Hunter students say Higher School Certificate…

Hunter students say Higher School Certificate Mathematics Advanced exam was 'easier than trial'

Adds up: St Paul's Catholic College Booragul students Imogen Reid, Riley Crabbe, Mackenzie Bednarz and Jaime Perez after Monday's mathematics advanced exam. Picture: Simone De Peak

HUNTER students have praised their Mathematics Advanced exam as "way easier than the trial".

St Paul's Catholic College Booragul students Imogen Reid, Riley Crabbe, Mackenzie Bednarz and Jaime Perez were among 16,966 students who sat the two-part paper on Monday.

"It was way easier than the trial, but I still don't feel 100 per cent," Mackenzie said.

"My older sister told me that the trials are harder because they get you comfortable to sit the HSC."

Riley agreed, saying the maths co-ordinator had told them "the marking criteria was relentless in the trial".

"This is just another exam out of the way."

Imogen said the paper provided a "bit of confidence, I saw the questions and thought 'this is okay'."

"I just did my best and whatever I get, I deserve," she said.

Jaime said the paper was a "relief".

"We knew the starting point," he said.

"You could look at a question and be confident enough that you knew the first step."

The first section comprised 10 multiple choice questions.

"They were quite easy, but some did not seem worth [only] one mark," Imogen said.

"I usually pretend there's not four options and just work it out, then see if it matches up."

Mackenzie said there were a few longer or more complex questions and "I had to spend more time than I normally would" answering them.

Riley said he felt he chose option C too many times.

"Considering there were 10 questions and I had five as C, a couple might be wrong," he said.

"Four of them were in a row. Looking back, some were guesses."

Jaime said he usually calculates answers in his head, but "I had to do some [written] working out".

The second section comprised six questions, each with multiple parts.

"It was divided into two separate booklets and I think most people would have found the first easier than the second, which had a page for each question - that's an extensive amount for each question," Riley said.

"There was enough information in the question where if you couldn't answer part A, you could do part B," Imogen said.

"It warmed up your brain to the harder questions," Jaime said.

Imogen, who is considering engineering and science, environmental science and management, or climate science and adaptation, said problem solving skills are useful.

"Even if it's not related to maths, working on the way your brain approaches something is important."

Mackenzie, who hopes to study environmental science and marine science, likes "there's always a correct answer, rather than English, which is subjective".

Riley, who plans to join the army, said he wanted to be prepared "if I have to do more complex maths in my career".

Jaime, who wants to study mechatronics engineering, said the world "revolves around maths".

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