Maths in Year 8: what Lärkompis practises
In Year 8 of Swedish school (around age 14), Lärkompis practises 19 skills in maths, linked to 19 of 28 items in the core content of Lgr22, the Swedish national curriculum, for Years 7–9. The areas are algebra; geometry; problem solving; relationships and change; probability and statistics; and understanding and using numbers. Each skill has five difficulty levels, and the skills are practised in 9 mini-games, including Rätta roboten (Fix the Robot), Flodhoppet (River Hop) and Butiken (The Shop).
Lgr22 sets out core content for each stage (Years 7–9), not for each year. So Lärkompis spreads the skills across the years using its own time windows, and these are estimates. For Year 8, this means that 12 skills start this year and 7 skills started earlier and are still being practised. The figure 19 of 28 counts the items in the core content from Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education) that at least one skill links to; it does not mean the whole item is covered.
What Lärkompis practises in Year 8
The 19 skills in maths in Year 8 are grouped into 6 areas following Skolverket's syllabus. Under each skill you can see the first and the last difficulty level, so you know how far the exercises go.
Algebra
- Programming and algorithms in a text-based environment Level 1: Line by line with variables. Level 5: While loop.
Geometry
- Pythagoras’ theorem Level 1: The hypotenuse in a 3-4-5 triangle. Level 5: Is the triangle right-angled.
- Volume and capacity Level 1: Volume of a cuboid. Level 5: Cone and sphere.
Problem solving
- Solving problems with logical reasoning and a table (already starts in Year 7) Level 1: Four people: “not” and “neither ... nor”. Level 5: Five clues of every kind.
Relationships and change
- The equation of a straight line Level 1: Work out y for a small x. Level 5: A formula in an everyday situation.
- Gradient and the y-axis Level 1: Reading k and m in y = kx + m. Level 5: Where the line crosses the x-axis.
- Percentage increase and decrease Level 1: Percentage change with simple numbers. Level 5: Several contexts and mixed tasks.
- Proportionality, scale and change Level 1: Continue a proportional table. Level 5: y = k · x.
Probability and statistics
- Probability and chance Level 1: Probability as a proportion, also on a number line. Level 5: At least once, and the expected number.
- Spread and misleading charts Level 1: The range of five numbers. Level 5: Misleading charts and samples.
Understanding and using numbers
- Fractions, decimals and percentages (already starts in Year 7) Level 1: Common conversions, 1/2 = 50%. Level 5: Numbers over 1 and 100%, sorting five numbers.
- Calculating with fractions (already starts in Year 7) Level 1: A fraction of a number: 2/3 of 36. Level 5: Dividing a fraction by a fraction, and word problems: 7 litres into 1/2-litre glasses.
- Standard form and prefixes Level 1: Write 1,000 as a power of ten; kilo and milli. Level 5: Comparing numbers in standard form and changing units with prefixes (GHz to MHz).
- Times tables and mental arithmetic (keeping them fresh) (already starts in Year 7) Level 1: Times tables 1–10, simple divisions. Level 5: Squares and mixed two-digit questions, 11².
- Square roots and cube roots Level 1: Square roots of square numbers, √4, √9 on the number line. Level 5: Cube roots and square roots of decimals, 3 + √18 on the number line.
- Negative numbers (already starts in Year 7) Level 1: Temperatures below zero and the number line. Level 5: Mixed expressions and ordering, 2 · (−9).
- Powers and the laws of indices (already starts in Year 7) Level 1: The value of powers, 2³ and 10². Level 5: Zero and negative powers, and simplifying.
- Real numbers: natural numbers, integers, rational and irrational numbers Level 1: Natural numbers and integers on the number line. Level 5: Counting the rational numbers in a list and placing −√3.
- Rough estimates and checking whether answers are reasonable (already starts in Year 7) Level 1: Round and calculate: 72 ≈ 70. Level 5: Everyday contexts: a car at 44 km/h for 4.4 hours.
What the syllabus says, in short
The Lgr22 core content for Years 7–9 in maths, summarised in our own words for the parts Lärkompis practises in Year 8. Read the full text in Skolverket's English translation of Lgr22.
- Real numbers, powers, and standard form for very large and very small numbers.
- Mathematical rules and calculating with numbers as fractions, decimals and powers, and judging whether answers are reasonable.
- Equations, formulas and functions: linear equations and simple quadratic equations.
- Area, perimeter and volume, plus geometric theorems, similarity and congruence.
- Probability and combinatorics, plus measures of average and spread in statistics.
- Percentages and change factors, derived units (km/h, SEK/kg), the equation of a straight line, and functions.
- Mathematical models and problem solving, and evaluating the strategies used.
How to help at home with maths in Year 8
Year 8 is the middle of the last stage, with end-of-term grades every term. Agree together on a fixed time and place for homework, and let your child tell you what needs practising before the next test. Ask “how did you work it out?” more often than “what did you get?”, and use the same models and written methods as the teacher, so your child does not have two different methods to keep track of.
- Percentage change in real life. Look at a price rise or a mobile phone contract. Let your teenager work out the percentage change and the change factor (a 20% increase gives the factor 1.20). Ask how they know whether the answer is reasonable. Works in everyday life: about 10 minutes.
- Find where they got stuck. Ask your teenager to read the question aloud and point to the last line they understood. Ask: “What do you already know, and what do you need to find out?” Then give the smallest possible hint. If they are still stuck, send the question to the teacher. When it is hard going: about 10 minutes.
- Preparing for tests without pressure. Ask: “What will the test cover, and which part feels least secure?” Make a plan of three short sessions together with your teenager and let them decide the order. Plan for a good night’s sleep before the test. As a conversation: about 10 minutes.
- Read a graph together. Find a graph in the news and ask what is changing, how fast and what the axes show. Link it to the equation of a straight line if the graph is straight. The point is to see that maths describes the real world. As a conversation: about 10 minutes.
How you can tell it has clicked in Year 8
- Spread and misleading charts: Your child checks where the y-axis starts.
- Standard form and prefixes: Your child knows that milli means a thousandth and kilo a thousand.
- Square roots and cube roots: Your child says that √49 is 7 because 7 · 7 = 49.
- Real numbers: natural numbers, integers, rational and irrational numbers: Your child places √2 at about 1.4.
Common pitfalls in Year 8
- Negative numbers: Works out 2 − 14 as 12 (loses the minus sign).
- Powers and the laws of indices: Works out 2³ as 2 · 3 = 6.
- Rough estimates and checking whether answers are reasonable: Works out the exact answer when the task asks for a rough estimate.
- Programming and algorithms in a text-based environment: Miscounts how many times a loop runs.
If maths practice in Year 8 often ends in tears or takes far too long, stop for the day and write a few lines to the teacher about what was hard. That is useful information for the school, not a failure.
Games that practise it
In Year 8 maths, Lärkompis uses 9 mini-games. In these games, playing is the practice, so your child learns while they play. There are no points or streaks, and no ads.
Rätta roboten (Fix the Robot)
Knut has made a mistake and your child teaches him the right way. Explaining the mistake is the skill. In Year 8, the game practises 16 skills: Pythagoras’ theorem; volume and capacity; the equation of a straight line; gradient and the y-axis; and more.
Flodhoppet (River Hop)
Pix hops across the river on stepping stones that sit on a number line. In Year 8, the game practises 5 skills: the equation of a straight line; probability and chance; fractions, decimals and percentages; square roots and cube roots; and more.
Butiken (The Shop)
Your child pays, gets change and compares prices with real coins. In Year 8, the game practises 2 skills: volume and capacity; and percentage increase and decrease.
Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt)
A quiz show in a TV studio, where Vera leads the questions up a ladder. There are lifelines but no points: the ladder fills up with the questions your child has worked through. In Year 8, the game practises 2 skills: programming and algorithms in a text-based environment; and proportionality, scale and change.
Tidslinjen (The Timeline)
Your child puts cards on a line in the right order, for example events, steps or numbers. A card in the right place turns over and shows the answer. In Year 8, the game practises 2 skills: fractions, decimals and percentages; and negative numbers.
Bråkpizzan (Fraction Pizza)
A pizza is cut into slices and the slices are the fractions: your child cuts, compares and adds them up. In Year 8, the game practises 1 skill: calculating with fractions.
Detektiven (The Detective)
A short logic case each round: your child reads the clues, fills in a grid with crosses and ticks, and points out the answer. In Year 8, the game practises 1 skill: solving problems with logical reasoning and a table.
Formpusslet (Shape Puzzle)
A shape puzzle where the pieces are the skill: from pictures made of simple shapes to areas and Pythagoras’ theorem. In Year 8, the game practises 1 skill: Pythagoras’ theorem.
Vändspelet (The Flip Game)
A memory game where two cards that go together stay face up, for example 3 + 4 and 7. In Year 8, the game practises 1 skill: fractions, decimals and percentages.
Questions about maths in Year 8
What does Lärkompis practise in maths in Year 8?
Lärkompis has 19 skills in maths in Year 8, for example “Programming and algorithms in a text-based environment”; “Pythagoras’ theorem”; “Volume and capacity”; “Solving problems with logical reasoning and a table”; and “The equation of a straight line”. Each skill has five levels. In “Programming and algorithms in a text-based environment”, for example, level 1 is “Line by line with variables” and level 5 is “While loop”. The app adjusts the level to how your child is doing.
What comes after Year 8 in maths?
In Year 9, Lärkompis practises 7 skills in maths, and new that year are “Scale, similarity and congruence”; “Asking maths questions about different situations”; and “Where lines cross”. Most of it builds on what your child practised in Year 8.
Which mistakes are common in maths in Year 8?
Common mistakes that Lärkompis covers include “Works out 2 − 14 as 12 (loses the minus sign)” in “Negative numbers” and “Works out 2³ as 2 · 3 = 6” in “Powers and the laws of indices”. When an answer is wrong, the app shows how to think it through instead of just marking it wrong, and the parent panel shows what your child is practising right now.
Does Lärkompis follow Lgr22 in maths in Year 8?
Yes. Every exercise in maths in Year 8 is linked to an item in the Lgr22 core content for Years 7–9; 19 of 28 items in maths have at least one linked skill. Lärkompis is a complement at home and does not replace teaching.
How much does it cost to practise maths in Year 8 with Lärkompis?
Lärkompis costs SEK 49, once, for all subjects and every child in the family, with future updates included. You can try maths in Year 8 for free first, without an account.
More years and subjects
The same year in other subjects:
