Can you help me with this maths problem?

[MathsMagpie]

Or explain where to start?

The likelihood for most children is that they will have a brief topic on bar charts / pictograms / pie charts / processing data in KS3 and probably won't look at it again , or there may be a revision lesson covering pie charts in the run up to the exam.*

That counts as reviewing and revisiting in my book. They probably don't spend a whole lesson on it, but you certainly do look at it again however briefly before the exam.

This topic is simple to you ad I but you would not believe how many foundation learners still get this sort of question wrong in the GCSE exam.

What question?

Interpreting pictograms or using pictograms and linking it to the idea of a frequency table and working out the mean, the total number.

Different skills.

Pictograms should be relatively easy - especially if it's a number like 4 as in the above question

Using a pictogram in a frequency table and working out the mean etc - more difficult.

Using a partially completed pictogram to work out the key, and from there completing the rest of the pictogram from the information given in the question. For example:

Thank you, @xsquared . Your access to Dr Frost very helpful: it’s good to have evidence of what most of us were thinking.

I hope @MathsMagpie is able to return to tell us what the teacher said.

The answer is still zero as per my very first response to the original question on the first page of the thread.

Cant believe that this has generated so much discussion. Nobody sent 12 texts. So the frequency of people sending 12 texts is zero.

They might as well ask what was the frequency for 1000 texts. Or 1 million texts

Or ask - how many people sent 12 texts? 1000 texts?

It's a strange question

(maybe someone did send 12 texts but whoever put the data down recorded it incorrectly because they were in a rush and didn't think. Which has been my day today)

I'd hope most GCSE students could get that right.

Is it 4 circles?

@Pythag I agree, I’m astonished how good comprehensive maths teaching is compared to when I was at school nearly 40 years ago. My y8 dd wouldn’t enjoy these questions but her maths and mental arithmetic skills are way better than mine were.