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Problem Solving relevance filter
UAT-UK names Relevant Selection as one of three Problem Solving types. A number can be true, prominent and completely unnecessary.
The problem gives you too much on purpose
TARA reflects real problems, where useful and useless facts arrive together. The skill is not only arithmetic. It is deciding what the arithmetic should touch.
- Output: write the noun and unit the question asks for.
- Constraint: translate words such as at least, remaining, before lunch or maximum.
- Dependency: ask what must change if the output changes.
- Select: keep only numbers and rules on that dependency path.
- Audit: check that you found the requested quantity, not a nearby cost, total or percentage.
Use three statuses, not two
- N, necessary: removing it makes the answer impossible to determine.
- C, check: it may not enter the main calculation, but it checks a limit, unit or interpretation.
- I, irrelevant: changing it would not change the answer requested.
| Question asks for | Usually necessary | Often distracts |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Quantities sold and sale prices | Costs, wages and profit margin |
| Minimum journeys | Load, capacity and required delivery | Fuel price, colour and departure time |
| Earliest finish | Task durations and dependencies | Costs and unused resources |
| Share of a group | Relevant counts and denominator | Unrelated totals and averages |
Count letters, not patients
Worked example A mailing with two filters
A clinic has patients. use email. Of the rest, live in two-patient households and each household receives one shared letter. Everyone else receives one letter. Postage is pence per letter and the printer makes letters per minute. How many letters are needed?
Why this works: The denominator changes from patients to households only for the paired group.
Why the tempting route fails: Using gives every postal patient a letter. Using forgets the shared-household letters.
Know when crossing out is unsafe
Keep a number if it can act as a boundary. A van capacity of does not generate a calculated load of , but it validates one journey. A load of would change the procedure.
Turn the filter into a repair drill
Relevant Selection is one of three official Problem Solving types. Finding Procedures builds an executable route. Identifying Similarity recognises the same structure in a new wrapper. They often overlap.
- Five untimed questions: label every datum N, C or I.
- Five untimed questions: write only the dependency chain before calculating.
- Five questions in minutes: record each irrelevant number you used.
- Five more in minutes: record each necessary constraint you dropped.
Keep two separate error labels: kept distraction and discarded constraint. Calling both careless hides the repair.
Sources
UAT-UK, TARA Question Guide. The three Problem Solving types and the definition of Relevant Selection. Read pages 11-18https://uat-wp.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/24172250/TARA_Question_Guide_June2025.pdf
UAT-UK, TARA Content Specification. Problem Solving in novel settings and the full assumed mathematics list. Read the specificationhttps://uat-wp.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/30103001/TARA_Content_Specification_April2025.pdf
The N/C/I filter and worked mailing problem are original study tools, not official terminology or recalled content.