We classified all 268 questions from the 16 VCAA Mathematical Methods written examinations sat between 2018 and 2025 — Exam 1 and Exam 2 for each year — and counted how often each topic is actually examined.
Five concepts were examined in every one of the 16 papers. If you are deciding what to revise first, these are not optional.
| Concept | Area | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Stationary Points | Differentiation | 52 |
| Definite Integrals | Integration | 51 |
| Transformations | Functions & Graphs | 48 |
| Domain & Range | Functions & Graphs | 41 |
| Chain Rule | Differentiation | 34 |
"Papers" counts how many of the 16 examinations tested the concept at least once. "Questions" counts individual questions across all papers; a question testing more than one concept is counted under each.
| Concept | Area | Papers | Frequency | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transformations | Functions & Graphs | 16/16 | 100% | 48 |
| Domain & Range | Functions & Graphs | 16/16 | 100% | 41 |
| Chain Rule | Differentiation | 16/16 | 100% | 34 |
| Stationary Points | Differentiation | 16/16 | 100% | 52 |
| Definite Integrals | Integration | 16/16 | 100% | 51 |
| Sine & Cosine Graphs | Functions & Graphs | 14/16 | 88% | 30 |
| Trig Equations | Functions & Graphs | 14/16 | 88% | 19 |
| Conditional Probability | Probability | 14/16 | 88% | 21 |
| Logarithmic Functions | Functions & Graphs | 13/16 | 81% | 20 |
| Quadratic Equations | Algebra | 13/16 | 81% | 28 |
| Antiderivatives | Integration | 13/16 | 81% | 20 |
| Binomial Distribution | Probability | 13/16 | 81% | 21 |
| Inverse Functions | Functions & Graphs | 12/16 | 75% | 18 |
| Product Rule | Differentiation | 12/16 | 75% | 17 |
| Area Under a Curve | Integration | 12/16 | 75% | 15 |
| Simultaneous Equations | Algebra | 11/16 | 69% | 19 |
| Inequalities | Algebra | 11/16 | 69% | 14 |
| Tangent & Normal Lines | Differentiation | 11/16 | 69% | 21 |
| Area Between Curves | Integration | 11/16 | 69% | 20 |
| Expected Value | Probability | 10/16 | 62% | 13 |
| Polynomial Factorisation | Algebra | 9/16 | 56% | 15 |
| Discrete Random Variables | Probability | 9/16 | 56% | 10 |
| Normal Distribution | Statistics | 9/16 | 56% | 15 |
| Sampling Distributions | Statistics | 9/16 | 56% | 10 |
| Composite Functions | Functions & Graphs | 8/16 | 50% | 15 |
| Exponential Equations | Functions & Graphs | 8/16 | 50% | 9 |
| Log Equations | Functions & Graphs | 7/16 | 44% | 7 |
| Exact Values | Functions & Graphs | 7/16 | 44% | 10 |
| Rates of Change | Differentiation | 7/16 | 44% | 8 |
| Piecewise Functions | Functions & Graphs | 6/16 | 38% | 10 |
| Second Derivative | Differentiation | 6/16 | 38% | 6 |
| Probability Trees | Probability | 6/16 | 38% | 7 |
| Exponential Functions | Functions & Graphs | 5/16 | 31% | 6 |
| Fundamental Theorem | Integration | 5/16 | 31% | 5 |
| Confidence Intervals | Statistics | 5/16 | 31% | 5 |
| Growth & Decay | Functions & Graphs | 4/16 | 25% | 4 |
| Quotient Rule | Differentiation | 4/16 | 25% | 4 |
| Integration by Substitution | Integration | 2/16 | 12% | 2 |
| Pythagorean Identity | Functions & Graphs | 1/16 | 6% | 1 |
Classification of long multi-part questions tends to be generous, which slightly inflates the rarest concepts; the high-frequency end is unaffected. Seven of the 268 questions (2.6%) could not be confidently classified and are excluded. These figures describe what has been examined historically and are not a prediction of any future paper.
Across all 16 VCAA Mathematical Methods written examinations from 2018 to 2025, stationary points, definite integrals, transformations, domain & range, chain rule were examined in every single paper.
Exam 1 (no calculator) has 8 to 9 questions. Exam 2 has 20 multiple-choice questions in Section A plus 5 to 6 extended-response questions in Section B. Across the 16 papers from 2018 to 2025 there are 268 questions in total.
It did not appear in any of the 16 VCAA Mathematical Methods examinations from 2018 to 2025, and it is no longer on the Methods course. If it is in your notes, they are based on an older syllabus.
They were not examined in any of the 16 papers analysed, and are no longer part of the Methods course. Circular functions in Methods cover sine, cosine and tangent — their graphs, equations and exact values.
We've written up the ten most-examined concepts as full worked questions — the solution, and the exact place students lose marks on each. No sign-up needed.
10 free worked questions →exam-prep generates unlimited exam-style Methods questions by topic, marks your working, and explains each step. Built on these same 16 papers.
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