📚 PSLE Practice Quiz

Step 1 — Find how much was spent:
¾ × $48 = (48 ÷ 4) × 3 = $12 × 3 = $36

Step 2 — Subtract from total:
$48 − $36 = $12 ✅

Why others are wrong:
B ($16): incorrect — this is 48 ÷ 3, which has no meaning here.
C ($36): this is the amount spent, not what's left.
D ($24): this is ½ of $48, not ¾.

💡 Tip: For fractions of a quantity, always divide by the denominator first, then multiply by the numerator.

Step 1 — Find total parts:
Boys : Girls = 3 : 5 → Total = 3 + 5 = 8 parts

Step 2 — Find value of 1 part:
40 pupils ÷ 8 parts = 5 pupils per part

Step 3 — Find number of boys:
Boys = 3 parts × 5 = 15 ✅

Why others are wrong:
A (24): this equals girls (5 × 5 = 25, not 24 — none of the wrong answers make sense).
C (25): this is the number of girls (5 × 5), not boys.
D (18): no valid calculation leads here from the given ratio.

💡 Tip: In ratio problems, always add the parts first to find the "whole," then divide the total by that sum to get one part's value.

Formula: Area of rectangle = length × width

Substituting:
Area = 15 cm × 8 cm = 120 cm² ✅

Important: Area is always measured in square units (cm², m², etc.) because you are covering a 2D surface.

💡 Tip: Don't confuse Area with Perimeter!
• Perimeter = distance around the shape = 2 × (15 + 8) = 46 cm
• Area = space inside the shape = 15 × 8 = 120 cm²

Method — break it up:
$6.40 × 5
= ($6 × 5) + ($0.40 × 5)
= $30.00 + $2.00
= $32.00 ✅

Why others are wrong:
A ($30.00): forgot the 40 cents — only multiplied the whole-dollar part.
C ($34.00): added $2 too many (common mental arithmetic slip).
D ($28.40): incorrectly added 5 to $28, not multiplied.

💡 Tip: When multiplying decimals, split into dollars and cents separately — it's easier and reduces errors.

Step 1 — Convert time:
1 hour = 60 minutes

Step 2 — Find number of 10-minute intervals:
60 ÷ 10 = 6 intervals

Step 3 — Multiply by rate:
6 × 3 litres = 18 litres ✅

💡 Tip: Rate problems follow a simple pattern:
Total = Rate × Number of intervals
Always convert all units to the same measure before calculating (here: everything in minutes).

What does "squared" mean?
3² means 3 × 3 (not 3 × 2!)

Calculate each square:
3² = 3 × 3 = 9
4² = 4 × 4 = 16

Add them together:
9 + 16 = 25 ✅

Why others are wrong:
A (14): calculated 3 × 2 + 4 × 2 = 14 — confused squaring with multiplying by 2.
C (49): calculated (3 + 4)² = 7² = 49 — added first then squared (wrong order!).
D (7): just added the bases 3 + 4, ignored the squaring entirely.

💡 Tip: Square each number separately first, then add. Squaring the sum is a completely different operation!

The Rule — Present Simple (3rd person singular):
When the subject is he / she / it (or any single name), add -s or -es to the verb.

Applying the rule:
Subject = "She" (3rd person singular) → "go" becomes "goes" ✅

Why others are wrong:
A (go): correct for I/you/we/they — but not for she.
C (going): needs a helper verb, e.g. "She is going to school."
D (gone): past participle — needs a helper, e.g. "She has gone."

💡 Tip: Remember the rule: He/She/It adds an S. Think of it as the subject "lending" an S to the verb!

What does "enormous" mean?
"Enormous" = extremely large in size or amount.

Finding the synonym (same meaning):
✅ Gigantic = very large → closest match

Why others are wrong:
A (tiny): the opposite of enormous — this is an antonym, not a synonym.
C (narrow): describes width, not size — unrelated.
D (bright): describes light or intelligence — unrelated to size.

💡 Build your vocabulary bank:
Synonyms for "enormous": gigantic, colossal, massive, immense, vast, huge.
Antonyms: tiny, miniature, microscopic, minute.

Irregular plurals — "child" is special:
child → children (NOT "childs" or "childrens")

Since "children" is already plural, the verb has no -s:
✅ "The children play" — plural subject, base verb form

Why others are wrong:
A (plays): only used with singular subjects — "The child plays."
C (is playing in park): double error — "is" is singular AND "in park" is missing "the."
D (childrens): never correct — "children" is already plural, never add -s.

💡 Tip — Common irregular plurals to memorise:
child→children · man→men · woman→women · tooth→teeth · foot→feet · mouse→mice

Identify the tense:
"He was so exhausted…" — "was" is past tense, so the blank must also be past tense.

"Fall" is an irregular verb:
fall (present) → fell (past) → fallen (past participle)

✅ "He fell asleep" — simple past tense

Why others are wrong:
fall: present tense — "I fall asleep easily." Wrong tense here.
fallen: past participle — needs a helper verb: "He had fallen asleep."
falls: 3rd person present — "He falls asleep every night." Wrong tense.

💡 Tip — Irregular verb trio to memorise:
fall → fell → fallen  |  rise → rose → risen  |  lie → lay → lain

Identify the literary device — Metaphor:
The coach is NOT literally talking about rain or sunshine. The words are used figuratively:
🌩️ "Storm" = hardship, difficulty, adversity
☀️ "Sunshine" = easy, comfortable times

Interpret the meaning:
"Champions are made in the storm" → True champions are built through hardship, not comfort.
✅ Answer: Facing hardships builds true champions.

Why others are wrong:
A: The opposite — champions train despite bad conditions, not only in good ones.
C: Contradicts the passage — the team continued training in the rain.
D: Sunshine is used negatively here — it represents comfort, not achievement.

💡 Tip: For inference questions, ask: "What is the author really trying to say?" Look for figurative language (metaphors, similes) — they always carry a deeper meaning.

The Infinitive Rule:
Whenever a verb follows "to" (as an infinitive), always use the base form of the verb — no -s, no -ed, no -ing.

Applying the rule:
"…told to _____ their essays" → base form of "revise" = revise ✅

Why others are wrong:
revised: past tense — "They revised their essays." (no "to" needed)
revising: present participle — used in continuous tenses: "They are revising."
revision: a noun — "They did a revision of their essays." (completely different part of speech)

💡 Tip — The Infinitive Pattern:
to + base verb = infinitive
Examples: to run, to eat, to think, to revise
Never: to runs / to running / to ran