Making careless mistakes is a common part of life—especially for Secondary School Students. When preparing for their exams, students have to master dozens of Mathematical concepts in order to score well. The last thing they need during this struggle is to lose marks for no reason.
That's why it's vital for students to be well aware of the most common Math mistakes that they may be making unconsciously, so they can take measures to avoid them during their Maths exams. Here are the most common mistakes in Secondary Maths to look out for and avoid, so those precious marks can be secured once and for all.
General Mistakes:
Some of these common pitfalls can be applied to Mathematics as a whole, and even other subjects. Remembering these basic principles is the bare minimum for students.
1: Misreading Word Problems
During the Mathematics Paper 2, students will face long-form questions. To prevent misinterpretations, they will need to read the problem carefully and understand what their final answer should be. There are often logical traps in the question, that may cause them to make false assumptions. Here's an example question that showed up in a previous Math exam:
A bakery and a library are 120m apart. They are located between Hong's house and Jeya's house, as shown below. The bakery is exactly half-way between the two houses.
One day, Hong and Jeya started cycling from their houses at the same time and they arrived at the library together. Jeya cycled at 70m per min while Hong cycled at a speed 15m per min faster than Jeya.
a) How much further did Hong cycle than Jeya?
b) How far is Jeya's house from the library?
Answers:
a) Hong travelled 240m further than Jeya.
b) Jeya's house is 1,120m from the library.
This question was challenging to many students, who ended up misreading the difference in distance travelled as 120m, since that was how far apart the bakery and library were. However, as Hong and Jeya met at the library, that meant that for every meter more Hong cycled, Jeya would also have to cycle a meter LESS. This put the total difference distance at 240 meters instead.
Difficult questions like these can serve as dangerous traps for students. Even if they can work out the correct formula, they may still end up giving incorrect answers if they don't read the questions carefully and identify these tricks.
2: Not Showing Proper Working
Showing working is an important step in making sure you don't use the wrong formula or miss out on a critical detail. Students may be tempted to skip to the end if they can figure out the answer purely through mental sums. However, this could cause them to lose out on extra marks from showing their working clearly and neatly. The O Level marking scheme involves giving out marks for highlighting key steps in a question, instead of just the final answer. It consists of 3 types of marks:
M: Method Mark given for using valid mathematic methods for the question.
A: Accuracy Mark given for correct answers, and relies on the previous method mark.
B: The final answer mark, which is independent from Method marks.
This makes it important to always make an attempt at showing working, even if a student cannot fully obtain the marks for it.
3: Leaving Out Units in Answers
Sometimes, students forget to write out complete sentences, or include significant figures such as units in their final answer. This mistake is one of the worst ways to lose marks, as it comes after your child has put in the effort to correctly answer the question. Resolving this careless mistake is one of the most important things to do when double-checking work once every question is complete. One example of leaving out units in the previously mentioned PSLE question would be:
Hong travelled 240
instead of:
Hong travelled 240m further than Jeya.
4: Improper Time Management
This mistake can apply to all Secondary School exam topics, and not just Mathematics. Students need to learn how to properly manage their time during exams, so that they are able to at least attempt every question. There are good habits they can build, such as briefly reading through the entire paper when the exam starts so they know where the difficult-looking questions or their weaker areas are.
Next, they will benefit from having an action plan. One method is skipping difficult questions and leaving them for the end, while securing marks from the easier questions that students can get correct without issue. They also should not be afraid to move on before getting the final answer, if they are stumped by a particular step. By doing this, they secure method and working marks even if they do not complete the question.
The end-goal of the exam should be to have every question answered, with time left for double-checking in order to avoid the other careless mistakes on this list.
Preventing Careless Mistakes and Incorrect Solutions with Keynote Learning
Careful reading, planning, and preparation can eliminate these errors and prevent students from losing marks, but it is also vital to brush up on vital Math skills that enhance their regular performance. Math Tuition Centres such as Keynote Learning are the perfect place for students to cultivate good learning habits and prepare for their O-Level exams.
Our exceptional Math tutors have a commitment to helping students achieve academic excellence, and are experienced in simplifying complex topics and breaking them down with inspired teaching methods. By finding the ideal learning style for each student, we ensure that your child's learning journey is filled with passion and continuous improvement.
Contact us today to find out more about our Math tuition lessons, and how they can help your child excel beyond the classroom.