A few random tips (4 Viewers)

[LordSeafood]

I beleive this is a Q2 question ... you know worth a couple of mark and maybe 1 or 2 lines of working. If the aim of the question is to find out if you can show an answer to 3 significant then if you give an answer to 3 significant figures, either right or wrong, you will at least get half marks.

Although this sort of question will more than likely (based on past papers ive done) be in the Q1 part and just have a number that you must write to 3 significant figures

 

[chin music]

No if u write a random number to 3 decimal places u dont get any marks unless ur marker is a dumb whore. Thats like saying u get a mark for putting the right units even if the answers completely wrong. Heres a tip if u want to get 95-100%. Do the paper backwards or do question 10 first. The paper is designed so not 1 person gets 100%. That means they make question 10 not neccessarily hard but really long. They figure that once youve worked 2-almost 3 hours, doing a long question with heaps of steps will get a silly mistake along the way. If u do question 10 last then youll be doing the easy questions wen ur tired. Ive done that the last 2 tests including the trial and got 100% and 96% (coz i forgot to study money maths and left the 4 mark question blank). It works

 

[physician]

No if u write a random number to 3 decimal places u dont get any marks unless ur marker is a dumb whore. Thats like saying u get a mark for putting the right units even if the answers completely wrong. Heres a tip if u want to get 95-100%. Do the paper backwards or do question 10 first. The paper is designed so not 1 person gets 100%. That means they make question 10 not neccessarily hard but really long. They figure that once youve worked 2-almost 3 hours, doing a long question with heaps of steps will get a silly mistake along the way. If u do question 10 last then youll be doing the easy questions wen ur tired. Ive done that the last 2 tests including the trial and got 100% and 96% (coz i forgot to study money maths and left the 4 mark question blank). It works

hmmmmmmm.... I'll have a go at that, but i still prefer to go from the start, I don't mind 3 hours of maths. there could be a downfall to doing it using ur method. working backwards, u may encounter a few poroblems on the way and spend a little more time than u probably should have on one of the harder questions, thus leaving less time for the Easy(short) questions..and who knows maybe u end up leaving out the Easy ones all together. I don't think the exam has been structured in a way so that no one gets 100%, if anything, getting through the entire exam and having 1 hour to spare for question 10 will do nothing but boost ur confidence and push u to solve the question no matter how long the solution may be... if its long .. 1 hour should be enough to solve it!.. and thgus be on ur way to get 100%.. but perhaps ur right, i mean not many ppl do get 100% in the mathematics exam... ppl get close but only a few or a couple actually get the maximum mark!

Ur method is probably best suited to ppl who would normally finish the maths exam in a guranteed 2.5 hours or less, just incase u get stuck somewhere along the way!.. neverthless, ive never even considered doin a maths exam working backwards, it will be interesting to try this!...

 

[chin music]

Ye i reckon the main problem with my way is that if u run out of time its stupid. Its way easy to get a certain number of marks at the beginning then to get the same amount of marks at the end. According to my maths teacher the papers designed so nobody gets 100%. If someone gets 100% they try make it harder next year. But he could be wrong i guess.

 

[acmilan]

Personally, I wouldn't go with that method, but each to their own. And also, I don't agree with that notion that it's designed so that no one gets 100. I can guarantee you with 100% certainty that i lost my marks not in question 9 and 10, but in question 2 and 3, one due to a slight rounding error. The great thing about the last questions is that you will most likely know in the exam whether you have gotten the question right.

 

[rama_v]

To reduce silly mistakes, you should note the type of questions you get wrong and see any patterns of errors you are making. For example if you keep making errors in inequalities, then get out the textbook and do a whole exercise, slowly, and keep practising them.

Also its a good idea not to skip lines of working. Its much easier to get it wrong if you skip a line of working, especially in simple equations.

 

[Slidey]

When people do papers backwards, more often than not they mess up their time management and destroy their confidence. The papers are designed such that the easy questions are first so you can slowly build up your confidence and not be so intimidated by the harder questions at the end.

 

[chin music]

When people do papers backwards, more often than not they mess up their time management and destroy their confidence. The papers are designed such that the easy questions are first so you can slowly build up your confidence and not be so intimidated by the harder questions at the end.

Ye i competely agree thats how the papers designed. Thats y i said the methods good if you already basically know every type of problem and youre aiming for 100%. Its one thing to know everything and its another thing to get 100%. I reckon the method i use is good for people in that category.

 

[Mr Lovepony]

I can't emphasise this any more: Maths is not a cramming subject like English or History. 2 U Maths is all about practise until solving questions is like drinking water. Start studying at least two weeks before your assessments and exams, use your free period for maths if you don't have time at home. I know from experience, I went from a constant 48-50% to 80%.

If you have done enough from text books and study guides, then start doing past papers. I suggest that you devote the 1 week to studying out of text books (use different books so that you get a range of questions) and the following week on past papers that you get from your teacher. You should not stay up till late studying the night before the exams because your brain won't work effectively during the actual exam (they say this for a reason).
Get a solid 9 hours sleep.

Gook luck. :wave:

 

[Mc_Meaney]

also remember the most popular result for q's 9 and 10 is zero. They are designed to split the band 6ers from the rest. but dispite this they put a gimie mark at the beginning of both. People are just too shitted aand tired to get the marks...easy mistakes reign supreme

 

[swesty2001]

HAHAHA i just leave the room if i were you..if it's just too hard and can't attempt any...

 

[-pari-]

questions 8-10...do them first or last?

what would you advise and why?

i've heard two basic views: do them first becoz u have the energy for them and more chances of getting them right
or
do them last coz u'll be "settled" into the exam flow, and be able to think straight. u'd have worked from easy to hard and also it'd be a better way to plan your time.

from what i know, the last 2 or 3 qestions are damn hard, so i thought it'd be good to do them first? and then whiz thru the easier ones...?

i can see chin_music has tried this...and it worked well. i wouldn't call myself the most brilliant mathematician...should only the really strong maths ppl risk doing the paper "backwards"?

 

[-pari-]

questions 8-10...do them first or last?

what would you advise and why?

i've heard two basic views: do them first becoz u have the energy for them and more chances of getting them right
or
do them last coz u'll be "settled" into the exam flow, and be able to think straight. u'd have worked from easy to hard and also it'd be a better way to plan your time.

from what i know, the last 2 or 3 qestions are damn hard, so i thought it'd be good to do them first? and then whiz thru the easier ones...?

i can see chin_music has tried this...and it worked well. i wouldn't call myself the most brilliant mathematician...should only the really strong maths ppl risk doing the paper "backwards"?

 

[SoulSearcher]

Last, because by then you would have settled into a groove and answered as many of the easy questions as you can, thus getting you more marks. It's a lot better to get close to full marks in 1-7 and picking up a few marks in 8-10 then get 8-10 all right and doing worse off in 1-7 because of the energy you would have expended in doing 8-10. That's my opinion anyway.

 

[Forbidden.]

When people do papers backwards, more often than not they mess up their time management and destroy their confidence. The papers are designed such that the easy questions are first so you can slowly build up your confidence and not be so intimidated by the harder questions at the end.

Thats reassuring, I hope.

I really dislike it when people skip lines of working when trying to teach me or when the teacher asks them to show working out on the board.

 

[AngelBunny`]

I thought it was 2sig. figures, I always use 2 in math and 3 in chem, isn't it? My teacher say if they didn't tell u how many sig. figures to put and just put 2... reply me quickly please... I'm worry, math is my best subject... I can't fail it just because i put the wrong sig. figures... T-T

 

[SoulSearcher]

I put 3 decimal places myself if they don't specify, but you should be fine with 2 decimal places.

 

[lala2]

For the order in which you attempt the paper, definitely do beginning to end. You'll have picked up most of the easy marks, and will scrape a low band 6 if anything (I got 90 for my external on the dot, just using that method, and only attempted like parts a) and b) of question 9, really dodgily too). I would recommend going over the stuff you actually know too, after that, to check for silly mistakes--I did that because I knew I would potentially lose more marks being careless than not attempting q10.

 

[AngelBunny`]

thank you^-^

 

[Grey Council]

nah, in my opinion that logic is flawed

do the paper from the start, dont do question 10 first

a) question 1 is worth as much as question 10
b) papers aren't designed so that you wont get 100%. wtf, they are criteria based, markers LOOK TO GIVE YOU MARKS. not try and stop you from getting 100% =\
c) any competent student will finish the paper probably before 2 hours are over. I went to sydney boys high, all my friends and I were finishing 2 unit papers in sub 90 minutes generally. So the whole "exhaustion will set in after 3 hours" argument doesn't work. And if you cant do the papers that fast, why start from question 10 where you risk getting bogged down, mismanaging time and losing marks from question 1, which, btw, are worth just as much as question 10?

eh, I could go on. Don't start from question 10, its just not worth it. Perhaps one or two people got 100% starting from question 10, but ask any 4u student to do a 2u paper, starting from question 1, and i'd say majority of them would get high 90's, if not 100. "secret" to getting 100% isn't in starting backwards, its in doing trial papers before the exam, so that you've seen the exam before you enter the exam room.