August 2008. To print your own copies of this document visit http://www.skillsworkshop.org/

Level 1 Numeracy test – vocabulary and revision notes
Numbers

Negative numbers – for example, -5 pronounced ‘minus five’
Multiples – 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 are multiples of 3
Factors – 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 are factors of 12
Double – multiply by 2 (verb: to double)
Half – divide by 2 (verb: to halve)
Go up – Increase – Ascending. E.g. 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8
Go down – Decrease – Descending E.g. 8, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1, 0

Rounding

Example 1: Round 47 to the nearest 10. Is 47 nearer to 40 or to 50? It is nearer to
50, so 47 rounded to the nearest 10 is 50.
Example 2: Round 378 to the nearest 100. Is 378 nearer to 300 or 400? It is nearer to 400, so 378 rounded to the nearest 100 is 400.
Example 3: Round 1275 to the nearest 10. Is it nearer to 1270 or 1280? It is exactly half-way. In this situation, we go up, so the answer is 1280.
Example 4: Decimal rounding: Round 6.7 to the nearest whole number = 7
Round 5.38 to one decimal place = 5.4. Round 8.629 to two decimal places = 8.63.
Example 5: Round £2.76 to the nearest 10p. Is it nearer to £2.70 or £2.80? It is nearer to £2.80, so £2.76 rounded to the nearest 10p is £2.80.
Example 6: Round £12.36 to the nearest £1.00. Is it nearer to £12.00 or £13.00? It is nearer to £12.00, so £12.36 rounded to the nearest £1.00 is £12.00.

Estimating
Estimate the answer to 4.8 x 3.9. This is approximately the same as 5 x 4 = 20. So the estimated answer to 4.8 x 3.9 is 20.
Estimate the answer to £6.95 x 5.8. This is approximately the same as £7 x 6 = £42.
So the estimated answer to £6.95 x 5.8 is £42.

Ratio and Proportion

Ratio – a quantity is divided into parts
For example, dilute one part orange juice with three parts water (Dilute – add water)
This is written as 1:3 (the order is very important – so 3:1 is not correct)
In this example, there are four parts altogether, so 1 litre of drink would contain
250ml of juice and 750ml of water
Proportion – increase or decrease a quantity in proportion
e.g. to double the amount, multiply everything by 2 to make five times as much, multiply everything by 5 to make half the amount, divide everything by 2
For example – change quantities in a recipe
If 100g butter is needed to make 4 small cakes, how much butter will be needed to make 6 small cakes?
100 ÷ 4 = 25g (for one cake) 25g x 6 = 150g (for six cakes)
This resource kindly contributed by Ruth Colclough, Newcastle College ruth.colclough@ncl-coll.ac.uk . Originally written for ESOL students taking the L1 numeracy test (without attending a course) but useful for all Level 1 numeracy students.

August 2008. To print your own copies of this document visit http://www.skillsworkshop.org/

Level 1 Numeracy test – vocabulary and revision notes
Fractions

In any fraction, the ‘top number’ is called the numerator and the ‘bottom number’ is called the denominator.
A Unit Fraction is any fraction where the numerator is 1.
Fractions which are equal are called Equivalent, for example 2/4 and 1/2.
Find a fraction part
¾ of 240: divide by the bottom number, multiply answer by the top number.
Example:
240 ÷ 4 = 60, 3 x 60 = 180
So: ¾ of 240 = 180
Simplify (cancel down) fractions
Find a number that you can divide both top and bottom
3
9 number by. In this case it would be 3. There is 1 three in 3 and 3 threes in 9, therefore 3 ÷3 =
1
9 ÷3
3
Writing one number as a fraction of another
Write 20 as a fraction of 80 and cancel to the lowest terms
20 ÷ 20 =
1
4
80 ÷ 20
Fractions, Percentages and Decimals that are equal (the same)
Fraction

Decimal

Percentage

1

1

100%

1
2

0.5

50%

1
4

0.25

25%

3
4

0.75

75%

1
10

0.1

10%

1
5

0.2

20%

1
3

0.33

33.33%

2
3

0.67

66.67%

This resource kindly contributed by Ruth Colclough, Newcastle College ruth.colclough@ncl-coll.ac.uk . Originally written for