Most students don't fail math because they don't know the concepts; they fail because they make small, avoidable errors under pressure. This worksheet focuses on the high-yield arithmetic and algebra rules that appear in almost every exam.

The Trap: Many students work strictly left-to-right. In math, order is everything.

Worked Example: Evaluate $15 - 3 \times (4 - 2)^2$

Quick Check: Solve: $20 \div (3 + 2) \times 4$

The Strategy: Use 'Inverse Operations.' If you see a plus, you minus. If you see a division, you multiply. Your goal is to strip away the numbers until $x$ is alone.

Worked Example: Solve for $x$: $\frac{2x + 4}{3} = 6$

• Undo the division: Multiply both sides by 3 $\rightarrow 2x + 4 = 18$
• Undo the addition: Subtract 4 from both sides $\rightarrow 2x = 14$
• Undo the multiplication: Divide by 2 $\rightarrow x = 7$

Practice Question: Solve for $y$: $5y - 8 = 2y + 13$

In an exam, you have roughly 60-90 seconds per mark. Start this timer and try to finish these three mixed problems before it hits zero. Don't rush—accuracy is faster than re-doing a mistake.

Question A: Simplify the expression$3(a - 4) + 4a + 10$

Question B: Fractions Calculate $\frac{3}{4} + \frac{1}{6}$

Question C: Quadratics Find the values of $x$ for $x^2 - 5x - 14 = 0$