| Walk | Don't walk | Total | |
| Year 5 | 14 | ? | 30 |
| Year 6 | 18 | 10 | 28 |
| Total | 32 | 26 | 58 |
Learn the 3-Step Method
1Read a cell with both labels.
The cell where the Year 5 row meets the Walk column: 14 Year 5 walkers.
2Missing cell: subtract along a line.
Year 5 total is 30, walkers 14 → non-walkers 30 − 14 = 16.
3Cross-check with the other direction.
Column check: 16 + 10 = 26 ✓ — rows and columns must both work.
Worked Example
From the table: how many children DON'T walk, and how many children are there altogether?
Watch Out! Common Mistakes
Both labels! ‘14’ isn’t ‘Year 5’ or ‘walkers’ alone — it’s Year 5 walkers. Trace the row AND column.
Wrong line! Use the cell’s own row or column: 30 − 14 = 16.
Ten seconds! After filling a gap, add the other direction. If a row works but its column doesn’t, something’s wrong.
⬇ Cheat Sheet
- A cell means row-label AND column-label together.
- Missing cell = its row (or column) total − the known cells.
- Cross-check the other direction.
- Grand total = row totals = column totals.
📖 Continue Your Journey
Quick summary
- Each cell combines a row label and a column label.
- Missing cell = row total (or column total) minus the known cells in that line.
- Always cross-check using the other direction.
- The grand total equals both the row totals' sum and the column totals' sum.
Frequently asked questions
What is a two-way table?
A table that sorts the same data by two questions at once — for example year group (rows) against how children travel (columns), with totals for each.
How do you find a missing number in a two-way table?
Subtract the known cells in its row from the row total (or use its column) — then check the answer works in the other direction too.
Why are two-way tables common in the 11+?
They test careful reading and arithmetic together, and the missing-cell chain rewards methodical working — exactly what selective exams look for.
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