Buckinghamshire Style Maths Paper 2
Buckinghamshire's Secondary Transfer Test (SET) maths paper continues from Paper 1 into more contextual, numerical-reasoning style questions delivered by GL Assessment, mixing shape and measurement content, such as area, perimeter and units of measure, with short worded scenarios rather than pure calculations. As with Paper 1, pupils meet a blend of straightforward number questions and questions that need the numbers extracting from a sentence or short context first.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- For a shape or measurement question, sketch or label the shape with its known measurements before calculating, even in a written-answer paper.
- Learn the standard formulas for the area and perimeter of rectangles, triangles and simple compound shapes, since Paper 2 leans on these more than Paper 1 did.
- Where a question is set in a real-life context, such as tiling a floor or fencing a garden, extract the actual measurements needed before choosing a formula.
- Always check that units match before calculating, converting all lengths to the same unit, such as metres or centimetres, first.
- Where a question has more than one part, complete each part in order and use your answer to an earlier part carefully in a later part, rechecking it if you are unsure.
- Keep a steady pace through the paper, since every question carries the same value regardless of how long it takes.
Worked example
A rectangular lawn measures 9m by 6m. A gardener wants to put edging around the whole lawn, sold in 4m lengths at 7 pounds per length. (a) Find the perimeter of the lawn. (b) Find how many 4m lengths of edging must be bought. (c) Find the total cost.
- Find the perimeter of the lawn: 2 x (9 + 6) = 2 x 15 = 30m.
- Divide the perimeter by the length of each piece of edging: 30 / 4 = 7.5.
- Since only whole lengths can be bought, round up to 8 lengths.
- Multiply the number of lengths by the cost of each: 8 x 7.
- 8 x 7 = 56, so the total cost is 56 pounds.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Find the area of a rectangle 14cm long and 5cm wide.Show answer
Answer: 70 square cm.
Q2Find the perimeter of a square with side length 11cm.Show answer
Answer: 44cm.
Q3Convert 3.5 metres into centimetres.Show answer
Answer: 350cm.
Q4A path is 2.4m wide and 15m long. Find its area.Show answer
Answer: 36 square metres (2.4 x 15 = 36).
Q5A rope 18m long is cut into 3 equal pieces, then one of those pieces is cut in half. How long is one of the smallest pieces?Show answer
Answer: 3m (18 / 3 = 6; 6 / 2 = 3).
Q6Find the area of a triangle with base 8cm and height 5cm.Show answer
Answer: 20 square cm ((8 x 5) / 2 = 20).
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
A rectangular playground measures 20m by 15m. A safety surface costs 12 pounds per square metre to lay. (a) Find the area of the playground. (b) Find the total cost of covering the whole playground with the safety surface.
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Fence panels are 2m wide and are placed edge to edge along a garden boundary that is 35m long, except that the last panel may need to be a shorter, cut-to-size panel if 35 does not divide exactly by 2. (a) How many full 2m panels are needed to cover as much of the boundary as possible? (b) Find the length of the final shorter cut panel needed to finish the boundary exactly.
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Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the buckinghamshire style maths paper 2 worksheet pack - 6 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
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