General Exam Advice

Don't loose marks because of silly mistakes!

If good general technique was always enough then I wouldn't be writing this blog - but I've tutored any number of students who probably had more raw intelligence than  me... yet were getting D's and E's because of the simple mistakes that were preventing their teachers from ever seeing what they were really capable of. So here's a quick run down of some things you can do to get the examinerto give you the mrks you've earned. Stick with it to the bottom of the page, there's a payoff I promise:

Write out every step of your working....neatly:
Working out is worht marks even if the answers wrong, and right answer won't always get you full marks without the working. Even where it will the working is you insurance policy - against a calculator error, or a stress induced brain fart , tripping you at the last step and loosing everything on a wrong answer

Above: Easy to follow, plenty of working to pick up marks with. Trust me, it's worth the extra effort.

Have all the important equations memorised:
Yes, I know that this is a right pain to do. But if you can jot down the quadratic equation and point out which bit's the discriminant from memory (for example) you're going to feel a lot moe in control. If you'r not sure which equations ar important go to your text books and class notes. Thse ones that are underlined, highlighted in a big red box, orhave the words 'very important' nearby? Those ones.

Be practical:
You're there to get marks, so if you've sent a reasonable amount of time on a questin and you're still stuck, leae it and move on. But always writ down every step you have manged to do - you might get part of the marks if you're on the right track.
Make sure your calculator is set up right:
This may sound obvious but if the question is asking for angles in degres then check your clculator is set to degrees, not radians (or, god frbid, gradians). Likewise with things like the fraction - decimals options.

Be familiar with your calculator:
Jedi know their lightsabers inside and out*. Your calculator isn't as cool as a lightsaber, but you need to know it inside and out going into the exam. From the basic stuff like "is the battery full" to " how do I use it to calculate a fourth root" (Yes, lots calculators do have a button for that). The last thing you need is to be fiddling with the shift button, hunting for a particular function in the exam.

Yes, it's a lightsaber fight. You're looking up worked answers to a Higher Physics exam, so I'm geussing you could use a moment of light relief (also, this will help you remember the advice on this page, believe it or not). 

*I'm writing a blog on exam questions, are you really surprised I'm nerdy in other ways too?