Maths In Jobs
Be a junior vet for a day maths challenge
An imaginative role-play challenge where children use measuring weight, food portions, medicine schedules and data charts like a real vet.
Quick answer
You can be a junior vet for a day by using maths to help animals stay healthy, like measuring how much food they need, working out medicine doses, and keeping track of their health in charts.Learning outcome
By the end of this page, you will be able to use maths to help animals by measuring food portions, calculating medicine doses, and reading data charts like a real vet. Success signs:- You can measure how much food different animals need
- You can work out how much medicine to give a pet
- You can read a chart showing animal health
- You can solve simple problems about animals using maths
Why this matters
Being a vet uses lots of maths every day. Vets need to measure how much food animals eat, work out how much medicine to give, and track how animals are doing. You already use maths when you cook, share snacks, or play games. In this challenge, you’ll see how maths helps keep animals healthy and happy.How it works
You’ll pretend to be a vet and help animals by using maths in these ways:- Measure how much food animals need
- Calculate how much medicine to give
- Read charts that show animal health
Examples you can see
Let’s imagine you are a junior vet and have two pets to help: a puppy and a kitten. Measuring food A puppy needs 200g of food each day. A kitten needs 150g of food each day. If you have 5 puppies, how much food do you need in total? You can solve this by adding 200g + 200g + 200g + 200g + 200g = 1,000g of food. Or, you can multiply: 5 × 200g = 1,000g. Calculating medicine A dog needs 2ml of medicine every day. How much medicine do you need for 7 days? You can add: 2ml + 2ml + 2ml + 2ml + 2ml + 2ml + 2ml = 14ml. Or, you can multiply: 7 × 2ml = 14ml. Reading charts You can make a simple chart like this:| Animal | Weight (kg) | Health |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy | 5 | Healthy |
| Kitten | 3 | Healthy |
Try it as a mini adventure
Adventure: Help the vet’s office! You are a junior vet today, and you must help your vet friend with a busy day. You have 3 tasks:- Measure how much food to give 4 rabbits
- Work out how much medicine to give 6 hamsters
- Fill in a chart with animal weights
| Animal | Weight (kg) |
|---|---|
| Rabbit | 2 |
| Hamster | 0.2 |
| Bird | 0.5 |
Common mistakes
- Mistake: Forgetting to use the right unit (like grams or millilitres)
Why it happens: Kids sometimes mix up units, especially when working with food or medicine.
Fix: Always write the unit (g, ml) next to your answer. - Mistake: Adding instead of multiplying
Why it happens: It’s easy to get confused when working with equal groups.
Fix: Use repeated addition or skip counting to check if multiplication works. - Mistake: Not reading charts carefully
Why it happens: Charts can have lots of information, and it’s easy to miss something.
Fix: Read each row and column carefully. Ask yourself: “What is this showing me?”
Parent and carer guide
As a parent or carer, you can help your child by:- Using real food or toys to act out the tasks (like giving 2ml of medicine to a toy pet)
- Practising multiplication with real-world examples (like 3 boxes of 5 apples)
- Letting your child draw charts or make their own charts
- Encouraging them to ask questions like “How much would that be for 10 animals?”
- Not worrying if they make a mistake — it’s part of learning!
Practice questions
- Each bird eats 150g of food a day. How much food do 4 birds need?
- A cat needs 3ml of medicine each day. How much medicine do 5 cats need?
- Fill in the chart:
Animal Weight (kg) Dog 8 Pig 6 - How much food do 6 chickens need if each eats 200g a day?
- How much medicine do 3 rabbits need if each needs 1ml?
- 4 × 150g = 600g
- 5 × 3ml = 15ml
- Fill in: Dog = 8kg, Pig = 6kg
- 6 × 200g = 1,200g
- 3 × 1ml = 3ml
FAQ
What does a vet do with maths?
A vet uses maths to measure food, work out medicine doses, and track animal health.
How much food does a dog eat?
It depends on the dog’s size, but a medium dog might eat 200g to 300g of food a day.
Why do vets need to measure medicine?
Too much medicine can be dangerous, and too little won’t help the animal. Maths helps give the right amount.
Can I be a vet when I grow up?
Yes! You can study to become a vet, and you’ll use lots of maths along the way.
How can I practice being a vet at home?
You can pretend to be a vet, use toys or food to measure portions, and make charts to track animals.