Brutal A-level question that stumps adults as exam system set to be scrapped

22 September 2023 , 10:13

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A-level exam questions can be hard for adults too (stock image) (Image: PA)

As Rishi Sunak is considering scrapping A-level exams in favour of a new style of Baccalaureate, where pupils would study more subjects after the age of 16, many are wondering what that new system would look like.

In the proposals, it would be compulsory for pupils to study English and maths up until the age of 18. In 2021, education thinktank EDSK concluded that A-levels were too narrow, and should be replaced with a three-year "baccalaureate" instead, which would cover all academic, applied and technical courses.

At the moment, students count on their A-level marks to get them a space in their chosen university. An advanced level, or A-level, is a subject-based qualification which is usually assessed by a series of exams.

For many students, A-levels are synonymous with long nights of studying, trying to remember every last bit of information before the big exam days, followed by a long, anxious period waiting for the results. For parents and other adults, this might seem like a distant memory. But as the system is looking at being overhauled, how do you think you'd if you had to take the exams now?

Below are two questions that pupils will have had to answer at previous A-level exams, which have left adults stumped. So can you answer them? Once you've had a crack, let us know in the comment section below.

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1. What is angular velocity?
2. What is the function of the cell nucleus?

Can you answer them? Take a moment to think, before looking at the answers below.

Answers:

1. Angular velocity is the rate at which an object rotates around a specific point in a given period of time.

2. The nucleus controls and regulates the activities of the cell, such as growth and metabolism, and carries the genes.

Did you manage to answer it? If so, well done, your mind seems to be just as sharp as it was back in your A-level days! There's nothing like getting test, exam or quiz questions right to boost your confidence. So why not try your hand at some year 6 SATs maths questions? Do you know what 0.3 divided by 10 is? If you do, you should try to answer some more questions from the arithmetic and reasoning parts of the 2023 key stage 2 year 6 SATs mathematic test. If you can answer them all, you can have bragging rights to your kids.

What about GCSEs? Apparently 92% of parents can't solve one particular GCSE maths question, with only 8% even attempting it. The questions asks people to 'show that (x + 1) (x + 2) (x + 3) can be written in the form ax3 + bx2 + d are positive integers, and Save My Exams have tried to simplify it by taking the question step by step.

Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz