SACE 2023: Expert guide to Essential Mathematics examination

A maths whiz who achieved an ATAR score of 99.95 provides a vital tip to year 12 students getting ready to sit their Essential Mathematics exam.

Essential Mathematics students will set their written examination on Tuesday, November 8. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Experienced mathematics and physics tutor Ryan Clarke from Tutors SA has carefully analysed the Essential Mathematics Exam to identity the best steps to maximise student potential for this critical assessment.

Ryan was advanced in mathematical subjects by a year, allowing him to complete them at a Stage 2 level in year 11 before being accepted into a Head Start Scholarship with the University of Adelaide.

He achieved a raw ATAR of 98.4, selection rank of 99.95 and high distinction in his scholarship studies.

HOW TO NAIL THE WRITTEN SACE 2023 MATHS EXAMS

YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO OUR SACE 2023 EXPERT TIPS

In the Essential Mathematics examination students will be able to bring in one A4 double sided sheet of handwritten notes.

These notes are a crucial part of exam preparation and should include all formulas used throughout the year along with a small note of when to use each formula.

As this will be the main point of reference for any formulas in the exam it is important to become familiar with your notes sheet.

Sectioning the formulas into topics allows for easy retrieval when under the time pressure and stress of an exam.

If you find a particular type of question difficult and struggle to remember the steps, then including a worked example on your formula sheet can be an effective way to be able to reproduce them in the exam.

While very useful it should be noted that worked examples take up a lot more space than just formulas, so only include the most critical concepts when deciding on the ones to write.

It is best to complete the notes sheet well before the exam so you can use it while practising and still have time to add any formulas you need when doing revision.

Tutors SA mathematics and physics tutor Ryan Clarke. Picture: Supplied

Three common mistakes of past years have been:

INCORRECTLY identifying the dimensions of shapes. This includes checking if a triangle is right angled, swapping between radius or diameter of a circle and appropriately adjusting the formula for half and quarter shapes.

The best way to avoid these mistakes is to first identify the topic of the question and then review your potential formulas to use.

Each of your formulas should have a note of when it is appropriate to be used and what it finds.

If the formula is designed to find the whole volume yet the shape is cut in half, then simply half the result of the formula.

If the formula is designed to find the whole surface area yet the shape is cut in half, then the formula answer will need to be halved and the side of the cut must also be added.

Additionally double check the lettering of your formulas, ensuring when you substitute in values that it corresponds directly to the formula letter.

This is most important when swapping between the diameter and radius of a circle, represented in formulas as ‘d’ and ‘r’ respectively.

Preparation of a detailed notes sheet is vital for the Essential Mathematics exam. Picture: File

FAILURE to address all aspects of the question. Many questions require multiple points to be addressed, both in numerical answer, working out, and written answer form.

There are two key ways to identify these details.

Firstly, be sure to thoroughly read the question. Even when under time pressure it can be easy to miss details if the question is not read in full, resulting in lost marks.

The second way is to look at how many marks the question is worth.

Each mark is one point of information so, if a question is worth three marks it may involve a mark for working out, a mark for the answer and a final mark for a written statement at the end of the question.

INCORRECTLY inputting data into the calculator or using the incorrect mode. This type of error is most common for statistics-related questions.

When using the statistics menu of the calculator you should be checking your settings before going straight to your answer.

This is a critical step as often the calculator can still give you an answer even if it is using the wrong settings, meaning it can be very hard to identify anything was wrong without checking directly before attempting the question.

The Essential Mathematics exam will have a total of 90 marks over 130 minutes. Picture: File

Once in the statistics settings menu it is key to check your calculator has the correct list for your outcomes and for your probabilities.

If this is not the case, then change the settings.

Spending a moment to also double check the inputted values is also advisable as it only takes a second but can easily save a mark that would have been otherwise lost to a typo.

As a final word of advice, remain calm and keep an eye on the clock.

The exam this year has a total of 90 marks over 130 minutes and it is recommended to spend 40 minutes per 30-mark topic.

A good rate to aim for is a minute per mark. This then allows up to two minutes per mark for more difficult questions you will encounter.

If a question is taking more time than two minutes per mark it is better to skip the question and only return to it if there is time at the end of the exam.

Good luck for the exam!

Ryan Clarke is a mathematics and physics tutor with Tutors SA, an Adelaide-based leading institute that provides private tuition from Reception to Year 12, including tuition for all core SACE subjects.