Word problems set at a school summer fair, all for Year 5 maths. Pupils scale a 12-cake recipe up to 36 cakes, work out bouncy castle hire at £45 per hour, calculate a van's fuel use at 8 miles per litre, compare juice deals, and reason about scaling a fruit punch recipe. Each answer is in the key. The problems practise the England National Curriculum objective on scaling and simple rates.
Number - multiplication and division
“Solve problems involving multiplication and division, including scaling by simple fractions and problems involving simple rates.”
Every problem is a scaling or rate question in a fair context.
Number - multiplication and division
“Solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and a combination of these, including understanding the meaning of the equals sign”
The best-deals questions combine operations to compare totals.
Scaling problems: a recipe for 12 fairy cakes becomes 36, and bunting flags per 10 metres.
Rate problems on £45-per-hour bouncy castle hire and 8 miles per litre of petrol.
Comparing juice offers and testing Leo's claim about scaling a 20-litre punch recipe.
A complete key for all three sections.
Main activity
Use it as the problem-solving core of a scaling and rates lesson.
Paired reasoning
The Leo claim in the final section makes a good agree-or-disagree discussion.
Homework
Familiar fair contexts mean pupils can tackle it without support.
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