How to see it
Three kinds of slip. Reading: you answer the wrong question. Underline the question word and the numbers. Calculation: a slip in a sum. Check with the inverse or by estimating. Units: the answer is in the wrong unit. Convert at the start and circle the unit the answer needs.
A worked example
A question asks how many grams but gives kilograms. Circle "grams" before you start. Then multiply the kilograms by 1,000. At the end, look back at the circled word.
The common mistake: answering a different question to the one asked
The trap is a perfect answer to the wrong question. 2.4 is right for a different question. Reread the last line as the last thing you do.
Try one
Which check catches a calculation slip fastest?
- ADo the sum again the same way
- BEstimate with rounded numbers
- CCheck only the units
- DRead the question again
Show the answerHide the answer
Right: B, Estimate with rounded numbers
Doing the same sum the same way repeats the same slip.