Top-performing student reveals top tips for sitting maths extension 1 HSC exam
A student who scored an almost perfect mark of 99 out of 100 for maths extension 1 has revealed his top tips for sitting the HSC exam on Friday afternoon.
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A top-performing James Ruse student who received an ATAR of 99.90 in his HSC has revealed his top tips for studying for the Mathematics Extension 1 exam on Friday afternoon.
Brandon He, who graduated in 2017, received an almost perfect mark of 99 out of 100 for Mathematics Extension 1.
Here are his tips for success.
Maths in the morning: Do some maths in the morning before your exam. This helps warm you up, calm the nerves, and generally helps you to not make silly mistakes.
Simplicity is key: Keep your strategy simple. Do the paper from start to end, don’t try to pick and choose questions to start on.
Build on your answers: For the harder multi-part questions, don’t forget that they often require part a or b to be used in part c or d, so go back and have a look at what information you proved in the earlier parts of the question and have a think about how it can be used in the latter parts.
Start with the end in mind: Try to determine what route you will go down for a maths problem before you start writing; this’ll make sure you don’t waste time committing to an incorrect method.
Calculators are king: Mental maths is great, but I always rely on my calculator to make sure I don’t make silly mistakes when evaluating final answers to questions.
Don’t overeat: Eat a balanced light-moderate, but not heavy, meal prior to the exam.
Sleep: Get a full eight hours rest the night before. I find I make more silly mistakes in exams when I am sleep-deprived.
Bookmark: The night before is a great time to revise all the topic’s formulae to “bookmark” all the methods into your head.
Circles: If you find yourself unable to proceed, circle the question, leave space for it, and come back to the question once you’ve completed the other questions you can complete.
Check: If you finish early, use your calculator to go back and check your answers!
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