Functional Maths Skills Level 2

Maths Course Information


The good news for Maths Functional Skills (from September 2012) is that you can now use a calculator. The bad news is that Multiple Choice answers go out the window and you now have to show how you reached your answer.  Marks will be awarded for your working and for showing checking processes. It is now not enough to simply get the right answer.  This is important to know, as it is a way to potentially pick up further points regardless of the answer being correct or incorrect.

Below is a rough list of what you need to know. Of course for Level 2 you need to know all of Level 1 as well.

Qualification title: Pearson Edexcel Functional Skills Qualification in Mathematics at Level 2


  • 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
  • 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 formulae 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
  • 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