PAss Functional Skills

Area and perimeter

Area and perimeter for GCSE Computer Science Edexcel Higher: what it means, how to set the working out, and the questions it is asked in.
  • GCSE
  • Edexcel
  • Computer Science
  • Higher
  • Spec N8
  • 6 min read
  • 7 revision boxes

Introduction

2 boxes
2 min read

What is area and perimeter?

Listen to this box

Transcript

A short spoken summary of area and perimeter and where it is used.

A spoken walk-through of area and perimeter before you read the notes.
The specification wording is precise here, and the mark scheme follows that wording exactly.
5 rows

The area and perimeter reference table

Read the units in the question before you start; a converted unit is the most common slip.
Worth knowing: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2.
Term
Meaning
Example
Common slip
Marks
Row 1 column 1
Row 1 column 2
34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}
Row 1 column 4
Row 1 column 5
Row 2 column 1
Row 2 column 2
a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2
Row 2 column 4
Row 2 column 5
Row 3 column 1
Row 3 column 2
≈160\approx 160
Row 3 column 4
Row 3 column 5
Row 4 column 1
Row 4 column 2
×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left
Row 4 column 4
Row 4 column 5

Learning

3 boxes
5 steps

How to work with area and perimeter

Check the answer against an estimate before you move on, so a place-value slip is caught here.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for area and perimeter in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
  4. Check the answer against an estimate before writing it down.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7.
Answer: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left
2 rules

Key facts: Area and perimeter

Work through the method one line at a time and write down what changes at each step.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing area and perimeter laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}.

  • Rule 1

    How area and perimeter behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2

  • Rule 2

    How area and perimeter behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    49=7\sqrt{49} = 7
5 steps

How to work with area and perimeter

The specification wording is precise here, and the mark scheme follows that wording exactly.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing area and perimeter laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for area and perimeter in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
  4. Check the answer against an estimate before writing it down.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2.
Answer: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}

20 minutes

Get your predicted grade

Twenty questions gives you a predicted grade, your target, and the gap between them — plus the topics that close it fastest.
Get my predicted grade

Examples

2 boxes
4 marks · worked

Worked example: area and perimeter

Check the answer against an estimate before you move on, so a place-value slip is caught here.
1 marks · worked

Practice question 7: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left

Read the units in the question before you start; a converted unit is the most common slip.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing area and perimeter laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.

Practice bank

Thousands of revision questions

Every topic is backed by graded practice with instant marking and full solutions.
Try it now
Practice questions
15,000+
Topics
10
Marking and solutions
Instant

Common questions

How many marks is area and perimeter usually worth?
Between one and four, depending on how many steps the question asks for.
Is this on the GCSE Computer Science Edexcel Higher paper?
Yes — it sits in the Causes and consequences strand.