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Climbing Maths

Climbing personal bests maths challenge

A child-friendly sports challenge using personal bests to practise subtraction with real examples.

Quick answer

You can use subtraction to find how much you've improved when you beat your personal best in climbing – like finding the difference between your old height and your new height.

Learning outcome

By the end of this page, you will be able to use subtraction to find the difference between your old climbing personal best and a new one. Success signs:
  • You can subtract two numbers to find how much higher you climbed
  • You can compare your old and new climbing heights
  • You can explain how much you've improved
  • You can solve subtraction problems about climbing

Why this matters

Subtraction helps you see how much you’ve improved in climbing. When you beat your personal best, you can use subtraction to show how many more centimetres or metres you climbed. This is useful in sports, games, and everyday life when you want to track your progress. Whether you're climbing rocks, jumping on a trampoline, or learning to ride a bike, subtraction helps you see how far you've come.

How it works

To find how much you've improved in climbing:
  1. Find your old personal best height
  2. Find your new personal best height
  3. Subtract the old height from the new height
  4. The answer is how much higher you climbed

Examples you can see

Let’s imagine you are learning to climb. Here are some examples: Example 1: Your first time, you climbed 150cm. This time, you climbed 180cm. How much higher did you climb?
  • New height: 180cm
  • Old height: 150cm
  • Subtract: 180 – 150 = 30cm
You climbed 30cm higher this time! Example 2: Last week, you climbed 200cm. This week, you climbed 235cm. How much did you improve?
  • New height: 235cm
  • Old height: 200cm
  • Subtract: 235 – 200 = 35cm
You improved by 35cm! Example 3: You climbed 120cm last month. Now you climb 160cm. How much more did you climb?
  • New height: 160cm
  • Old height: 120cm
  • Subtract: 160 – 120 = 40cm
You climbed 40cm more!

Try it as a mini adventure

Climbing Challenge: Beat Your Best! You are on a climbing adventure. Your mission is to beat your personal best height. Here's your challenge:
  • Step 1: Draw or imagine a climbing wall that is 100cm high
  • Step 2: Try to climb to the top and mark your height
  • Step 3: Next time, climb 15cm higher than your first try
  • Step 4: Subtract your first height from your second height to see how much you improved
  • Step 5: Keep climbing higher and higher, and always find the difference
This is like a climbing journey where you learn subtraction along the way. Every time you beat your personal best, you get to do one more subtraction problem!

Common mistakes

  • Mistake: Subtracting the new height from the old height instead of the other way around.
    Why it happens: It's easy to get confused about which number to subtract from which.
    Fix: Always subtract the old height from the new height to find the improvement.
  • Mistake: Forgetting to write the units (cm or m).
    Why it happens: Children sometimes focus on the numbers and forget to keep track of what they are measuring.
    Fix: Always write down your units – like cm or m – to make sure you know what you're comparing.
  • Mistake: Thinking that climbing 10cm higher means you climbed 10cm more than before.
    Why it happens: Some children get confused between the difference and the actual height climbed.
    Fix: Remember that the difference is how much you've improved – not the height you climbed.

Parent and carer guide

As a parent or carer, you can help your child by:
  • Setting up a simple climbing challenge at home, like using stairs or a playground
  • Writing down the heights and helping your child subtract them
  • Encouraging your child to track their progress with a chart or drawing
  • Reinforcing that subtraction helps us see how much we've improved
  • Letting your child explain their subtraction steps to you – it helps them learn better
If your child gets stuck, ask questions like:
  • Which number is bigger?
  • What are we trying to find?
  • How much higher did you climb?
Don’t worry if your child makes a mistake – that’s how they learn! Subtraction is a skill that gets easier with practice.

Practice questions

  1. You climbed 120cm last week. This week you climbed 145cm. How much higher did you climb?
  2. Your personal best is 160cm. You climbed 175cm this time. How much did you improve?
  3. You climbed 80cm last month. Now you climb 110cm. How much more did you climb?
  4. You reached 200cm last time. This time you climbed 230cm. How much higher did you go?
  5. You climbed 95cm last year. This year you climbed 125cm. How much more did you climb?
Answers:
  1. 25cm
  2. 15cm
  3. 30cm
  4. 30cm
  5. 30cm

FAQ

What is a personal best in climbing?

A personal best is the highest height or level you’ve ever reached in climbing. It’s your own record!

How can I track my climbing progress?

You can write down your heights each time you climb, then subtract to see how much you’ve improved.

Why do we subtract to find how much we’ve improved?

Subtraction shows the difference between two numbers. When you beat your personal best, you’re finding the difference to see how much you've grown.

Can I use this maths for other sports?

Yes! You can use subtraction to track your progress in running, jumping, swimming, or any sport you like.

What if I don’t beat my personal best?

That’s okay! You can still use subtraction to compare your heights and see how far you’ve come, even if you didn’t beat your record.