VCE Specialist Mathematics/Units 3 and 4: Specialist Mathematics/Common Math Hacks

 « VCE Specialist Mathematics Common Math Hacks » Practice Exams Common Exam Mistakes

Preface

This page serves to categorize and organize commonly used mathematical hacks, which allow their users to complete questions faster, and with a greater deal of accuracy.

Units 3 and 4: Specialist Mathematics

Coordinate Geometry

Ellipses, Hyperbolas

The values ${\displaystyle a}$ and ${\displaystyle b}$ can be fractional, as can be seen by taking the following equation:

• ${\displaystyle {\frac {4(x)^{2}}{1}}+{\frac {16(y)^{2}}{1}}=1}$ where ${\displaystyle a={\frac {1}{2}},b={\frac {1}{4}}}$

Equations found in questions may not be in the general form, and may need to be transformed via the complete the square method::

Circles

Equations found in questions may not be in the general form, and may need to be transformed via the complete the square method, in conjunction with extricating all variables from under root symbols; an example follows: