Avoid "unbearable" mistakes when doing math exams

According to a survey, Math is the subject that students easily "stamp their feet" after taking the exam because they lose points for no reason.

Below are the 6 most voted mistakes by students.

1. Writing the wrong question, missing a question (addition becomes subtraction, x 2 becomes x 3...), not reading the question carefully (question 1 has 3 parts a, b, c, but only doing a, b then "skipping" to question 2).

2. Mistakenly entered the calculator (missing parentheses, double quotes, calculating trigonometric functions by entering the wrong angle measurement unit (Deg, Rad, Gra)…).

3. 10 minutes left on the test: I frantically miscalculated 4 x 4 = 8; I did the mental calculation without even bothering to use the calculator.

4. Solve the equation: Forget to change the sign when changing sides (hard to detect error but leaves big "consequences").

5. Drawing spatial figures: the hidden part is a broken line, but draw a solid line, forgetting to mark right angles, equal sides, etc. The last sentence must have a new line drawn to prove it, but only draw it on the draft, forgetting to draw it on paper.

6. Remembering the derivative and integral formulas wrongly... Solving an equation in draft gives 3 solutions, but when writing it on the exam paper, only 2 solutions are recorded.

To avoid "complaining to heaven"

Mr. Tran Manh Quynh (Head of Math Group, Vo Thi Sau High School, Binh Thanh District) gives his students a trick:

• When you receive the questions, you should read them through and choose to do the questions you know to gain confidence.

• When expanding an expression, you should not take shortcuts, but expand it step by step, completely.

• If we use a new symbol that is not in the problem, we must explain it. For example, if we take M as the midpoint of AB (the problem does not give M), then clearly write: "Let M be the midpoint of AB". • Remember to have a conclusion after solving the equation. For example, if the problem gives "Determine m so that the equation has 3 solutions", then at the end of the problem there must be a conclusion: "So, with m = 5, the equation has 3 solutions".

• For spatial shapes, you should draw flat shapes on paper to calculate correctly. For example, if the bottom is a square, you should draw a separate square draft for easy viewing.

• And the most important thing is to read the question carefully, do each step carefully, write each number and each mark slowly.
Good luck!