'Stupid' Exam Questions

[skeletalclown]

Oh, sorry about that, i forgot the 3/4 questions thread was a thing...

[speedy]

Would there ever be marks for differentiating by hand on an Exam 2 - given that the question didn't specifically ask you to 'show' or w/e?

[liamh96]

Hi guys,

Question:
If the question gives you a function (f(x)), can you differentiate it by writing dy/dx, or must you use function notation to differentiate it?

[GeniDoi]

Would there ever be marks for differentiating by hand on an Exam 2 - given that the question didn't specifically ask you to 'show' or w/e?

Very possibly, they can ask you to use calculus, which means you only need to show yourself applying the power/chain/product/quotient rule, or worse, they can ask you to use algebra, which means ALL the working of the question must be done by hand, including calculus. They very rarely do latter, but its possible.

If they haven't asked you to use calculus, but its a 3 or more mark question involving differentiation (not necessarily asking for the derivative), use your best judgement. If there are 4 critical steps to the question and 3 marks, that may indicate stating the derivative is not important and simply saying "let f'(x) = 0"... etc may be sufficient. Otherwise, state the derivative.

Of course show that's are similar in that you can't take any shortcuts but you are allowed to use CAS for non-important steps, like evaluation of an integral with its terminals after you've stated it in square bracket terminal form.

[keltingmeith]

Hi guys,

Question:
If the question gives you a function (f(x)), can you differentiate it by writing dy/dx, or must you use function notation to differentiate it?

If you write "let y=f(x)" at the very start, you can - but, the assessors prefer for you to write in the notation they've supplied.

[Edward Elric]

1. When doing inverse is it always necessary for the mark to state, for inverse swap x and y?
2. When answering worded questions can you just write the answer, or have to give a brief statement like therefore Tasmania Jones take 30 minutes to remove the poision...?

[keltingmeith]

1. When doing inverse is it always necessary for the mark to state, for inverse swap x and y?
2. When answering worded questions can you just write the answer, or have to give a brief statement like therefore Tasmania Jones take 30 minutes to remove the poision...?

1. Yep - we've had quite a few comments on this one, and writing that is definitely the way to go.

2. For worded questions, it's definitely best to write a statement at the end. Exception would be if it's a worded question, but then say "find the value of m", or something similar. If the question states, "how long will it take Tasmania Jones to remove the poison?", writing "t=30 minutes" is not enough.

[BLACKCATT]

2. For worded questions, it's definitely best to write a statement at the end. Exception would be if it's a worded question, but then say "find the value of m", or something similar. If the question states, "how long will it take Tasmania Jones to remove the poison?", writing "t=30 minutes" is not enough.

Is this actually necessary? So they can deduct marks if we haven't provided a worded statement even though the answer is correct?

[rui97]

How would you round an answer like 57.8 humans?
I often round down to 57 since you haven't reached 58
What does everyone else think?

[Escobar]

for general solutions, if we leave out n ϵ Z, do we lose a mark?

[Edward Elric]

How would you round an answer like 57.8 humans?
I often round down to 57 since you haven't reached 58
What does everyone else think?

Well 0.8 of a human is hardly considered a human----> so we always round down, 57 is correct

[keltingmeith]

Is this actually necessary? So they can deduct marks if we haven't provided a worded statement even though the answer is correct?

I wouldn't say you'd lose a mark, but it's definitely less correct than if you write a short statement at the end. Someone else may know more than me.

for general solutions, if we leave out n ϵ Z, do we lose a mark?

Yes - if you don't include that, your answer is wrong, because "n" could be anything. You must define any variable you introduce.

Well 0.8 of a human is hardly considered a human----> so we always round down, 57 is correct

Exception - expected values are okay to be decimals.

[HubbaBubba]

OK here is my question about the bound reference (unless already stated):

During reading time your not allowed to use pens or calculator but you can look through theory book. So are you allowed to look through your theory book and make reference of the pages you think will be helpful by perhaps folding the page or even just the corner of the page to know the pages which would be useful? Thanks for any help in advance!

[Orb]

OK here is my question about the bound reference (unless already stated):

During reading time your not allowed to use pens or calculator but you can look through theory book. So are you allowed to look through your theory book and make reference of the pages you think will be helpful by perhaps folding the page or even just the corner of the page to know the pages which would be useful? Thanks for any help in advance!

My teacher said that you weren't allowed to do that

Reasoning:

On a spare few pages of the theory book, write multiple choice answers such as 1. a) b) c) d) e) and then fold the part as to which you think the answer is, another method of recording your answers without actually writing things.

While generally you can probably get away with doing that, better safe than sorry I say

[speedy]

Very possibly, they can ask you to use calculus, which means you only need to show yourself applying the power/chain/product/quotient rule, or worse, they can ask you to use algebra, which means ALL the working of the question must be done by hand, including calculus. They very rarely do latter, but its possible.

If they haven't asked you to use calculus, but its a 3 or more mark question involving differentiation (not necessarily asking for the derivative), use your best judgement. If there are 4 critical steps to the question and 3 marks, that may indicate stating the derivative is not important and simply saying "let f'(x) = 0"... etc may be sufficient. Otherwise, state the derivative.

Of course show that's are similar in that you can't take any shortcuts but you are allowed to use CAS for non-important steps, like evaluation of an integral with its terminals after you've stated it in square bracket terminal form.

Could you elaborate on the integral steps; must we put it into square bracket forms before evaluating? Or is that only for 'use calculus'?

Thanks a lot btw