What are the most common Maths SL mistakes or what are mistakes you make?

[r1111]

What are the most common Maths SL mistakes or what are mistakes you make? I want to see what mistakes others make so I don't make them. These could be mistakes related to a specific topic or mistakes made using a calculator or any other mistake.

Here are some:

Not reading the question

Forgetting to check if the value is a maximum or minimum (Optimization probs)

Not seeing chain rule

[Emmi]

Mistakes I usually made include:

1. Copying down the original question incorrectly (I like to rewrite the original problem to see where I have to go, and sometimes I'll switch a number or a sign)

2. Rushing and doing something stupid in the problem, like dropping a sign or term

3. Forgetting which mode the calculator is in (radians or degrees)

4. Not checking for all possible angles if doing a trigonometry problem

[rinik]

The same as the guy above but I am in HL

[maroctam]

The same as the guy above but I am in HL

the girl (according to her profile) above was in HL too...

My mistakes include:

- misreading the question (the question asks for one thing, and you find another (even though they're similar))

- confusing signs of stuff (triple negative= +, or the derivative and integral of cos and sin, powers of i, etc..)

- and overall stupid mistakes like forgetting rules, or not checking the data booklet when i should

[Emmi]

The same as the guy above but I am in HL

the girl (according to her profile) above was in HL too...

My mistakes include:

- misreading the question (the question asks for one thing, and you find another (even though they're similar))

- confusing signs of stuff (triple negative= +, or the derivative and integral of cos and sin, powers of i, etc..)

- and overall stupid mistakes like forgetting rules, or not checking the data booklet when i should

I actually did take SL math, my math teacher wouldn't recommend me for HL math and signed me up for SL instead. She said I wouldn't be able to handle it, and that I should be able to get a 5 if I try hard enough at SL. I ended up getting a high 6 in SL, and am now studying engineering, signed up to take a linear algebra/differential equations class next semester. TAKE THAT TEACHER.

The same as the guy above but I am in HL

I'm actually a girl

[maroctam]

I actually did take SL math, my math teacher wouldn't recommend me for HL math and signed me up for SL instead. She said I wouldn't be able to handle it, and that I should be able to get a 5 if I try hard enough at SL. I ended up getting a high 6 in SL, and am now studying engineering, signed up to take a linear algebra/differential equations class next semester. TAKE THAT TEACHER.

Sorry for continuing this conversation: I always assumed you did HL since you're studying engineering, my bad.

[rinik]

The same as the guy above but I am in HL

the girl (according to her profile) above was in HL too...

My mistakes include:

- misreading the question (the question asks for one thing, and you find another (even though they're similar))

- confusing signs of stuff (triple negative= +, or the derivative and integral of cos and sin, powers of i, etc..)

- and overall stupid mistakes like forgetting rules, or not checking the data booklet when i should

I actually did take SL math, my math teacher wouldn't recommend me for HL math and signed me up for SL instead. She said I wouldn't be able to handle it, and that I should be able to get a 5 if I try hard enough at SL. I ended up getting a high 6 in SL, and am now studying engineering, signed up to take a linear algebra/differential equations class next semester. TAKE THAT TEACHER.

The same as the guy above but I am in HL

I'm actually a girl

Ok ok sorry

The girl above me

[J500]

the biggest mistake would definitely be the calculator mode!! i always mess up the radians and degrees!

[rockpapertash]

Mine would be not checking the data booklet for simple formulas. Sometimes in an exam, no matter how easy the formule is you will just mess it up under pressure, so always ALWAYS check your data booklet!

[r1111]

So to sum it up so far.

READ the QUESTION

CHECK the MODE on the CALCULATOR (rad/deg)

BE sure to know the formula booklet before the test so you can refer to it during the test/exam

Don't do stupid things under pressure of time

If you are allowed to use your calculator use it smartly

Remember any tricks or rules (such as the exception to inflection point where the concavity doesn't change)

[bluedino]

^definitely agree with all those - made all those mistakes before. Definitely make sure you're copying down formulas correctly.

- With the reading the question thing - make sure you note down from the start what you're actually trying to find and note the UNITS. You can make things a lot easier for yourself if you are for example, aware that t (time) is in days not hours.. and occasionally the paper might ask for an EXACT answer, or an answer to 4 decimal points.

- Check the domain when you're graphing/when you're finding an angle answer.

- This isn't really a mistake.. but in Paper 2… if you can use the calculator to solve a problem, USE IT. For some reason sometimes I just forget about the calculator.. like if you're trying to solve 2 simultaneous equations with 2 unknowns - you can solve that through the calculator! Saves you from making a numerical error along the way.. Even if you're just doing something like 309 + 281 + 103.. yes you can calculate that quite easily yourself - but you might also make a mistake! Just use the calculator and save yourself the trouble!

- Having said that though, do check that when you use the calculator you're inputting the correct numbers

- If you're trying to solve an equation with 1 unknown, graphing it is often the fastest and easiest way to find out the x (although do remember to sketch the graph that you've used for the answer).

- For graphing - make sure you zoom in and zoom out and adjust your viewing window. It's so easy to miss a section of a graph that's just off the screen.

- When solving inequalities with logs, don't forget that when dividing by a log (ln e) between 0 and 1 you need to change the sign because it's negative.

- Spending too long on a question. Sometimes you get that question where you know you can work it out, but you just need to experiment a bit.. leave that till later! Especially if it's like Q3, and worth 5 marks. Make sure you leave time for the tougher (in my opinion) Part B questions. If you're stuck, stop thinking about it and move on, then come back to it - you so often see it in a new light.

- You might be rushing in your working out and hurry to finish the paper.. but WRITE CLEARLY and set out your working out clearly! You're not going to get any marks if they can't read it! Also, writing clearly will help yourself. Once.. I wrote the + addition sign and tilted it a bit, and went on to multiply the numbers instead.. such careless mistakes can be really costly.

- Crossing out work and realising no, that was right and having to waste time writing it all out again. Even if you're certain what you've done is wrong, if you can't think of how else to solve it, just leave the working out there - you never know - you might get 1 or 2 M1/A1 marks! But most importantly, don't cross out work until you've replaced it with something better. I stupidly do a question and go, wait, this is wrong, this other method will work, then I cross out the work, try the other method, and realise what I had before was right...

- To sum up, work carefully and avoid careless mistakes. I have literally written something like 13 + 23 = 33 before lol.

Those are just a few of my personal 'mistakes' that I've made over the last 2 years..

[Sammy]

A BIG MISTAKE I made in paper 1 maths exam recently was not using the answer obtained from the previous part of the question

for the next parts of the question. (For instance using the answer from 8ai for question 8d)

Espicially in section B, the question are usually ALWAYS linked. Just keep that in mind. When there's a question and your like 'how the hell am I supposed to do this?'

try using the previous parts of the question, they should help you answering the question-just remember they won't ask you anything outside of the syllabus.

Apart from that, the same as above.

Goodluck

[sarah:)]

THE ONLY ADVICE IVE GOT IS:

READ!!!!

the amount of stupid mistakes that you can do ... because of not reading the question properly especially when there's a range when sketching a graph .. or finding value/s of k for which a quadratic function has two EQUAL solutions or two DISTINCT solutions is insane.

Whenever a question asks to write down... it's always either derived from calculator, previous working out or by simply getting it from the actual question

When a question says HENCE... you ALWAYS have to use the previous answer or concept you got to obtain a new answer or prove a point (for example in probability proving whether the event is independent or mutual).

Good luckkk

Edited November 15, 2013 by sarah:)

[Rigel]

Pro-tips:

1. Never forget the signs, always keep track of them.

2. Finish the exam as fast as you can (1h or less) and then spend the rest of the time checking your procedure.

3. Eat Kit-Kat or any chocolate before the exam and bring a bottle of water with you. Don't stress.

4. Make sure that your calculator is in radians/degrees for Paper 2.

5. Keep in mind that distribution thing that you have to do in your calculator (i think you had to use an inverse distribution or something instead).

6. Plug in your values carefully for Paper 2.

7. Know well your derivatives (especially the Chain Rule) and trig identities.

[r1111]

Here are more things to avoid:

Not using your calculator on Paper 2 when you could have saved time using it

Stressing out and starting on hard problems

Not checking if thing really is Second Derivative

And these things have already been said but I must repeat them as they are too common:

Forgetting to check mode (DEG/RAD)

Not reading question

Stressing out for ANY reason

[ChocolateDrop]

My biggest mistake is leaving blank spaces. Attempt to do all the questions, you might surprise yourself with the knowledge you have. You have more of a change getting a mark by attempting to answer a question than leaving it blank.