One question on the HSC maths exams leaves students fuming
Senior students were collectively peeved following Monday’s HSC maths exam, which asked them to solve a bizarre problem involving emus and goannas.
High school students were left reeling after the HSC maths exam on Monday, with one question in particular leaving many completely stumped.
Students collectively raged on social media following the tricky test, with many bonding over the shared sense they didn’t perform as well as they had hoped.
A question received particularly poorly by the cohort was one that asked students to solve a problem involving goannas and emus.
According to one student, the question was centred around “simultaneous equations” which required students to calculate a total number of goanna and emu legs.
“Standard two booklet two was the worst. Like what was the goanna and emu about?” one student wrote in a Facebook HSC group.
One fellow exam-taker claimed the question was the only one they felt capable of completing, but others were far less impressed.
“I want to drop maths now but can’t,” one wrote in response to a discussion about the troubling question.
Another said they attempted it but weren’t confident in what they came up with.
“Didn’t get to find a new equation for it (just made up some random ones),” they wrote.
Elsewhere, students didn’t seem confident they did enough to achieve a passing mark.
“Yo, I just did the maths HSC exam just then and I advise you drop the course now,” one person said.
Someone else said the test was “the worst thing I’ve ever done”, while another conceded they could only answer one question in the second booklet.
“I left an hour into the exam because I was on the brink of having a panic attack about my skin. But honestly, I wouldn’t have done well anyway because I also suck at it. I didn’t even look at the second booklet at all,” someone else wrote.
Another student feared markers would not take their attempt seriously due to how badly they went.
“My answers are going to be so incorrect they’ll think it’s non-serious,” their comment read.
Someone else said they were “literally just sitting there not doing anything for two hours”.
Monday’s maths exam was preceded by several TikTok users who shared videos detailing the lack of hope they felt ahead of the test.
Sydney student George Melissourgos uploaded his take on what he predicted the maths exam would be like, sharing a photo of a problem that looked more like a dot-to-dot diagram than an equation.
The HSC marks the near end of the school year for NSW senior students, who have dealt with 18 months of interruptions to their classes due to the Covid pandemic.
Originally published as HSC maths exam question about emu and goanna legs leaves students fuming
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