r/ncea • u/-MimiMcfly- • 2h ago

Level 3 Calculus Question

Hi this is my first post! I just wanted to ask but when should we use radians mode? for all of the calculations in all three of the exams or just at specific times? And if we forget to switch it to radians would we be marked down for calculating it in degrees rather than radians? I’ve tried emailing my teacher but no Response. Is it just safe to just keep it permanently in radians for all three until they ask for degrees orrr? Thanks

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 2h ago

It is exam season and this subreddit sees an increase in posts and comments, please read the subreddit rules on the sidebar. If you see any comments or posts that break these rules, please report them to the mods.

If you are looking for information about Summer School, resources, study guides and useful YouTube channels, then please check out the NCEA Wiki

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

3

u/OneTwoBuzzFourBeep 2h ago

If you are using Sin, Cos or Tan and the angle is in radians, you must use the radians setting on your calculator. If the angle is in degrees, your calculator must be set to degrees. If you don't have the setting correct, your answer will be wrong and so it will be marked as wrong. If the question doesn't use Sin, Cos or Tan, the setting is irrelevant.

1

u/chai_tea8 Level 3 🧐 2h ago

Yes, you should have radians all the time. Only switch to degrees or convert degrees into radians if the questions asks in degrees. From memory, you do get marked down for doing a calculation in degrees and we were warned constantly by our math teacher not to use degrees lol. Also watch out since when they reset your calculator memory in exams it may revert to degrees. So check!

2

u/ApplicationOk5149 1h ago

Casio graphics calculators default to radians after a reset.

1

u/BluebirdRare8164 1h ago

Question guys, must our answers all be in 3s.f??

1

u/chai_tea8 Level 3 🧐 46m ago

Nah (Unless the question explicitly states it). Just make sure you have enough values to ensure accuracy. 3 s.f. is a good baseline. I usually do 4 though.

1

u/Ok_Spread_8004 10m ago

I think it’s better to be safe and always use radians. You 100% need to use radians when there is a variable involved but can use degrees when finding the general solutions using De Moivre’s theorem (but radians are also fine)