General information

Date: Sunday 15 September 15:40
Location: On campus. You will be notified by email the exact location and your seat number.
Weighting: 25% of your final QBUS1040 grade
Please take your student ID to your exam with you.

This is not a hurdle task. To pass QBUS1040 you are only required to achieve a final grade of 50 to pass.

Materials permitted

Pens, pencils, highlighters etc.
Physical language translation dictionaries.
You are allowed a handheld calculator (not a phone).
You will be supplied with a formula sheet.
One single sided A4 page of handwritten or typed notes.
- Simple Latex Template
- You can re-use your cheatsheet for the final exam which will allow you do have a double sided cheatsheet.

Exam structure

You will have 80 minutes to complete the exam. There is no reading time.

Question	1 Multiple choice Short answers	2 Longer responses	3 Python comprehension	4 Python code
Available marks (total: 50)	12	21	10	7
Recommended time spent (mins)	10	30	25	15

Changes from previous semesters

Semester 1 2023

60 minute exam
Formula sheet only

Semester 2 2023

60 minute exam
Formula sheet and handwritten cheat sheet

Semester 1/Semester 2 2024

80 minute exam
Formula sheet and handwritten or typed cheat sheet

Note that because we have given you more time this semester and the length and the difficulty of the exam has not changed, we are going to have higher expectations on your notation and the clarity of your working.

How to study

Content included in the exam:

All the lectures up to and including 6_matrices_and_examples.
Tutorials 1-6 inclusive.
Pencasts 1-6 inclusive.
Textbook references: chapters 1-7 inclusive

How to study:

Complete all of the lecture question sheets (question sheets from weeks 1-6 inclusive).
Complete all of the tutorial exercises.
Complete all of the pencast exercises.
Complete the practice exams and watch the walkthrough video of the practice exam.
There are additional questions at the end of each chapter in the textbook.

Practice paper

The weighting of each section will be the same in your exam, but the marks allocated to each subquestion might be slightly different.

Formula sheet

QBUS1040_midsem_formula_sheet_S2_2024.pdf

Practice paper

QBUS1040_midsem_practice.pdf QBUS1040_midsem_practice_solutions.pdf

pencast 8

You will not be using Ed in the exam. We have just provided the exam code for you on Ed so that you can play around with it.

This is not assessed. Week 8 will not have the normal pencast. This is to give you a bit of time to catch up on any week 7 material.

Past paper (mid-semester exam S1 2023)

QBUS1040_midsem_S1_2023.pdf QBUS1040_midsem_S1_2023_solutions.pdf

Past paper (mid-semester exam S2 2023)

QBUS1040_midsem_S2_2023.pdf QBUS1040_midsem_S2_2023_solutions.pdf

Walkthrough of the practice exam with exam tips

Note that the midsem conditions have changed since S1 2023 (see above).

To watch at 2x speed click the cog icon to change the speed.

Frequently asked questions

Q: How do I know where my exam room is?
A: The University will send you a formal email with the location of your exam and your seat number.

Q: What kind of calculator can I bring?
A: Any handheld non-programmable calculator. Examples include: the Casio fx-82AU PLUS II or the Sharp EL531 WB-WH Scientific calculator. In the week leading up to the mid-semester exam there will be places where you can get your calculator approved.

Q: What if my answer doesn't quite match the solutions?
A: There are often more than one ways to solve the same problem! As long as your answer is correct and showing all appropriate working (and relies only on concepts you have seen in QBUS1040), you will be award all of the marks. The solutions provided are just a set of samples solutions.

Q: If I redo pencast challenges the submissions are marked as 'Late'. Is this a problem?
A: No, you don't have to worry about late submissions. We download the submissions as they were on the due date, so anything you do after this time will not affect your marks.

Q: Do I need to bring a printout of the formula sheet to the exam?
A: No. This will be provided to you on the day.

Q: I am overseas at the time of the exam, can I take the exam online?
A: No. This exam is offered in-person only. You will need to apply for special consideration.

Q: Are we expected to write code in the exam?
A: Yes! See the practice papers.

Special Consideration

If you cannot make your exam for any reason please apply for special consideration to sit the replacement mid-semester exam.
You will need to ensure you supply all supporting documents to be approved and there is a possibility that your application will be rejected, so please apply early.

Note: the format and difficulty of the replacement mid-semester exam and the second replacement mid-semester exam will be the same as the main mid-semester exam but none of the questions will be the same.