At what age did your dc cover these subjects at school?

[mathsgeeks]

At what age did your dc cover the below at school, and practice and learn them?

Factors
Prime numbers
Square numbers
Square roots
Common multiples

Also, does anyone know what the point of learning them is, do they make it easier to do calculations in more advanced maths or is there some other erudite or practical purpose for them?

I was brought up in the Age of No Maths and Grammar, at my primary school it was felt only important to do art and drama, and though I subsequently learned some grammar, the above have somehow never featured in my life so I have no clue.

I can't think of examples, off the top of my head, but multiples up to 50 are definitely daily use.

Things like - how much paint?
Of course there is always a calculator, but unless you understand how the numbers work, you won't always put the right thing into a calculator, or understand if the answer is reasonable/corretc or if you have made a mistake

I honestly feel as though there is a part of my brain here missing because I just can't understand this and I think I might be missing the point - I scraped through gcse level maths but I went on to do post grad studies and was a city lawyer for more than a decade, had to pass exams in accounts before qualifying, and did a lot of renovation work, doing up houses, just for fun - and I have never, ever had to think about anything beyond basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, percentages.... I have not ever had problems with doing calculations or accounts... am I missing the point somewhere?

I am just interested, now, really - my dc are interested in science and engineering and so they will inevitably do more maths than I did and though their school focuses more on literacy and basic maths at the moment - and are brilliant in those respects - my eldest is 8 and his class are learning times tables at the moment - ie not in the UK.

I don't think you need most of it for 'normal life' but depending what job/career you have you may need some of it. You just don't know what bits until later.

It's mainly however very useful for GCSE maths and so needs to be learned. (I see how much my DD struggles with some things because she doesn't spot common factors.)

Glad you enjoyed Professor Mathmo!

I’m an accountant and genuinely quite frightened by how many bright people can’t (or are too scared to do) simple maths. Like a colleague who couldn’t scale a test score from 13 to 12 questions. Or DSis who once rang me from work because they couldn’t find someone who could confidently calculate a percentage increase (she has an A at GCSE maths). If you can do these things you never think about it twice but it seems that a sizeable part of the population can’t.

OP - I think that my point is that when you do your 'ordinary' multiplication, within it is an implicit understanding of factors and multiples.
You don't really think about it, I never think Oh that is a factor of... or Oh that is a multiple of... but it is there within your knwoledge of multiplication.

Just as an exmple, as an ex teacher, you would be amazed at how many kids do not understand that 3x4 is the same as 4x3. And once they get that, then some kids then think that 20-7 is the same as 7-20 and get confused. That shows a fundamental misunderstanding of number, and by teaching some of this more explicitly hopefully that doesn't happen.
For bright kids they often make the steps themselves and don't need it explaining.

They are the building blocks of maths.

We all use maths in everyday, mostly without even realising it, multiplication and division mainly.

How do you split a bill?
estimate how much your food shop is going to cost.
calculate how many tiles to buy to re-do your bathroom.
guesstimate the exchange rate on holiday.
do your tax return.
have an idea if your payslip is correct....

steppe thanks - I see what you mean. I think you are right - the concepts are there, built into understanding. I was referring to the need to learn it by rote - eg learn the common factors or common multiples rather than work it out if and when needed. But actually what teen has said makes perfect sense too - I didn't need it for my job but they might for theirs, and it would in any event help them to learn it by rote, it will speed things up, give them confidence. Thanks for all the responses.

delurking I know! We just forget the things we don't feel we need to remember I guess!