DISCRETE MATHEMATICS: EXAM HINTS

NB: These sheets were written by experienced teachers and are intended as
a GUIDE only.
IN GENERAL
• When REVISING:
o Do as many questions as you can.
o Always work with a pen in your hand.

• PREPARATION PRIOR TO EXAM:

o Your calculator:
 Change batteries a week before the exam.
 Make sure you have the standard settings entered.

o Your notes:
 Use the full two pieces of paper.
 You are allowed to write on BOTH sides – use this!
 Write down the calculator settings for:
• box & whisker plots (both individual & frequency);
• scatter diagrams;
• statistics calculations (both individual & frequency); and
• altering the size of a graph (viewing window).

o Your Game Plan:

 Read the cover sheet of the exam and form a game plan:
• Q: Which type of question will you do first?
A: The easiest.
• Q: Speed of answering questions?
A: One mark per minute.
• Q: What to do about hard questions?
A: Move on.
• Q: What to do to avoid panic?
A: Be confident.
• Q: What if you DO panic?
A: Breath deeply and relax.

DURING THE EXAM

• Attending the exam:

o Arrive 30 minutes early
o Go to the toilet.
o Relax and stay away from nervous people.

• Entering the exam:

o Check your pockets for any “revision notes”.
o Calculators and notes and other things will be checked – be ready!
o If a supervisor talks to you, smile and obey. They have a task to do
and are trying to help you do your best.
o Enter ten minutes early and find your seat.

Discrete Mathematics Exam Hints

 o Prepare your desk with your materials.

• Reading time:
o Check that the paper is complete.
o Read each question slowly.
o Modify your game plan if necessary.

• Working time:
o Spend five minutes re-reading the questions and highlighting the
important words.
o Try to understand what the question asks for.
o Attempt the easier questions first.
o Don’t get stuck on a question – keep moving.
o Reward yourself with a stretch or neck rub every hour.

• Starting a question:
o Do something.
o Start by trying to draw a diagram or write a formula.

• Presentation of work:
o Be neat.
o Cross out unwanted answers with two diagonal lines.
o Do NOT use liquid paper – it takes too long to dry.
o Place the answer at the bottom of the question.
o Underline or highlight your answer.
o Show working to obtain part-marks.

• Accuracy:
o Will be stated or shown in the question.
o Always state the units. For example: 21.8 frogs. This could be 22
frogs (rounded) or 21 frogs (actual).
o All answers should be realistic. Therefore: 21 800 frogs.

• Wrong answers:
o Do NOT cross out a wrong answer unless you have another answer
to replace it. The working in a wrong answer could be awarded part-
marks.
o If you know that an answer is wrong, state WHY it is wrong. For
example:
 X = -5. This is incorrect because the number of (frogs) can
NOT be negative.

• Stuck:
o If you cannot do part (a) in a question, you must try the remaining
parts.
o You can use information from part (a) to complete other parts.
o If you don’t have information from part (a), make up a number and
place this (using red pen) in part (a) and use this number in
remaining parts.
o Do NOT leave early. Check and re-check your answers!

• Last ten minutes:

o Try to do part (a) of EVERY unanswered question.

Discrete Mathematics Exam Hints

 SPECIFIC HINTS

• Networks:
o Use pencil so you can erase errors with ease; highlight the answer;
and state all answers at the bottom of the questions.
o Show working when determining the length of the minimal spanning
tree:
 10 + 30 + 25 = 65
o Maximum Flow => smallest value is used. Show route and working
when determining the maximum flow:
 ABCD 10
 ABED 30
 AED 25
 Max flow 65
o Project Networks:
 Use a 5c coin to draw circles.
 Lines are tasks. All lines must be named.
 Only one end circle.
o Problem Solving:
 Leave all attempts at the problem. Some marks may be
awarded.
 Learn the terms “conjecture” and “counterexample”.
o Correlation:
 r2 = 0.81 means r is either 0.9 or - 0.9
o Set Theory:
 Use Curly brackets {}.
o Venn Diagrams:
 Use a 20c coin to draw circles.
 The word “only” indicates an enclosed region.
o Recursive Formula:
 Remember:
• T1 =
o Residuals:
 Actual − Predicted
 Residual graphs are random (zig-zag) if the original data has
a linear trend.
o Time Series:
 Actual - CMA = Residual
 Actual - Seasonal Component = Seasonally Adjusted Value.
 CMA Prediction comes from the regression line.
 Actual prediction = CMA prediction + Seasonal Component

GOOD LUCK!!

Discrete Mathematics Exam Hints