For PSLE speed questions in Paper 2, you might start seeing word problems that involve 1 object moving and stopping along its journey, 2 objects that starts from the same point and move in different directions, 2 objects that are trying to catch up with one another etc.
Yes, that can be VERY confusing to our Primary 6 students.
Let’s look at an example of one such challenging speed question in Practicle which is similar to what you might see in your exams.
Aladdin and Jasmine were having a race on their magic flying carpets. They left the same starting point for the market at 13 00. Both of them did not change their speed throughout the journey. Aladdin travelled at a constant speed of 60 km/h. When he reached the market at 13 30, Jasmine was 3 km from the market. What is Jasmine’s speed?
Now while reading this Math problem, many kids would already start thinking to themselves “This sounds super hard! Who’s travelling where?!?!”
Luckily, there’s a way to simplify this entire complicated-sounding speed problem!
Want to know what it is? Let’s jump to the next section where we’ll teach you a useful problem-solving technique called the “draw a diagram” strategy to help you solve such speed questions easily. But before that, let’s think about why speed questions are hard to you, ok?