Boost Your Child's Confidence with Year 9 Maths Skills

By Year 9 maths, our children are well and truly teenagers! Many struggle to motivate themselves to get out of bed in the morning, let alone concentrate on their maths lesson. With hormones running through their bodies, there always seems to be one drama or another for them to worry about.

Whilst Year 9 can be difficult for students, parents and teachers to navigate, it is a pleasure to see that our children are growing up. They are able to engage in more meaningful conversations and when they are concentrating on their work, we can challenge them to think more deeply and critically. 

The spread of abilities is vast by Year 9 with the higher achievers able to tackle some quite complex topics. Keeping the level of challenge appropriate to the students, and the work relevant, will help attract their attention and keep them focused. 

In year 9 students will build on the topics that they have covered in Years 7 and 8. These include:

• Number: fractions, decimals, percentages, place value, negative numbers, factors and multiples, rounding, order of operations

• Algebra: manipulating algebraic expressions, expanding and factorising, solving linear equations, using formulae, sequences, straight line graphs, inequalities 

• Ratio, proportion and rates of change: ratio, direct proportion, conversion rates

• Geometry and measures: area and perimeter, surface area and volume of 3D shapes, angles, parallel lines, properties of polygons, transformations, speed/distance/time, construction and loci, bearings, congruence

• Probability: theoretical probability, experimental probability, sample space diagrams, venn diagrams

• Statistics: data collection, pie charts, scatter diagrams, averages

Number

Example questions:

1. Write down the value of 91/2

2. Write the number, 74000 in standard form

3. Round the number 3402 to 2 significant figures

Ratio, proportion and rates of change:

Example questions:

1. a is directly proportional to b. When a=16, b=4. Find the value of a when b=9

Algebra

Example questions:

1. Expand and simplify (x+3)(x-6)

2. Plot the graph y=x2+5x-14

3. Write down the equation of a line parallel to y=3x-4

Geometry and Measures

Example questions:

1. Find the volume of this cylinder

2. Calculate the size of one exterior angle of a regular pentagon

3. Calculate the length of the hypotenuse

Probability

Example question:

1. What is the probability of rolling 2 sixes when rolling 2 dice?

Statistics

Example questions:

1.Estimate the mean of this data:

Foot size      Frequency

4                       3

5                       8

6                       4

To develop skills in maths, a year 9 student must focus on the newly introduced topics such as quadratics, trigonometry, simple and compound interest etc. This would really help them to score well in their school exams as well as national level competitions like olympiads.

• Quadratics: In year 9, the student gets introduced newly to quadratics. This involves multiplying two binomials whose result is a quadratic expression, factoring quadratic expressions, solving quadratic equations using completing squares, etc. Further, the student gets a chance to graph quadratic functions, which gives a deep understanding of the connection between the quadratic equation and its graphical representation.

• Trigonometry: Trigonometry in year 9 starts from the introduction like defining trigonometric ratios, finding them given a right triangle, finding the missing sides, and missing angles. Further, it involves a few application problems involving the angle of elevation and angle of depression.

• Simple and Compound Interest: This is one of the important topics of financial/commercial maths which is very useful in real life as well while dealing with money, investments, debts, etc. There are mainly two types of interests, called simple and compound interests, which have different formulas to calculate them in different cases. There are a wide variety of problems that a year 9 student needs to practice getting hold of this topic.

By Year 9, the novelty of secondary school has well and truly worn off. Students haven’t started their GCSEs yet and many are a little lacking in motivation!

We can help to keep them motivated by providing them with interesting and relevant tasks, recognising their effort and achievements, and supporting them to feel confident and secure within the subject. It is much easier to feel motivated when you are enjoying a subject and feel confident with it.

Also, if you’re struggling on having a will to study - here are some ways to overcome Procrastination!