MATHS questions dominate searches by parents home schooling in Darlington, Durham and Middlesbrough, with Sunderland parents unsure what a normal heart rate is, Google data reveals.
Parents across the country have been forced to brush up on their school smarts and help tutor their children through multiple lockdowns, school isolation policies and now through the shift to remote learning. But how much do adults really remember from their own days at school?
Shoe company Clarks surveyed 1,000 parents of children aged four to 18 to find out the topics they’ve enjoyed, struggled with, and relearnt, as well as questions around their approach to homeschooling.
- READ MORE: 'Exhausted and proud': How North-East families are coping after one week of remote learning
When asked which resources they have turned to the most to help with homeschooling, over half of respondents 52 per cent cited said Google or other search engines as their most-used resource - so what are the most searched homeschooling questions in the North-East?
Maths questions top the list in Darlington, Durham and Middlesbrough, with parents asking what is the mean in maths, what is the mean in maths and how to work out percentages.
Meanwhile, parents in Sunderland have been left wondering what is a normal heart rate - a question coming in second for Durham and Middlesbrough, and third for Darlington.
Geography questions were also popular, with what countries are in Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe each coming in within the top 25 searched questions.
Darlington and Middlesbrough residents were also keen to know how long it takes to get to the moon.
The data, also analysed by Clarks, reveals the percentage change from April 2019, as pupils began home learning off-and-on in March and April last year.
Top questions across the North-East were 'How to work out percentages', 'What is the mean in maths', 'How to calculate standard deviation', 'What is a factor in maths', 'What is a verb', 'What are prime numbers', 'What is a noun', 'What is the population of the UK' and 'What is an adjective'.
Nationally, parents most wanted to know how to work out percentages, what a verb is, what the mean is in maths, what the normal heart rate is and what a factor is in maths.
The top 20 most-searched terms within science in general perhaps vary most of all.
Biology-based questions take the lead with the most searches per month, for example with ‘What is a normal heart rate’ coming into first place with 40,500 searches a month, followed by ‘How many bones in the human body’ and ‘Where is your kidney’ in joint-second place with 18,100 searches each.
Physics terms have also seen a huge peak in searches, with questions such as ‘How many planets are there’ seeing an astronomical rise of 335 per cent since April 2019 and now sitting at 9,900 searches a month.
Chemistry has also been a key topic parents have rediscovered, with 17 per cent of survey respondents citing the Periodic Table as something they have relearnt since their own time at school - making this the joint-fourth most-relearnt topic alongside algebra and key events of WW1 and WW2.
Unsurprisingly, this is reflected in the Google search data with searches such as ‘What are elements’ attracting 9,900 searches a month.
From pyramids to pronouns, from fractions to Fair Trade, from enzymes to electricity - these are the questions parents have been searching for while homeschooling.
See how each location compares, with the questions, average monthly searches and percentage increase on April 2019.
The top ten questions with the largest percentage change in North-East areas:
Durham
What is a factor in maths - 90 monthly average searches, up 5800 per cent
What is the population of the UK - 70 monthly average searches, up 2500 per cent
How many bones in the human body - 50 monthly average searches, up 2500 per cent
What is an adjective - 70 monthly average searches, up 1300 per cent
What countries are in Asia - 50 monthly average searches, up 1000 per cent
how many teeth do adults have - 40 monthly average searches, up 1000 per cent
What is a pronoun - 40 monthly average searches, up 1000 per cent
Who invented the light bulb - 40 monthly average searches, up 1000 per cent
What is a verb - 90 monthly average searches, up 950 per cent
What is an adverb - 70 monthly average searches, up 950 per cent
Darlington
What is a factor in maths - 50 monthly average searches, up 2500 per cent
What is the population of the UK - 40 monthly average searches, up 2000 per cent
How many bones in the human body - 30 monthly average searches, up 1600 per cent
How many teeth do adults have - 30 monthly average searches, up 600 per cent
Who invented the light bulb - 20 monthly average searches, up 600 per cent
What is a conjunction - 20 monthly average searches, up 400 per cent
What is an adjective - 40 monthly average searches, up 367 per cent
What is a verb - 70 monthly average searches, up 325 per cent
How many countries in Africa - 20 monthly average searches, up 300 per cent
How many countries in Europe - 20 monthly average searches, up 300 per cent
Middlesbrough
What is a factor in maths - 70 monthly average searches, up 3800 per cent
How many bones in the human body - 50 monthly average searches, up 1200 per cent
What is the population of the UK - 50 monthly average searches, up 750 per cent
How many teeth do adults have - 40 monthly average searches, up 350 per cent
How many countries in Africa - 30 monthly average searches, up 350 per cent
What continent is Australia in - 30 monthly average searches, up 300 per cent
How many planets are there - 20 monthly average searches, up 300 per cent
What are prime numbers - 70 monthly average searches, up 240 per cent
What is a preposition - 30 monthly average searches, up 200 per cent
How to calculate standard deviation - 20 monthly average searches, up 200 per cent
Sunderland
What is a factor in maths - 90 monthly average searches, up 2300 per cent
What is the population of the UK - 90 monthly average searches, up 1850 per cent
How many bones in the human body - 70 monthly average searches, up 1200 per cent
What is the population of the world - 30 monthly average searches, up 800 per cent
How many countries in Africa - 50 monthly average searches, up 467 per cent
How many counties in England - 10 monthly average searches, up 400 per centHhow many countries in Europe - 30 monthly average searches, up 350 per cent
What countries are in Asia - 70 monthly average searches, up 267 per cent
What is a verb - 170 monthly average searches, up 255 per cent
How many teeth do adults have - 50 monthly average searches, up 250 per cent
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