ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE Mathematics => VCE Mathematics/Science/Technology => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Specialist Mathematics => Topic started by: Chavi on October 21, 2010, 09:45:12 pm
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Does any have any strategies for getting rid of stupid mistakes?
Every exam that I do, I'm always losing 2-4 marks to silly, stupid errors.
Think: forgetting the +c when integrating, crazy calculator mistakes, leaving out the pi when forming a volume, plotting imaginary numbers with wrong magnitudes, showing the wrong thing on 'show that' questions, silly arithmetic errors [of the worst kind] etc etc.. .
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Do you make an error book and go through it after every few exams?
The first few exams, i kept leaving out pi and not squaring for volumes, plus minuses etc
Once ive written it down in my error book, i usually remember whenever i see a volume question or something that i must have pi and square it.
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That's a good idea.. .
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1. Make sure that whenever you do Spesh practice exams, you FULLY CONCENTRATE. Exert all of your mental focus into interpreting the questions and doing the maths. This will eliminate 80% of your stupid mistakes.
2. Rather than making an error book that you go through every few exams, make a small list of common stupid errors and have that list beside you whenever you do exams. It's like a prompt to prevent you from repeating the same mistake. Put down even stuff that you think is fundamental, such as algebra manipulation (>.< I used to have the problem of making an expression a = b/c become c=a/b or something like that)
3. Don't ever skip steps, make sure you do every step. Not only does this involve doing all the arithemetic/algebraic manipulation, but also that you draw diagrams whenever you can (e.g. tank inflow/outflow problems).
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1. Make sure that whenever you do Spesh practice exams, you FULLY CONCENTRATE. Exert all of your mental focus into interpreting the questions and doing the maths. This will eliminate 80% of your stupid mistakes.
2. Rather than making an error book that you go through every few exams, make a small list of common stupid errors and have that list beside you whenever you do exams. It's like a prompt to prevent you from repeating the same mistake. Put down even stuff that you think is fundamental, such as algebra manipulation (>.< I used to have the problem of making an expression a = b/c become c=a/b or something like that)
3. Don't ever skip steps, make sure you do every step. Not only does this involve doing all the arithemetic/algebraic manipulation, but also that you draw diagrams whenever you can (e.g. tank inflow/outflow problems).
I have too many dumb mistakes to condense them all down :p, but you are 100% correct, skipping steps is the catalyst for dumb mistakes.
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Sometimes I do all the steps and confuse myself. But of course, skipping mistakes also loses me markis, as does not reading the question. I think from now on I'll just ALWAYS DRAW forces on my diagrams...just in case.
and CALC MISTAKES ARE THE WORST! You just want to throw the pen down and say ITS NOT MY FAULT :(--------> lol be being a bad loser.
Anyways, after I do an exam and I have 10000 silly mistakes on it, I make sure I am in a proper state of mind before I do the next one, I think to myself "right, I'm not going to do this."
And I usually won't cause I remember what I did wrong, but I probably miss something else out that I'm confident on.