost for each additional guest is discounted by 1/5 up to and including 100 guests. **The cost for each additional guest above 100 is discounted by 1/4.
Terms The deposit is 15% of the total amount including VAT paid on booking. There is an additional discount of 5% if full payment is made before the date of the wedding.
Payment plan option No initial deposit required. The interest on the payment plan is 7.5% of the total cost with VAT included. The first payment is ¼ of the full cost. The subsequent payments are due in 12 equal monthly instalments.
4a) Describe the problem that you have to solve?
4b) What numerical information do you need to address the problem?
4c) What methods and calculations do you need to use to solve the problem?
4d) Calculate the information required to solve the problem and select the level of accuracy to which the results should be given?
Question 1b. You are right, you don't have enough information. Perhaps the examiners expect you to make an assumption like no one would skip both veg and sauce. You could provide a range depending on the possible intersection.
Questions 1, 2, and 3 not leading to consistent numbers... I would say that that is by design, and to answer each question independently of the details from the earlier questions.
Question 4. everyone will be charged for food regardless of whether they eat it. While not explicit, the venue fee is independent of the number of guests.