Maths Lit is not about being a maths person. It is about reading the real world, one document at a time.The GOAT Notes™
Grade 10 Mathematical Literacy is two papers of 75 marks, each 1 hour 30 minutes, and every question is compulsory. The November exam is 75% of your year mark; the year's seven tasks are 25%. Your school or province sets the paper. The marks below are the mean of the two full sittings we analysed (2024 and 2025).
| Paper | Topic | Marks of 75 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance | ~47 | ~63% |
| 1 | Data handling | ~24 | ~32% |
| 1 | Probability, inside other questions | ~4 | ~5% |
| 2 | Measurement | ~47 | ~63% |
| 2 | Maps and plans | ~25 | ~33% |
| 2 | Probability, inside other questions | ~3 | ~4% |
Both sittings set four questions a paper; Question 1 is a Level 1 opener of about 20%.
| Question | Paper 1 | Marks | Paper 2 | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Budget table or till slip | 14–18 | Units, time, a conversion | 14–20 |
| 2 | Bank statement, or budget and tariff | 24–27 | A scaled plan, or a tabletop | 20–21 |
| 3 | Bank fees and interest, or a data chart | 15–18 | A recipe and bottle, or a floor plan | 15–21 |
| 4 | Tariff table and usage graph | 16–18 | Assembly diagram and packing | 19–20 |
| Level | CAPS overall | One 2024 sitting | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Knowing | 30% | 46 of 150 | Read a value, define, convert |
| 2 · Routine procedures | 30% | 38 of 150 | One known calculation |
| 3 · Multi-step procedures | 20% | 35 of 150 | Two or three steps |
| 4 · Reasoning and reflecting | 20% | 31 of 150 | Verify a claim, justify |
CAPS also sets a rule per paper (60 / 35 / 5 / 0 and 0 / 25 / 35 / 40), but the only sitting with readable level tags set 29 / 31 / 20 / 20 and 32 / 20 / 27 / 21. This guide follows the overall 30 / 30 / 20 / 20, the nearest to what was set.
Question 1 tests conventions: 1,2 equals 1.2, and 1 000 000 equals 1,000,000. A negative balance is a debit. Flat 1214 (unit 14, floor 12) is a code, not a number.
Estimate first: 4 × 7 + 4 = 32. A basic calculator works left to right: store 26,25 with M+.
Rounding off to 10 leaves 3 learners standing and loses R and A.
Direct: divide to 1 unit, then multiply. Inverse: multiply to the constant, then divide (6 workers × 8 days = 48, so 4 workers need 12 days).
| Pack | Mass | Price |
|---|---|---|
| A | 2 kg | R31,98 |
| B | 5 kg | R74,50 |
| C | 10 kg | R158,00 |
Zanele reads a price of R12,450.75 on an overseas website. Written with a decimal comma and a space as the thousands separator, as in your exam paper, the price is
A news report says the province has a budget of R2 750 000 000. How is this amount read?
The display on a deep freezer reads −18 °C. What does the minus sign tell you?
In a block of flats the flat number is the floor followed by a two-digit unit number, so flat 1214 is unit 14 on floor 12. Which description fits flat 905?
Overnight the temperature in Sutherland falls from 4 °C to −5 °C. By how many degrees does it fall?
In the calculation 5 + 3 × (8 − 2)², which step is done first?
On a basic calculator that works strictly from left to right, Sipho keys 15 − 3 × 4 and sees 48. What is the correct value of 15 − 3 × 4?
Which is the best estimate of 4,8 × (9,2 + 10,9)?
Zinhle gets 94,5 for 150 − 24 ÷ 4 × 3. Which line shows the correct value and the working that gives it?
A tailor makes 2 school blazers. Each needs 3,5 m of cloth for the body and 1,25 m for the lining, and the cloth costs R84 per metre. What is the cost of the cloth for both blazers?
A farmer must store 310 ℓ of water in drums that each hold 25 ℓ, so 310 ÷ 25 = 12,4. How many drums must be filled, and why?
Each calculation below gives a decimal. Which one must be rounded DOWN?
Amanda buys 2 loaves of bread at R17,49 each and a tin of beans at R9,98. Cash totals are rounded to the nearest 5c. How much does she pay in cash?
A hall must seat 363 learners on benches that each seat 8, so 363 ÷ 8 = 45,375. Each bench costs R430 to hire. What is the cost of the benches?
A principal shares R5 000 equally among 7 classes. The calculator shows 5 000 ÷ 7 = 714,2857… The secretary rounds the share to R714 per class and pays out 7 × R714. Which statement is correct?
Thuli compares a 60 cm ribbon with a 3 m ribbon. What is the ratio of the short ribbon to the long ribbon in simplest form?
A builder mixes cement, sand and stone in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3 by volume to make 1 200 ℓ of concrete. How many litres of sand are needed?
Which table shows direct proportion between the number of bags of cement and the cost?
Nine friends share the R1 800 cost of hiring a minibus equally, so each pays R200. Three more friends join, so 12 share the same hire. How much does each pay now?
Thandi says: “When the number of people sharing a R2 400 hire doubles, the amount each person pays also doubles.” Which reply is correct?
A 3 kg bag of potatoes costs R44,85. Which working gives the price per kilogram?
A shop sells coffee in three packs: 250 g for R54,90, 750 g for R149,50 and 1 kg for R210,00. Which pack is the best buy?
Tubs of yoghurt cost R24,90 each at Shop P, which has a “3 for the price of 2” offer. Shop Q sells the same tubs at R17,50 each. Which shop gives the lower price per tub, and what is it?
Thabo says: “The 400 g tin of peanut butter at R32,00 is the best buy, because it costs less than the 1,5 kg tin at R104,50.” Which statement is correct?
Car A uses 6,5 ℓ of petrol for every 100 km. Car B used 33 ℓ on a 480 km trip. Thando says Car B is more economical because it travelled farther. Which statement is correct?
A shop gives 18% off a R2 350 microwave oven. How many rand is the discount?
Thabo scores 34 out of 40 in a Maths Literacy test. What is his mark as a percentage?
A school bag was R560 and is now R448. What is the percentage discount?
Thandi's salary of R12 400 a month increases by 7%. What is her new salary?
Shop A sells a shirt for R840 and gives 15% off. Shop B sells the same shirt for R790 and gives 10% off. Which shop is cheaper, and by how much?
Thuli mixes cement and sand to make mortar. She uses 750 g of cement and 3 kg of sand. Show your working and write a short sentence for each step.
(a) Write the ratio of cement to sand in simplest form. (2)
(b) She needs 45 kg of mortar in this ratio. Calculate the mass of cement she needs. (3)
(c) Cement is sold in 2 kg bags. How many bags must she buy to have enough cement, and how did you round? (1)
(a) The units are different, so I change 3 kg to 3 000 g. The ratio is 750 : 3 000, and dividing both sides by 750 gives 1 : 4. (b) The ratio 1 : 4 has 1 + 4 = 5 parts. One part is 45 ÷ 5 = 9 kg. Cement is 1 part, so she needs 9 kg of cement. (c) 9 kg ÷ 2 kg = 4,5 bags, and 4 bags would not be enough, so I round up to 5 bags.
A hardware store advertises: “Our 20 ℓ tin of paint at R899,00 costs 18% less per litre than the 5 ℓ tin at R267,50.” Verify whether the claim is VALID or NOT VALID. Show your working and write a short sentence for each step.
The 20 ℓ tin costs R899,00 ÷ 20 = R44,95 per litre. The 5 ℓ tin costs R267,50 ÷ 5 = R53,50 per litre. The saving per litre is R53,50 − R44,95 = R8,55. The 5 ℓ price is the original, so I divide by it: R8,55 ÷ R53,50 × 100. This gives 15,98%, which is about 16%. The advert says 18% but the saving is about 16%, so the claim is NOT VALID.
The Grade 10 class hires a minibus for R3 600 for a school trip, and the cost is shared equally among the learners who go. Show your working and write a short sentence for each step.
(a) Calculate what each learner pays if 24 learners go. (2)
(b) If 30 learners go, each pays R120,00. Is this direct or inverse proportion? Give a reason. (2)
(c) The class decides that each learner can pay at most R110,00. Determine the smallest number of learners who must go. (3)
(a) The hire is shared equally, so each learner pays R3 600 ÷ 24. That gives R150,00 per learner. (b) This is inverse proportion. As the number of learners goes up, the amount each pays goes down, and learners × cost each stays R3 600. (c) For each to pay at most R110,00, the number of learners is R3 600 ÷ R110 = 32,7… I must round up, because 32 learners would each pay more than R110,00 (R3 600 ÷ 32 = R112,50). So at least 33 learners must go.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner why a ratio never has units, using 40 cm and 2 m as your example, and how you would share R900 in the ratio 2 : 3.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner how to tell direct proportion from inverse proportion, using the cost of apples at R20 per kg and the cost per person when a R1 200 hire is shared as your two examples.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner why a percentage discount is worked out on the original price, using shoes that cost R650 and now cost R552,50.
This is a free preview of Topic 1. The full guide has every topic, the self-marking quizzes, mock exams, planner, journal and wellbeing tools.
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Exam stress is completely normal. Here are a few things that actually work. None of this replaces a doctor or a trusted adult.
Box breathing: 4 counts in, 4 hold, 4 out, 4 hold. Do it four times.
Look at the worked example below first, then make your own. Tick off each topic as you finish it.
Example (already filled in)
| Date | Subject | Topic | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 8 Jul | Life Sciences | Your weakest topic, notes + summary | ✓ |
| Tue 9 Jul | Life Sciences | Next topic + 10 practice questions | ✓ |
| Wed 10 Jul | Life Sciences | A full past paper under time | – |
| Thu 11 Jul | Life Sciences | Mark the paper, revise weak spots | – |
Your plan
| Date | Subject | Topic | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
Your plan is saved only on this device. Use "Export plan" to keep a copy.
Every step you show is a mark you have already banked. Show your working, state your unit, and go and collect them.