Success in

PSLE Math 2023

(Standard)
MATH

i-CAN

NAME:

CLASS:

SCHOOL:

TRAINER’S GUIDE

Another Educational Project by Yayasan Mendaki & Zenitant Pte Ltd

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 CONSTRUCT 1: REMAINDER (TYPE 2)

Problems involving REMAINDER usually deal with fractions or

percentages of remainders. The usual way to solve this type of problem
is usually the model method. However, the model method has its
i-CAN limitations. Usually, it relies solely on the numbers used in the questions
to determine the number of units drawn in the model. To solve this
problem, the ‘branch method’ is used which helps us to see the
different parts of the total at a glance (‘fraction of whole’). Type 1
UNDERSTAND involves knowing the remaining fraction while Type 2 involves NOT
knowing the remaining fraction. In this section, we are tackling Type
2 Remainder questions.

Example 1
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John spent $75 of his money on food. He then spent of the remainder on a bag.
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Given that he was left with of his original amount of money, how much money did
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John have at first?
Solution:
Characteristics of Problem
Branch
 Question starts with a
Money (Whole - ?) quantity instead of a fraction.
 So, remaining fraction is
unknown.
 Fraction of the whole is given
at the end.

________________________________________
Fraction
of Whole/
Final Fraction

Note:
- Usually the final fraction/fraction of whole is calculated by multiplying the
fraction spent with the remaining fraction.
- So, to find the remaining fraction, the process is reversed. The final fraction is
divided by the fraction spent/left to find the remaining fraction.

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 Money (Whole - ?)

___(food - $75) ____(remainder)

3 1
(left) (bag)
4 4

Question 1
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Serene spent $36 of her money on a number of books and of the remaining money
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on some pens. If she had of the original sum of money left, how much did she have
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at first?
Ans:

Branch Money (Whole - ?)

Final
Fraction /
Fraction of
Whole

Final Branch

Money (?)

___ (books - $36) ___ (remainder)

3 1
(pens) (left)
4 4

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Question 2 (Homework)
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At a class event, 15 students decided to play soccer. of the remaining students
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1
chose to swim and the rest chose to play frisbee. If 4 of the class chose to play
frisbee, how many students were at the class event?

Ans:

Branch

Class (?)

Final
Fraction /
Fraction of
Whole

Final Branch
Money (?)

___(soccer – 15 ___(remainder)
students)

3 2
(swim) (frisbee)
5 5

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 CONSTRUCT 2: BOTH QUANTITIES CHANGED

Problems involving BOTH QUANTITIES CHANGED (OR 2 ITEMS

CHANGED OR CHANGED VARIABLES) involve external transfer in both
quantities/identities/variables. It can exist in forms such as fractions, ratios,
i-CAN decimals or percentages.

Eg “A and B had money in the ratio of 3 : 5 respectively. A gave $30 to his

mother while B received $50 from his mother. In the end, the ratio of their
money is 2 : 7.
UNDERSTAND In the above ‘Before-After’ example, there is no identity that remains the
same/unchanged eg Unchanged Total, 1-Item/Identity/Quantity/Variable
Unchanged, Constant/Unchanged Difference etc. Hence we have to
ASSUME something remains the same. In this case, we assume the After
quantities are the same. Hence, we need the ‘Assumed BCA Table’.
Example 2
A box contained a number of square and triangular blocks in the ratio of 3 : 2
respectively. After removing 55 square and 10 triangular blocks, the number of
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square blocks is 10 the number of triangular blocks. How

many blocks were there in the box at first?

Solution: Characteristics of Problem

Actual BCA Table  Before-After problem

 Both
Square Triangular identities/items/variables
Before (B) changed
 Involves external transfer in
Changed (C) or out of the system
 To solve, we make the ‘after’
After (A) parts the same (common
multiple)
 Then we can compare the
Assume the ‘After’ ratios (or ‘p = parts’) are the same. We make them ‘before’ units and numbers
the same so that we can compare the ‘Before’ ratios.

Assumed BCA Table

Square Triangular
Before (B)

Changed (C)

After (A)

If we were to draw the model, we can compare the ‘before’ ratio‘ (or u=units’)

Square
Triangular

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Question 3
At first, Eric had 45% as many buttons as Roland. After Eric bought another 39
buttons and Roland bought another 20 buttons, Eric had 75% as many buttons as
Roland. Find the number of buttons that Eric had at first.
Ans:
Note: It’s always advisable to change % to ratio/fraction to make the
comparison easier and numbers smaller.

Actual BCA Table

Eric Roland
Before (B)

Changed (C)

After (A)

Assume the ‘After’ ratios (or ‘p = parts’) are the same. We make them the same so
that we can compare the ‘Before’ ratios.
Assumed BCA Table
Eric Roland
Before (B) Tip

 If you can observe the

Changed (C) pattern from the ‘Assumed
BCA Table’ to compare the
After (A) number of units, then you do
not need to draw the model.
 Study the unit statement and
Eric the ‘Assumed BCA Table in
Roland Example 2 and Question 3 to
see the pattern.

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Question 4 (Homework)
David’s savings was 75% as much as Alan. After Alan saved another $40 and David
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saved another $20, David’s savings became as much as Alan. Find David’s savings
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at first.
Ans:
Note: It’s always advisable to change % to ratio/fraction to make the
comparison easier and numbers small.

Actual BCA Table

David Alan
Before (B)

Changed (C)

After (A)

Assume the ‘After’ ratios (or ‘p = parts’) are the same. We make them the same so
that we can compare the ‘Before’ ratios.
Assumed BCA Table
David Alan
Before (B)

Changed (C)

After (A)

David
Alan

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 CONSTRUCT 3: VOLUME (THE ‘TAP’ QUESTION)

Imagine you have a large tank, and there's a tap above/under it.
The tap is either filling the tank or draining it at a certain
speed/flow rate. Understanding how the volume of water
changes over time can be tricky/challenging for you. This
i-CAN
challenge involves dealing with volume, time, and flow rates. To
solve it, you need to figure out how much water enters or exits
UNDERSTAND the tank and at what rate. In this section, we will learn how to
track these changes and find the final/initial volume of water in
the tank.

Example 3

A water tank is fitted with two taps, A and B. Tap A takes 10 minutes to fill up the
tank completely. Tap B takes 15 minutes to drain all the water from the tank. If both
taps were turned on at the same time how long will it take to fill the tank completely?

Tap A

Tap B

Solution:

ABT Table (Tap A – Tap B – Together)

Fraction of Tank filled/drained in 1 min

Tap A

Tap B

Together (Tap A + Tap B)

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Question 5
A water tank of dimension 100 cm by 175 cm by 40 cm is fitted with two taps, A and
B. Water from Tap A flows into the tank at a rate of 6 litres per minute. Water from
Tap B flows into the tank at a rate of 8 litres per minute. If both taps were turned on
at the same time how long will it take to fill the tank completely?

Tap A Tap B

Solution:
ABT Table (Tap A – Tap B – Together)
Amount of water filled in 1 min

Tap A

Tap B

Together (Tap A + Tap B)

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Question 6 – Homework
A water tank of dimension 125 cm by 100 cm by 40 cm is fitted with two taps, A and
B. Water from Tap A flows into the tank at a rate of 8 litres per minute. Water from
Tap B drains the tank at a rate of 3 litres per minute. If both taps were turned on at
the same time how long will it take to fill the tank completely?

Tap A

Tap B

Solution:
ABT Table (Tap A – Tap B – Together)
Amount of water filled in 1 min
Tap A

Tap B

Together (Tap A + Tap B)

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