Functional Skills Maths Level 2 Guide

Functional Skills Maths Level 2 course covers 3 main topics:

  • Numbers and the number system
  • Measures, shape and space
  • Handling information and data
The general learning aims and outcomes for level 2 maths are:

  • Learn how to demonstrate your ability to use your maths skills. Apply your maths skills with the appropriate reasoning and decision making to solve real-life maths problems. The maths problems you’ll be expected to solve will be more complex than at level 1.
  • Learn about new areas of life and work where maths skills are valuable. Develop an improvement understanding of maths concepts and problems that may be of value in later life.
  • Develop an appreciation of the role played by maths in the world of work and in life generally. Improve your understanding of the value of maths skills for work and day-to-day life.

Level 2 Maths – Solving Maths Problems And Decision Making

During your Functional Skills Maths Level 2 course, you’ll learn how to confidently complete the following:

 

  • Read, understand, and use mathematical information and mathematical terms
  • Address individual problems as described above
  • Use knowledge and understanding to a required level of accuracy
  • Identify suitable operations and calculations to generate results
  • Analyse and interpret answers in the context of the original problem
  • Check the sense and reasonableness of answers
  • Present and explain results clearly and accurately demonstrating reasoning to support the process and show consistency with the evidence presented

Level 2 Maths – Using Numbers & The Number System

You’ll learn about whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percentages. Including how to;

 

  • Use numbers of any size; read, write and make use of positive and negative integers of any size.
  • Use, order and compare integers, fractions, decimals, percentages and ratios.
  • Recognise the value of a digit in any whole or decimal number
  • Use numerical and spatial patterns for a purpose and calculate with, and convert between, numbers written as fractions, decimals, percentages and ratios.

Numbers And The Number System: What You’ll Learn

  • Read, write, order and compare positive and negative numbers of any size
  • Carry out calculations with numbers up to one million including strategies to check answers including estimation and approximation
  • Evaluate expressions and make substitutions in given formulae in words and symbols
  • Identify and know the equivalence between fractions, decimals and percentages
  • Work out percentages of amounts and express one amount as a percentage of another
  • Calculate percentage change (any size increase and decrease), and original value after percentage change
  • Order, add, subtract and compare amounts or quantities using proper and improper fractions and mixed numbers
  • Express one number as a fraction of another
  • Order, approximate and compare decimals
  • Add, subtract, multiply and divide decimals up to three decimal places
  • Understand and calculate using ratios, direct proportion and inverse proportion
  • Follow the order of precedence of operators, including indices

Level 2 Maths – Using Common Measures, Shape And Space

At Functional Skills Maths Level 2, you’ll learn to be able to work with measures, shape and space to:

  • Handle relationships between measurements of various kinds
  • use angles and coordinates when involving position and direction
  • make use of geometric properties in calculations with 2-D and 3-D shapes and understand the relationships between them

Using Common Measures, Shape And Space – What You’ll Learn

  • Calculate amounts of money, compound interest, percentage increases, decreases and discounts including tax and simple budgeting
  • Convert between metric and imperial units of length, weight and capacity using a) a conversion factor and b) a conversion graph
  • Calculate using compound measures including speed, density and rates of pay.
  • Calculate perimeters and areas of 2-D shapes including triangles and circles and composite shapes including non-rectangular shapes (formulae given except for triangles and circles).
  • Use formula to find volumes and surface areas of 3-D shapes including cylinders (formulae to be given for 3-D shapes other than cylinders)
  • Calculate actual dimensions from scale drawings and create a scale diagram given actual measurements
  • Use coordinates in 2-D, positive and negative, to specify the positions of points.
  • Understand and use common 2-D representations of 3-D objects
  • Draw 3-D shapes to include plans and elevations
  • Calculate values of angles and/or coordinates with 2-D and 3-D shapes

Level 2 Maths – Handling Information And Data

You’ll learn about handling information and data at maths level 2. At level 2, you’ll learn how to:

  • Construct, interpret and evaluate a range of statistical diagrams
  • Calculate and interpret probabilities
  • Calculate, analyse, compare and interpret appropriate data sets, tables, diagrams and statistical measures such as common averages (mean, median, mode) and spread (range)
  • Use statistics to compare sets of data
  • Identify patterns and trends from data as well as recognise simple correlation

Handling Information And Data – What You’ll Learn

  • Calculate the median and mode of a set of quantities
  • Estimate the mean of a grouped frequency distribution from discrete data
  • Use the mean, median, mode and range to compare two sets of data
  • Work out the probability of combined events including the use of diagrams and tables, including two-way tables
  • Express probabilities as fractions, decimals and percentages
  • Draw and interpret scatter diagrams and recognise positive and negative correlation