The right direction

Yeats College teacher Louise Geoghegan provides guidance and sample answers for Maths Paper 1 to help you to achieve the best result possible

The aims of the Junior Cert Maths course are to develop a student’s ability to use maths in further education and of course for use in life outside school, in work and in our personal life. They are also encouraged to develop their ability to problem solve. In my opinion one of the most important aims of the course is to promote a positive attitude towards maths. This positive attitude can be fostered by showing students that it is more than a subject you are required to learn, it is a life skill that we require in many parts of our life.

Setting out aims of the Junior Cert course is only as useful as the material on the course. The Junior Cert course does require students to learn some important concepts which can be connected to the outside world such as learning how to calculate wages, calculate VAT, understand how statistics are collected and how to analyse them and elements of geometry that could be used when designing a new kitchen for example.

I believe the Project Maths course does make a move in the right direction to help students to understand the importance of maths for life outside school and something that we will use in many parts of our life long after school. It is extremely important that as an educator we explain to students the importance of maths and have examples for each part of the course ready. When questions pop up, we can connect the maths to the world around us so students can see the importance of what we’re teaching in our classrooms.

Layout of the exam

The Junior Cert Maths syllabus is made up of 5 strands: 1. Statistics and Probability 2. Geometry and Trigonometry 3. Numbers 4. Algebra 5. Functions There are two papers lasting 2.5 hours each. Students will be given a suggested time to spend on each question and should try to stick to this schedule.

Marking scheme

The marking scheme for Maths is a complicated affair. There are five scales on the marking scheme which are themselves divided into categories, depending on the marks given for the overall question. For example, a 20-mark question could be divided into five categories: • response of no substantial merit

• response with some merit

• response almost half right

• almost correct response

• correct response. These categories would then be given marks 0, 5, 10, 15 or 20, depending on which category your response falls into.

More importantly, in certain cases, typically involving incorrect rounding, omission of units, a misreading that does not oversimplify the work, a mark that is one mark below the full – a credit mark may also be awarded. If students check their work fully before moving on to the next question these marks should not be lost.

From now until the exams

Make friends with your calculator and your formulae and tables: You have two very important aids in your Maths exam, but they are only as useful as you make them.Be aware of where the formulas are in the formulae and tables as the day of your exam is not the day to be looking for them.

Make sure that you know how to use all the necessary functions on your calculator as again the day of your exam is not the time to figure it out. Make yourself aware of the exam paper layout: It is important that you have exam papers at this stage of your Junior Cert year. Go through the papers and make yourself aware of the layout and marking scheme for the paper. Review your mock paper: Make a list of topics that you answered poorly in the exam.

Plan to study these areas in the weeks ahead.The key to improving your Maths grades is to learn from your mistakes and keep practising.

With Maths it is so much easier to do questions if you understand what you are doing rather than learning off by heart the method involved in solving the question. Practice makes perfect. You need to practise exam questions every week. Plan to do specific questions in a study session. Practise the questions within the time allocation for the exam. Once you have finished the exam question correct it yourself.

Highlight the areas where you made errors and revise the material again before attempting another exam question. Ask a teacher for assistance if you cannot see where your mistake was made. Keep practising!

The day before the exam

Check that your calculator is working – ensure that your calculator is in degrees mode. Have a ruler, compass, protractor, set square, a pencil for your compass and plenty of pens.

Don’t bring tippex into the exam. Just simply put one line through the work which you believe to be incorrect and start again.

While in the exam

Begin with the question that you find the easiest – it will take away any nerves that you may have. Leave your least favourite question until the end.

Make sure that all graphs are done on graph paper – ask the examiner for extra paper if you require it. Also use a ruler when graphing and label both axes.

When you are finished the question check the following: • Have you fully answered the question asked?

• Double check all your signs (a minus multiplied by a

minus gives a plus).

• Have you rounded off correctly if you are asked to do

so?

• Check all your calculations on your calculator.

• Make sure that if the answer requires a unit of measurement that you have not omitted it or put in an incorrect one (cm or m).

• Make sure that all your numbers/graphs are legible as marks will be lost for work that the examiner cannot make out.

Keep an eye on the time – once you have spent the allocated time on a question, STOP and move on to another question. This prevents you from running out of time. Don’t leave the exam early – double check and triple check everything if you have extra time. You would be surprised what mistakes you could fix and pick up some extra marks.

After the exam

Don’t analyse your exam with your friends. Leave school as soon as possible after the exam and concentrate on your next one.