Maths in D&T for GCSE Design and Technology
GCSE Design and Technology, Making. Usually met in years 9 to 11.
Use the maths that designers need: areas, scale drawings, percentage waste and how many parts fit on a sheet.
What you practise
- Areas and unit conversions
- Scale drawings and models
- Waste and nesting parts on a sheet
Starts with areas and builds to how scale affects area. Practice moves up a level when a round goes well and down when it does not.
Sample questions
Each sample comes with the method and the reason every wrong option is wrong. Real practice rounds are ten questions at your level.
Sample question, level 2 of 5
A drawing is at a scale of 1:5. A line on it is 55 mm long. How long is the real object?
- 2,750 mm
- 11 mm
- 275 mm
- 55 mm
- 60 mm
Show the answer and method
Answer: C, 275 mm
The method: At 1:5, every 1 mm on the drawing is 5 mm in real life: 55 × 5 = 275 mm.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A, 2,750 mm: The decimal point is one place out.
- B, 11 mm: At 1:5 the real object is bigger than the drawing, so multiply.
- D, 55 mm: That is the length on the drawing.
- E, 60 mm: Multiply by the scale factor; do not add.
Sample question, level 4 of 5
How many 70 mm × 120 mm pieces can be cut from a sheet 600 mm × 600 mm, with all the pieces facing the same way?
- 40
- 45
- 5
- 8
- 42
Show the answer and method
Answer: A, 40
The method: 600 ÷ 70 = 8 across and 600 ÷ 120 = 5 down (rounding down), so 8 × 5 = 40 pieces.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B, 45: Round down: a part piece cannot be used.
- C, 5: That is one column only.
- D, 8: That is one row only. Multiply by the number of rows.
- E, 42: That divides the areas, which ignores offcuts too small to use.
See where this fits: every GCSE option topic and Key Stage 3.
Related topics: Making and production.
