#28
Top 50 Mistake
Giving shares to the wrong people
"The Swap Error"
The Mistake in Action
Ali and Ben share sweets in the ratio 3 : 7. There are 40 sweets.
Wrong:
- Ali gets $7 \times 4 = 28$ sweets
- Ben gets $3 \times 4 = 12$ sweets
Why It Happens
Students correctly calculate the values but assign them to the wrong people.
The Fix
Keep names with their numbers throughout.
Ali : Ben = 3 : 7
- Total parts = $3 + 7 = 10$
- One part = $40 \div 10 = 4$ sweets
- Ali (first in ratio) gets $3 \times 4 = 12$ sweets
- Ben (second in ratio) gets $7 \times 4 = 28$ sweets
Spot the Mistake
Can you identify where this student went wrong?
Ali and Ben share sweets in the ratio 3 : 7. There are 40 sweets.
Total parts = 10, One part = 4 sweets
Ali gets $7 \times 4 = 28$ sweets
Ben gets $3 \times 4 = 12$ sweets
Click on the line that contains the error.
Related Topics
Learn more about the underlying maths: