Functional Skills: Perimeter

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Functional Skills: Perimeter Revision

Perimeter

The perimeter of a shape is total length of all the outside edges. Often not all the side lengths will be given, but you will always be able to deduce them using the other side lengths. You could be asked to find the perimeter of simple shapes or harder compound shapes.

There are 2 skills that you need to learn for the perimeter of shapes.

The following topics are referred to in this page.

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FS Level 2AQAEdexcelCity & GuildsNCFEOpen AwardsHighfield Qualifications

Improve your chances of passing your functional skills maths exam.

Take a subject knowledge assessment and understand what topic areas you need to work on to ensure you pass for level 2 maths exam first time. 

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Skill 1: Perimeter of Simple Shapes

Example: Below is a rectangle with length of 15 cm and a width of 5.5 cm

Calculate the perimeter of the rectangle.

Opposite sides of a rectangle have the same length.

Therefore, the two missing sides are 15 cm and 5.5 cm.

We can now work out the perimeter:

Perimeter =5.5+5.5+15+15=\textcolor{orange}{41 \text{ cm}}

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Skill 2: Perimeter of Compound Shapes

Often you will get asked to work out the perimeter of shapes similar to the one below, so you will need to use the given measurements to work out the missing measurements.

Example: The compound shape below is made up of two rectangles.

Calculate the perimeter of the shape ABCDEF

Using the measurements given, we can work out the lengths of DC and ED

DC=6-4=2 cm

ED=7-3=4 cm

Perimeter =6+7+2+4+4+3=\textcolor{orange}{26 \text{ cm}}

FS Level 1FS Level 2AQAEdexcelCity & GuildsNCFEOpen AwardsHighfield Qualifications
FS Level 2AQAEdexcelCity & GuildsNCFEOpen AwardsHighfield Qualifications

Question - How do I improve my chances of passing the level 2 maths exam?

Answer – Subject knowledge assessment. This useful tool identifies the key areas of the exam you will need to work on in order to pass your level 2 exam for the first time. 

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Harder Example:

The compound shape below is made up of an equilateral triangle, a rectangle and a semi-circle.

Calculate the perimeter of the shape to 2 decimal places.

[3 marks]

An equilateral triangle has three sides with equal length, so the two missing sides of the triangle have lengths of 5 cm each.

To work out the arc of the semi circle we need to work out the circumference of the full circle and then half this value.

Circumference =\pi d, where d=5 cm

Circumference of semi circle =\pi \times 5 \times \frac{1}{2} =7.85 cm

Total perimeter =5+5+8+8+7.85=\textcolor{orange}{33.85 \text{ cm}}

FS Level 2AQAEdexcelCity & GuildsNCFEOpen AwardsHighfield Qualifications

Functional Skills: Perimeter Example Questions

A square has four sides in equal length, so the perimeter of the square ABCD=4 \times 11=44 cm

An isosceles triangle has two sides with equal length.

So the perimeter of the triangle = 8+6.5+6.5=21 cm

We know that the shape is \dfrac{3}{4} of a circle as the missing segment of the circle has an angle of 90\degree.

 

Therefore we need to find \dfrac{3}{4} of the circumference of the original circle.

 

Circumference = \pi d, where d=2\times5.5=11 cm

 

Length of arc = \dfrac{3}{4} \times \pi \times11=25.92

 

Total perimeter of the shape = 25.92+5.5+5.5=36.92 cm

We can work out the missing measurements of the garden using the measurements we have already been given.

7.5+5=12.5 m

13-6=7 m

Then add up all the lengths to get the total perimeter:

12.5+7+5+6+7.5+13=51 m

So the total cost = 51\times £11.99=£611.49

ABCDEF is a regular hexagon, therefore it has 6 equal sides. So the length of one of its sides is 63 \div 6=10.5 cm

Additional Resources

PFS

Exam Tips Cheat Sheet

FS Level 2
PFS

Formula Booklet

FS Level 2

Functional Skills: Perimeter Worksheet and Example Questions

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Perimeter L1

FS Level 1NewOfficial PFS
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Perimeter L2

FS Level 2NewOfficial PFS

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