HKDSE Mathematics Extended Part Module 1 (Calculus and Statistics)

Exam Format

Study Strategies

• 1Give statistics equal billing with calculus: the EDB's suggested lesson time gives Statistics 56 of the module's 125 hours and Calculus 51, so conditional probability, the binomial, Poisson and normal distributions and confidence intervals deserve as much practice as differentiation.
• 2Make differentiation and integration of algebraic, exponential and logarithmic functions automatic: those are the functions M1 calculus works with, while trigonometric calculus belongs to M2.
• 3Practise transforming y = ka^x and y = kx^n into straight lines with logarithms: it is a learning objective of its own in the Foundation Knowledge of M1.
• 4Read the printed statistical tables quickly and carry full accuracy to the end: answers must be exact or correct to 4 decimal places unless the question says otherwise.
• 5Budget 1.5 minutes per mark, about 75 minutes per section, and use the eleven days between the Compulsory Part and the module for full 2½-hour past papers.

How Math Zen Helps

Math Zen's HKDSE M1 path covers the binomial expansion, exponential and logarithmic functions with straight-line transformations, first principles, differentiation and its applications, the second derivative, integration with areas and the trapezoidal rule, conditional probability and Bayes' theorem, the binomial, Poisson and normal distributions, the sample mean and confidence intervals. It does not yet cover limits of exponential and logarithmic functions or unbiased sample variance, and a few calculus items use trigonometric functions that M1 does not examine.