maths question- please help!!

[AeolianHarp]

Can anyone help me with this question? I have a maths test tomorrow for a job ( this is a sample) and I am rubbish at fractions.

Exports.

France 24
Poland 4
Italy 6
Russia 2

What fraction of the value comes from France?

3/4, 1/24, 1/6 or 2/3?

And please tell me how you got the answer!

I am guessing 3/4 but I am probably wrong..

[Chris]

First, you figure out the total value. To do this, you just add up all the values:

24 + 4 + 6 + 2 = 36

So the total value is 36.

Next, figure out what fraction of this total comes from France by dividing France's value by that total:

24/36

So there is your fraction. Now we just have to reduce it. How to do this? Well, if there is any number that evenly divides both the top and bottom parts of the fraction, we can divide it out of both. In this case, 12 does the job:

Top: 24/12 = 2

Bottom: 36/12 = 3

So the top reduces to 2 and the bottom reduces to 3, giving us a final answer of 2/3.

If you don't have a lot of practice reducing fractions, you might not have seen immediately that 12 was the greatest common factor between the top and bottom numbers. That's OK. You can divide by any number and then try again if you haven't reduced the fraction all the way. One thing you would have known for sure for that 24/36 fraction is that both the top and bottom numbers are even, so they can of course be divided by 2. So you could have tried that like this:

Top: 24/2 = 12

Bottom 36/2 = 18

So now you have 12/18. Still both even! So divide them by two again:

Top: 12/2 = 6

Bottom: 18/2 = 9

Now you have 6/9. Both numbers are no longer even, so they both can't be divided by 2. But it should be pretty easy to see that they can both be divided by by 3. So try that:

Top: 6/3 = 2

Bottom: 9/3 = 3

So as you can see, we have still gotten to the same answer of 2/3.

Good luck on the test!

[AeolianHarp]

Thanks Chris- mine was just a guess- by thinking well there are 4 countries and France has the most and I drew a rough visual pie chart of how it could look, and just made that guess.
I got 19/25 at the test ( as did most of the others).
It turns out it wasn't part of the recruitment process ( this is a week's training course put on by an agency as part of the recruitment process for admin jobs) but to see if we need any additional help on the course/training. Most of it is easy stuff it seems- employability, interview techniques, health, hygiene and safety at work and lastly admin. All level one stuff- most of it I know already.

[Decrepit Poster]

I'm glad someone could answer this for you. It sure wouldn't have been me. LOL . . . you want to keep me as far away from math as possible if not further.

[AeolianHarp]

I'm glad someone could answer this for you. It sure wouldn't have been me. LOL . . . you want to keep me as far away from math as possible if not further.

You can't be any worse at it than me DP!!

[Chris]

We really should change this place over to "The Math Reference Site." I would enjoy that.

[AeolianHarp]

*runs...*
>.......followed by Decrepit Poster.....>

[Decrepit Poster]

*runs...*
>.......followed by Decrepit Poster.....>

I've been Ninja'd

[Sorrano]

We really should change this place over to "The Math Reference Site." I would enjoy that.

It's funny about our perception of things, like math. As a young adult I could not imagine anyone disliking math more than me. Now, where I work I use it all the time and often wished that I had paid more attention and studied it with more diligence.

[Joy]

That's exactly what happened to me, Sorrano. When I was in school I disliked math and then had a job in a bank for many years where all I did was work with figures so it all worked out anyway as I did enjoy it and that was a great job.

[Chris]

To be fair, learning arithmetic in school can be pretty boring. I'm not surprised that mechanically working out dozens of the same problems might put some students off. You have to get past that to get to the good stuff!

[Megan]

Maths help very much depends on the teacher and they way it's taught, and whether they can be bothered giving extra tuition for the slower learners. I felt I was left to sink or swim, so I muddled through my younger years struggling with maths.
Thankfully, I wasn't put off for life, for I took more of a interest in the subject when I got older.





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[AeolianHarp]

Maths scares me lol

I've got dyscalculia, so no wonder.
Makes sight reading very hard as well.

And I am updating my Excel knowledge (glutton for punishment!)- doing a free online course- and I have Linux so the Linux version is a bit different- but..it is more logical than Microsoft.

[Megan]

Maths scares me lol

I've got dyscalculia, so no wonder.
Makes sight reading very hard as well.

Don't let maths intimidate you, it is an interesting subject in that it teaches many things, like, applying logic, visualizing space, thinking through problems and all that kind of thing.

[AeolianHarp]

Maths help very much depends on the teacher and they way it's taught, and whether they can be bothered giving extra tuition for the slower learners. I felt I was left to sink or swim, so I muddled through my younger years struggling with maths.

I was always right at the bottom of the class with grade E.

But at the top for English, French, History and Art!