The WACE Methods ATAR exam

The ATAR examination is on Units 3 and 4 in two sections. Section One is calculator-free: 5 to 10 questions, 35% of the examination, 50 minutes working after 5 minutes reading. Section Two is calculator-assumed: 8 to 13 questions, 65%, 100 minutes working after 10 minutes reading.

Section One	Calculator-free, 35%, 50 minutes working
Section Two	Calculator-assumed, 65%, 100 minutes working
Questions	5 to 10 in Section One, 8 to 13 in Section Two
Section Two allows	Up to three calculators (CAS assumed), two A4 sheets of notes, a formula sheet

Section One: calculator-free

Questions here can reasonably be done by hand: differentiate and integrate, solve equations with exact answers, work with exact logarithms and probabilities as fractions. Practise leaving e, pi, surds and ln in your answers.

Section Two: calculator-assumed

Up to three calculators are allowed, and a CAS calculator is assumed, with notes on two unfolded sheets of A4 paper and a formula sheet provided. Questions here lean on the calculator for normal probabilities and quantiles, binomial sums, awkward integrals and equations you cannot solve by hand, and on you for setting the problem up and interpreting the answer.

Show your working

For any question or part worth more than two marks, valid working or justification is needed for full marks.
Write the derivative or the integral you are evaluating, then the result, so a correct method earns marks even after a slip.
Justify a maximum or a minimum with the second derivative or a sign test, and say what an interval or a probability means in the context.

Try 2 questions

Question 1Practice

A table of values of f: x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 gives f(x) = 2, 3, 6, 11, 19.
$x$	0	1	2	3	4
$f(x)$	2	3	6	11	19

The table gives values of a function

f

that is increasing for

0

\le x

\le 4

f(0)

= 2

f(1)

= 3

f(2)

= 6

f(3)

= 11

and

f(4)

= 19

. Four rectangles of width 1 are drawn, each with height equal to the value of

f

at the left end of its interval. What estimate of

\int_0^4 f(x)\,dx

do they give?

Question 2Practice

The random variable

X

is normally distributed with mean

\mu

and standard deviation

\sigma

. Which statement about its probability density function is true?

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Questions people ask

How much is each section worth?

Section One, calculator-free, is 35% of the examination; Section Two, calculator-assumed, is 65%.

Is there multiple choice?

No. Answers are calculations, tables, graphs, interpretations, descriptions and conclusions. This course's four-option questions are its own practice format.

How are short response answers practised here?

Every final answer is checked by value or as an expression, and justifications and interpretations are read by Mia, who says which point is missing.