Mathematics for ISEE Primary 3
What the Mathematics section measures
The ISEE Primary 3 Mathematics section tests grade-3 number sense and problem solving: place value, addition and subtraction with regrouping, multiplication and division concepts, fractions, measurement, geometry, and data. Questions are multiple-choice and often use short word problems. Show your thinking on scratch paper; the test rewards careful reading as much as calculation.
Core rules
- Line up place values when adding or subtracting; regroup one ten as ten ones or one hundred as ten tens.
- For multiplication, use equal groups, arrays, or repeated addition; for division, share equally or make equal groups.
- A fraction names equal parts of one whole; the denominator tells how many equal parts, and the numerator tells how many are selected.
- In geometry, identify shapes by sides and angles; perimeter is the distance around, area is the number of square units inside.
- In measurement and money, write the unit with the number and convert only when the question requires it.
Worked example
A class has 4 boxes. Each box holds 6 markers. The teacher gives 5 markers to another class. How many markers are left? Reasoning: First find the total: 4 × 6 = 24 markers. Then subtract the 5 given away: 24 − 5 = 19. The answer is 19 markers. Do not stop at 24; the question asks how many are left.
Traps
- Adding when the problem says “each” or “per group”; that signals multiplication.
- Forgetting to regroup and writing a digit that is too large in one place.
- Counting the wrong number of equal parts in a fraction diagram.
- Mixing perimeter and area, or leaving off the unit in a measurement answer.