Teacher reveals what not to do in 2023 QCAA specialist maths exam

A Brisbane teacher has outlined the mistakes to avoid and the order that students should tackle the QCAA specialist maths exam.

Australian Christian College Moreton teacher Flora Yeoum on how to nail the QCAA external specialist mathematics exam.

Specialist mathematics students can find “hints” if they complete the multiple choice component of the QCAA external exams first, a leading Brisbane teacher says.

With just one week to go before thousands of Year 12 students sit the three-week exam block, we have called in the experts to offer advice on how to nail specific subjects.

The specialist maths external exam has two papers which are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, October 25 and 26.

Australian Christian College Moreton teacher Flora Yeoum has outlined her top tips to help Year 12 students tackle specialist mathematics.

Number One piece of advice

“Specialist maths is quite heavy on calculus, especially, integral calculus. They need to know all of the different techniques, and need to ensure they know how to differentiate and integrate effectively in different contexts.

“There will be many questions on probability and statistics, and if the students use the wrong formulas they can lose a lot of marks. It’s an easy place to get confused.

“You need to understand the context the questions represent, whether it’s normal distribution, binomial or bernoulli distribution, continuous or discrete distribution, does it involve sample proportion, interval estimate? Understanding the context of the question allows use of correct formulas.

“Draw diagrams where possible to justify or help them understand the probability questions.

Knowing how to do basic integration and differentiation proficiently as well is key.”

Where marks are lost

“When you can’t do a basic calculation and algebraic manipulation. Students lose a lot of marks purely because of incorrect calculations and algebraic manipulations, so if they get that wrong in their work, some questions can become unsolvable. And always simplify where possible.

“Sometimes it’s when students just write down numbers and variables incorrectly. So be careful when writing numbers and variables.

“Students should be seriously thorough when checking everything. Mark your work like a marker would. Don’t be too harsh but also don’t be too lenient when marking your work. A lot of the time you can miss a crucial step and it can just snowball from there - this is for when students are engaging in revision.

“In general, students need to evaluate the reasonableness of their solution during their working process. If the question asks students to evaluate the reasonableness of the solution, it’s asking for mathematical justification not a paragraph of written words.”

Ps get degrees

“I tell students to just focus on the simple familiar questions for a pass. Then if there’s time go back and try and attempt the harder ones. And remember, even if you may not be able to complete the question, write down the steps you think you would need to take to answer the question and any relevant formulas.

“Most of the marks for a question is given for working towards the final answer, it’s not all about the final answer. So if you can show your working, not get bogged down on the calculations to get the final numerical answer. This is especially the case for technology free paper.

“Understand what each of the formulas on the formula sheet are used for, and know what each variable represents.”

What order to tackle it.

“Another thing I tell students is to always start with the multiple choice. Some students tend to leave it to the end and if needed towards the end of the exam just pick all As, Bs or Cs, but I always say do it first.

“It seems it’s designed to get students to think about it, a prompt, triggering their memory to think about the things that might come up. The subconscious knowledge is already there, this plants the seed.”