{"id":42,"date":"2017-09-03T15:11:38","date_gmt":"2017-09-03T22:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mathstudyskills\/?page_id=42"},"modified":"2017-09-20T14:08:14","modified_gmt":"2017-09-20T21:08:14","slug":"test-preparation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mathstudyskills\/test-preparation\/","title":{"rendered":"Test preparation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Choosing practice problems<\/h1>\n
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Work your way through a few practice problems until you feel confident about a topic, then move on to the next topic. Make sure you cover every type of question in the book for each section.<\/p>\n

Anna – former Math 180 student<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You will find that your first year math course offers you many sources of practice problems. Given all this choice, how do you choose which problems to work on?\u00a0A basic guideline that can help you get the most out of your practice time is to choose practice problems that target your weaknesses<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In order to identify your weaknesses,\u00a0look the\u00a0old exams wiki<\/a>\u00a0or other sources of problems. Using these resources, group problems according to the techniques and concepts used, and test yourself on a problem from each group. For example, if you are practicing basic differentiation techniques, you could group problems according to the type of functions (polynomials, trig, logarithms, etc..) and the type of differentiation rule (product, quotient, chain, etc..).<\/p>\n

In addition to targeting your weaknesses in calculus, you may also want to target any gaps in your pre-calculus skills and knowledge. The pre-calculus review site on connect.ubc.ca<\/a> has a package called “Calculus-inspired review” which will list the pre-calculus topics which are most relevant to each calculus topic.<\/p>\n

Surveys of Math 180 students in 2016 show that those who deliberately target their weaknesses more often tend to do better in the course (graph below).<\/p>\n

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Click on the graph for more detailed data and statistics. Data obtained using student surveys in Math 180 in 2016W at UBC. Research funded by the CWSEI and the Department of Mathematics.<\/p><\/div>\n

Reproducing exam conditions<\/h1>\n
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“I only did problems with my notes, taking as much time as I needed. Under time pressure and without notes to consult, I am able to better identify the concepts I need to work on.”<\/p>\n

Bernadette – former Math 101 student<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

One of the keys to your preparation for an exam is to simulate the exam experience as much as possible. This means that when preparing for an exam or quiz, you should spend some of the time working under the following conditions:<\/p>\n