Are you smarter than a Year 12 student? Try these HSC exam questions

HSC exams for about 70,000 NSW students kick off on Wednesday. Try these previous questions to see how you would perform.

Do you think you would have what it takes to pass a Year 12 exam?

HSC exams for about 70,000 students in NSW kick off on Wednesday, prompting news.com.au to take a look at the kind of questions they face.

We have pulled out some of the easier multiple choice questions from last year’s exams, published by the NSW Education Department. English has not been included as it requires written responses.

Test your knowledge below.

Standard maths exam

1. Three years ago an appliance was valued at $2467. Its value has depreciated by 15 per cent each year, based on the declining-balance method. What is its salvage value today, to the nearest dollar?

A. $952

B. $1110

C. $1357

D. $1515

2. James invests $5000 at 3 per cent per annum simple interest for two years, while Sally invests $5000 at 3 per cent per annum compounded annually for two years. For the given investments, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. James earns more interest than Sally

B. Sally earns more interest than James

C. James and Sally earn the same amount of interest

D. There is not enough information to compare the interest earned by James and Sally

Thousands of NSW students will sit the HSC this week. Picture: Jonathan Ng

3. A student is thinking of a number. Let the number be x. When the student subtracts 8 from this number and multiplies the result by 3, the answer is 2 more than x. Which equation can be used to find x?

A. 3(x − 8) = 2 x

B. 3x − 8 = 2 x

C. 3(x − 8) = x + 2

D. 3x − 8 = x + 2

Business studies exam

1. The role of a cost centre within a business is to monitor and control

A. assets

B. expenses

C. liabilities

D. receipts

2. Consider the following financial information provided by a business.

Revenue: Year 1 $100 million, Year 2 $80 million

Gross Profit: Year 1 $80 million, Year 2 $60 million

Net Profit: Year 1 $30 million, Year 2 $30 million

Which of the following must have occurred between Year 1 and Year 2?

A. Expenses increased

B. Expenses decreased

C. Cost of goods sold increased

D. Cost of goods sold decreased

The legal exam questions are relevant to the NSW court system. Picture: Monique Harmer

Legal studies exam

1. What is the minimum age at which children can be held criminally responsible in NSW?

A. 10

B. 14

C. 16

D. 18

2. Police stop a 17-year-old licensed driver and conduct a breath test. A high-range blood

alcohol reading is detected. In which court will the matter be heard?

A. Children’s

B. District

C. Local

D. Supreme

Economics exam

1. What is a role of the World Trade Organisation?

A. To resolve trade disputes

B. To provide low interest loans

C. To set tariff rates and subsidy levels

D. To organise countries into trading blocs

2. The data below is for a hypothetical economy.

Year 1: 130 Consumer Price Index

Year 2: 140 Consumer Price Index

Year 3: 148 Consumer Price Index

What is the inflation rate for Year 3?

A. 5.4 per cent

B. 5.7 per cent

C. 6.2 per cent

D. 8.0 per cent

The biology exam includes questions about how to treat diseases. Picture: iStock

Biology exam

1. Which is the most effective strategy for treating non-infectious diseases?

A. Hygiene

B. Pharmaceuticals

C. Quarantine

D. Vaccination

2. Glucose levels are maintained by the hormones insulin and glucagon. Which statement best describes the changes in hormone levels of a healthy human soon after a high glucose meal?

A. Insulin levels fall and glucagon levels rise.

B. Insulin levels fall and glucagon levels fall.

C. Insulin levels rise and glucagon levels fall.

D. Insulin levels rise and glucagon levels rise.

ANSWERS

Standard maths exam answers

Question 1: D

Question 2: B

Question 3: C

Business studies exam answers

Question 1: B

Question 2: B

Legal studies exam answers

Question 1: A

Question 2: C

Economics exam answers

Question 1: A

Question 2: B

Biology exam answers

Question 1: B

Question 2: C

Originally published as Are you smarter than a Year 12 student? Try these HSC exam questions