Following is an article written by Paul Whiting and published in the Sydney Morning Herald prior to the 2010
General Mathematics examination.
FOCUS ON STRATEGIES THAT WORK FOR YOU
Maximising your performance in General Mathematics for your HSC examination starts with getting motivated. The next step is to be well organised. If you can achieve these two then there’s a good chance you already have the third key ingredient; a positive attitude! The last, and arguably the most important quality you require is the capacity for lots of hard work!
It is not sufficient to just read over your textbook or class notes . Mathematics is one of those subjects where one literally learns through doing! It is vital to involve as many senses as you can whilst studying. Solve practice questions by writing them out with fully worked solutions. Write chapter summaries and read them out aloud. Organise your notes for each of the five strands: Financial Mathematics, Data Analysis,
Measurement, Probability and Algebraic Modelling. Familiarise yourself with the knowledge and skills required for each of the five strands. Revise the basic skills for each topic such as: using the functions of the scientific calculator, percentage calculations, summary statistics, tree diagrams, simplifying algebraic expressions and solving equations.
USE THE BOARD OF STUDIES INTERNET SITES.
It is critical that you understand every part of your course. All questions in the HSC are set from the
Syllabus for General Mathematics ( http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/ ). Check that the course outline provided by your teacher covers every point. Ask your teacher about anything which you do not understand or you think may be missing.
Time spent working on past HSC papers and past HSC questions is time well-spent. Use this site:-
( http://boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc_exams/ ). Ensure you are familiar with the terminology and the structure of the answers required. For example; you are expected to be able to analyse, interpret and compare data to achieve an upper band result in General Mathematics. The notes from the marking centre are available on this internet page. They are a valuable source of advice and instruction about preferred methods of solving questions and they also highlight common errors which students make when attempting these questions. Common errors include: making mistakes when converting metric units, incorrectly substituting into formula and rounding off too early.
NSW HSC Online ( http://hsc.csu.edu.au/maths/ ) has a wealth of resources to help you in your preparation.
You can also practise online multiple-choice questions under exam conditions
( http://www4.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/course/higher-school-certificate/general-mathematics/ ).
KNOW THE EXAM
Being familiar with the format of the examination paper is definitely an advantage. The General
Mathematics paper is 2 1⁄2 hours. Up to 30 per cent of the HSC exam may be based on the preliminary course. The actual HSC paper contains two sections.
The first section consists of 22 multiple-choice questions and it is a good idea to allow 30 minutes for this section. When attempting multiple-choice questions, commit to written solutions with clear working before checking the possible answers. If you are unsure of an answer, try working backwards by seeing which of the four solutions best match the question.
The second section contains six short answer questions worth 13 marks each. You should allow 20 minutes per question to answer each of these. You will be provided with a formulae sheet. Become familiar with it well before the HSC exam and use it throughout your exam. Make sure you are familiar with each of the formulae, how each is applied and any variations to formulae you may be expected to know. Some formulae are assumed knowledge and are not included on the formula sheet.
These include Pythagoras’ Theorem, circumference and area of a circle, area of a triangle, rectangle, parallelogram, trapezium and rhombus; and volume of a right prism. When you use the formulae sheet take care to transcribe the appropriate formula correctly.
Practise past HSC papers well before the exam. Several commercial publishers produce booklets with fully worked solutions to past HSC papers. You may consider using one of these to build your confidence when checking solutions to questions and to assist with independent study. Do not leave out difficult questions.
If you are unable to answer a particular question, it’s a perfect opportunity to ask your teacher for assistance and pick up some additional tips for addressing the more gnarly questions that you may encounter! When studying, use the booklets as an adjunct to explanations by your teacher. Developing a network with

classmates to help with study can be very constructive and positive, as long as the network remains focused.
In the lead up to your trial examination, work through a number of practice papers at home by timing yourself ‘under exam conditions’. To maximise your marks you should always show your working and check your answers. Question 27 on annuities, in the 2009 paper was worth three marks and those who gave an incorrect answer but showed one or two correct steps in their working were awarded some marks. Don’t forget, if the answer does not look reasonable you may have made an error. Check you have used the correct units. If you do discover you have made a mistake in the examination, simply draw a neat diagonal line through the incorrect working. All attempts are considered for marks and the better an examiner can understand what you have attempted, the greater the likelihood of gaining some marks. Pay attention to the situation where a question asks you to justify with calculations and ensure that you have provided a suitable response.
USING YOUR CALCULATOR
Your calculator is a tool that helps you during the exam so, become familiar with it! Check that your Board-
Approved calculator is set to read degrees and that you know how to adjust the display to different numbers of decimal places if you use this function. You should also practise using your calculator to evaluate harder expressions, such as
{ } especially in financial mathematics. Develop a good understanding of the formulae for annuities and know how to apply them. Remember when the rate r is given to you as a percentage, you divide it by 100 and enter it into the formula as a decimal. For data analysis, make sure you know how to calculate using the statistical functions of your calculator, in particular finding the mean for grouped data.
Finally, always write the calculator display in your solution before rounding off the answer. It is important that you only round off in the last step of working and not any earlier.
PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Know your HSC verb lists! When you read the exam questions pay particular attention to expressions such as ‘‘round off’’ to nearest square metre or two significant figures, ‘‘evaluate’’, ‘‘compare’’, ‘‘deduce’’,
‘‘describe’’ and ‘‘contrast’’. Be prepared to explain your solutions in words as well as numerals. As an example, the 2009 HSC asked candidates to, “Explain why the computer would never be worth nothing if the declining balance method of depreciation is used . . . .”.
When you need to draw a graph or a diagram, try to make them large (about 1/2 a page) and clear. The word sketch in a mathematics question means use a ruler and draw an accurate diagram with a measured scale.
Make sure you bring all necessary equipment into the exam. Read all scales on graphs and diagrams carefully. If the diagram states ‘‘Not to scale’’, measuring the lines or the angles on the diagram would give an incorrect answer.
In the HSC exam certain types of questions are repeated over several years. The earlier you start your program of study the more you will understand, and types of questions will become increasingly familiar.
Stay focus ed and don’t panic! Questions which appear difficult at first, with practise, become increasingly easier to solve. Reviewing topic material and practising questions is the key to instilling quiet confidence and providing you with the knowledge required to excel.
Remember that on the balance of probabilities, people are rewarded for hard work.
Now, with all that said…… good luck!