Yomi BlackGeneral Mathematics is examined at advanced level depth, a taught year beyond the school certificate. That is the sentence to hold onto, because the same subject examined by a different body at a different depth needs a different plan, and candidates who carry preparation across from one to the other lose marks they did not need to lose.
- Subject
- General Mathematics
- Examined by
- IJMB
- Format here
- Written examinations per subject, with practicals where relevant, at the end of the programme
- Depth
- Advanced level depth, a taught year beyond the school certificate
- What the grade does
- An aggregate used for Direct Entry at 200 level, with recognition strongest among northern Nigerian universities
- Papers
- Objective and essay, with the essay carrying the larger share of the marks.
- Required for
- Almost every course, and named explicitly for engineering, the sciences, economics, accounting and computer science
How IJMB examines this subject
The format is written examinations per subject, with practicals where relevant, at the end of the programme, and it is marked for points, aggregated across three subjects.
Three subjects only, so each carries a third of your aggregate and there is nowhere to hide a weak one.
The paper structure, and how to weight your time
Objective and essay, with the essay carrying the larger share of the marks.
Split your preparation roughly in the proportion the components are weighted. Candidates habitually over-prepare the part they enjoy and meet the other part for the first time in the hall.
What makes it hard
It is cumulative. A weakness in algebra shows up again in trigonometry, in calculus and in the algebraic parts of statistics, so gaps compound rather than sit still.
Set that against how this examination works. A taught year at an accredited centre, with the centre’s quality mattering more than any study technique you bring.
Where marks are lost in this subject
- Skipping the working. Method marks are awarded for the steps, and an answer alone earns a fraction of what a worked solution earns.
- Losing the units in mensuration questions.
- Treating statistics as the easy topic and then meeting a question on grouped data that needs real technique.
Work past papers with a pen and no calculator first, then check. The arithmetic slips you make under pressure are the marks you are actually losing.
Turning it into a plan
- Get the current syllabus from IJMB and check the year range on the cover.
- Write one line per topic area, with a box beside it.
- Work a past paper in this examination’s format, written examinations per subject, and tag every question back to a line.
- Mark the lines your teaching has never covered. Those are the priority.
- Re-weight towards the component carrying the most marks. One academic session.
What a good grade here is worth
In this examination the grade is an aggregate used for Direct Entry at 200 level, with recognition strongest among northern Nigerian universities. General Mathematics is required for almost every course, and named explicitly for engineering, the sciences, economics, accounting and computer science, and course requirements are checked subject by subject, so a strong overall result with a weak grade here is a disqualification for the course that names it rather than a near miss.
What people ask about General Mathematics
Where do I get the official syllabus?
From IJMB, on its own site, free. Check the year range on the cover before you use it.
Has the syllabus changed?
Syllabuses are revised on published cycles and old ones stay online after they expire. If the copy you are holding has no year range, you do not know what you are holding.
How do I turn it into revision?
One line per topic area with a box beside it, then tick the lines off against past papers rather than against your notes. The lines that stay blank are the finding.
Is General Mathematics compulsory?
It is compulsory.
What is it required for?
Almost every course, and named explicitly for engineering, the sciences, economics, accounting and computer science.
How many papers are there?
Objective and essay, with the essay carrying the larger share of the marks.
What makes it hard?
It is cumulative. A weakness in algebra shows up again in trigonometry, in calculus and in the algebraic parts of statistics, so gaps compound rather than sit still.
What is the most common way candidates lose marks?
Skipping the working. Method marks are awarded for the steps, and an answer alone earns a fraction of what a worked solution earns.
What the subject covers
Use these topic areas as the frame for your own checklist, then verify the detail against the syllabus IJMB publishes itself, because depth and emphasis shift between curriculum cycles even when the headings do not.
- Number and numeration.
- Algebraic processes.
- Mensuration.
- Plane geometry.
- Trigonometry.
- Introductory calculus where the syllabus includes it.
- Statistics and probability.
Sources
- Interim Joint Matriculation Board, Ahmadu Bello University. www.abu.edu.ng