Using a Calculator

One paper with a calculator, one without

• Each candidate sits two papers of equal weight, 80 marks and 1 hour 30 minutes each: Paper 1, where calculators are not allowed, and Paper 3, where a scientific calculator is required
• Half the assessment therefore rewards calculator fluency and half rewards written methods
• Only Paper 3 sets a default accuracy: an answer that is not exact goes to 3 significant figures, or to 1 decimal place for an angle in degrees, unless the question asks for something else, and π is the calculator's value or 3.142
• Any scientific model carries the functions needed, though the key sequences differ between makes, so the one taken into the exam should be the one practised on
• Older models sometimes take the number before the function rather than after it, which is worth confirming well before the exam