Is this really year 8 maths?

This isn't true. The teacher/HoD puts in the scheme of work at the start of the year and the questions are based on this. Sometimes if the students are at a high level the questions might be a little harder then in class but it shouldn't be topics they haven't studied. Sounds like they aren't using Sparx properly! (From a head of maths)

2+6=8
20-8=12
24/30 = 4/5
Answer is 4(r^12)/5

This question is so simple
My year 5 son would be able to do this after being taught powers
it's just adding up then taking away

I didn't know this was done in only year 8.

Urgh ..sparks maths! I had a chat with my year 8's maths teacher this week about it. She told me that the work is generated by the programme adapting to the child's previous work. This means that they might not have covered a particular topic in class, and have to rely on the (frankly, rubbish) video lessons to complete the homework.

I can't really see how this helps them in their learning, just frustrates my year 8 and means I have to spend hours helping him...usually by finding a better teaching video on white rose!

I don't understand why homework can't reinforce what the teachers are actually teaching.

Cross-posted with @namechange3394 about understanding compound interest.

My DC is Year 8 and I would have no clue how to explain this to her. It mystifies me how I got a B at maths GCSE. Luckily I teach KS1 maths now.

I think being able to understand this will depend on how good the teacher is at explaining as it seems to be a relatively simple concept once you understand it. Given the number of non-specialist maths teachers though, that can't be relied upon.

I think a basic understanding of powers / indices is important for everyday numeracy.

Useful for understanding compound interest (personal finances) exponential growth (pandemics) and so on.

Indices are literally how you do compound interest. If you don't understand that (2 to the power 15) is just 2 times (2 to the power 14) then you're not going to get very far calculating that mortgage.

No it is not surfs

This.

If you know the rules on powers, it takes a second.

If you don't, you could work it out in a couple of minutes.

They are both quite easy I'm afraid.

You just need to know the multiplication law of indices. If your DH is old enough to have done O levels then he's probably just forgotten it!

www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/ztqmhyc/articles/z93nsk7#:~:text=The%20index%20law%20for%20multiplication,simplified%20by%20adding%20the%20indices.

This is why children reject maths as a useful subject. What the hell use is this to them? - that is what they ask themselves, and then switch off.

I help my GS (Yr 6) with his maths homework and some of it seems monumentally pointless frankly. Why not give them stuff that makes practical sense to them? - how much wallpaper or tiles to buy for a certain size of room, how to calculate interest on a mortgage etc.

There is a place for pure maths for the academically minded, but thought needs to be given as to what purpose is served by putting children off maths when they simply cannot grasp this.

One of my DDs was like this and failed by one grade 3 times at GCSE - I told the college to just let her be and not make her keep taking it. She now has an excellent degree from a Russell Group university and an MA.

I looked up on an education site how children are now taught to do long division (I was finding it hard to explain to my GS as I had learned it a very different way) and they said that once you are dividing by 2 digits or more, they tell the children to use a calculator - quite right too!

By all means let us have maths purists and stretch and encourage their interest, but loading all this on those for whom maths is a trial is absolutely pointless - it puts them off maths and school and education. All for what?

Looks like sparx. Have you watched the video? I hate maths, passed gcse but promptly forgot it all as I have no enjoyment in it but I can always help my dc whennI watch the video. My dc gets too angry to watch the videos, he says they are condescending 😂

Summary from BBC bitesize in case she wasn't there for that lesson:

www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/ztqmhyc/articles/z93nsk7

If the second question was "can you multiply 16,384 by 2" you would be complaining that it was too easy for a Y8. They dress the questions up a bit to make sure that you understand terms and concepts.

I'm guessing that they did the topic Rules of Indices if you want to check with a text book or online site like Bitesize.

The one on the right is quite easy- just double it. The one on the left is harder but if they’ve been taught that you add powers when multiplying and subtract them when dividing and how to simplify then it should be ok. It’s been a long time since I’ve done maths at school but I’d think that question would be ok for top set year 8 and probably not one a year 11 would cry over

The second question would be a regular type question on maths papers for private 11+ exams I’ve seen - if you understand the principle of powers then as @PeekAtYou has laid out it is straightforward.

Question 1...

I’m terrible at maths but it’s all down to methods isn’t it. If they’re being taught the methods then hopefully she can work out the steps. My son used to try and teach me his maths at around that age and I was clueless, maths was my most dreaded subject at school (alongside physics and chemistry)🥴

This is practising rules of indices. The first question is doable once they have been taught the rules, and the second is very simple.

Only basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) are needed to work out the answers.

Very standard questions. She should be able to do them if she understands the topic on powers.

Question 2...

(Haha the formatting is doing the same to my numbers by removing the ‘power of’ sign) sorry!