WAEC Syllabus For Mathematics

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Is the WAEC syllabus for Mathematics 2024 available? To study for my WAEC, do I actually need the WAEC Syllabus 2024? Where can I find the WAEC mathematics curriculum?

Because you want to ace this test, we know this question has been on your mind for a very long time. You’re in the right place today because we’ll explain everything to you and give you general advice on WAEC mathematics.

The WAEC syllabus for Mathematics includes the purposes and goals, notes, and format for the mathematics exam. You must prepare for your exam by studying the mathematics syllabus. It will act as a guide for you to determine the subjects to read. There are also notes on ideas that you ought to focus on understanding.

It would be equivalent to going to the farm without your agricultural tools to study for an exam without using the mathematics syllabus. You won’t get anything done in the end. Use the syllabus as a starting point for your exam preparations.

You can see from this syllabus what subjects will be covered most in the WAEC SSCE Math exam this year. In other words, it provides you with all the mathematics-related topics, suggested reading materials, and authors that you should research before the exam. All of the math questions in your exam will be based on the WAEC syllabus, which is something you should keep in mind.

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has formally announced areas of concentration designed to aid students in passing their mathematics examination. The examination council is aware of how challenging math is for the majority of students. It has therefore decided to provide a set of topics from which all WASSCE SSCE questions and answers will be derived.

How To Read And Prepare For the 2024 Waec Exam 

The reality is that cheating by using expo or runs to pass your WAEC always has an impact on your future, so try to adequately prepare on your own and come out with good grades.

  • Make use of the WAEC syllabus 2024.
  • Use WAEC recommend textbooks.
  • Study with WAEC past questions.
  • Attend private lessons.

 Aims Of The WAEC Mathematics Syllabus

The syllabus is designed to evaluate candidates’:

  • proficiency in mathematics and computation;
  • understanding of mathematical ideas and their connection to entrepreneurship education to develop daily life skills in a global environment;
  • being able to translate problems into mathematical terms and solve them using the proper techniques;
  • ability to be precise to a degree that is pertinent to the issue at hand;
  • Thinking that is precise, logical, and abstract. The purpose of this syllabus is not to be used as a teaching syllabus. For that purpose, teachers are advised to use their own national teaching curricula or syllabuses.

WAEC Examination Format

There will be two papers, Papers 1 and 2, both of which must be taken.

PAPER 1: will be made up of 50 multiple-choice questions with clear-cut answers that are taken from the common areas of the syllabus and must be completed in 112 hours for 50 marks.

PAPER 2: will be made up of two sections (Sections A and B) and thirteen essay questions that must be answered in two and a half hours for 100 points. Ten questions in total must be answered by candidates.

Section A –will have five elementary-level, required questions and be worth a total of 40 marks. The common topics covered by the syllabus will be the source of the questions.

Section B –will be made up of eight longer and harder questions. A maximum of two questions may be asked, and they must come from parts of the curriculum that are not necessarily unique to the candidates’ home countries. Candidates will be required to respond to five questions for a total of 60 points.

Detailed WAEC Syllabus for Mathematics

The topics, contents, and notes are meant to provide an indication of the range of the upcoming questions. The notes should not be viewed as a complete list of all examples and restrictions.

Mathematics Topics Contents Notes

A. NUMBER AND NUMERATION

1. Number bases

  • conversion of numbers from one base to another
  • Basic operations on number  bases

2. Modular Arithmetic 

  • Concept of Modulo Arithmetic.
  • Addition, subtraction, and multiplication operations in modulo arithmetic.
  • Application to daily life

3. Fractions, Decimals, and Approximations 

  • Basic operations on fractions and decimals.
  • Approximations and significant figures.

4. Indices

  • Laws of indices
  • Numbers in standard form (scientific notation)

5. Logarithms

  • Relationship between indices and logarithms e.g. y = 10k implies log10y = k.
  • Basic rules of logarithms e.g. log10(pq) = log10p + log10q log10(p/q) = log10p – log10q log10pn = nlog10p.
  • Use of tables of logarithms and anti-logarithms.

6. Sequence and Series

  • Patterns of sequences.
  • Arithmetic progression (A.P.)
  • Geometric Progression (G.P.)

7. Sets

  • Idea of sets
    • universal sets,
    • finite and infinite sets,
    • subsets,
    • empty sets and
    • disjoint sets.
  • The idea of and notation for union, intersection, and complement of sets.
  • Solution of practical problems involving classification using Venn diagrams.

8. Logical Reasoning Simple statements

  • True and false statements.
  • Negation of statements, and implications.

9. Positive and negative integers, rational numbers

  • The four basic operations on rational numbers.

10. Surds (Radicals)

  • Simplification and rationalization of simple surds.

11. Matrices and Determinants

  • Identification of order, notation, and types of matrices.
  • Addition, subtraction, scalar multiplication, and multiplication of matrices.
  • Determinant of a matrix

12. Ratio, Proportions, and Rates 

  • The ratio between two similar quantities.
  • The proportion between two or more similar quantities.
  • Financial partnerships, rates of work, costs, taxes, foreign exchange, density (e.g. population), mass, distance, time, and speed.

13. Percentages

  • Simple interest,
  • Commission,
  • discount,
  • depreciation,
  • profit and loss,
  • compound interest,
  • hire purchase and
  • percentage error.

14. Financial Arithmetic

  • Depreciation / Amortization.
  • Annuities
  • Capital Market Instrument

15. Variation

  • Direct,
  • inverse,
  • partial and
  • joint variations.

B. ALGEBRAIC PROCESSES

1. Algebraic expressions

  • Formulating algebraic expressions from given situations
  • Evaluation of algebraic expressions

2. Simple operations on algebraic expressions 

  • Expansion
  • Factorization
  • Binary Operations

3. Solution of Linear Equations 

  • Linear equations in one variable
  • Simultaneous linear equations in two variables

4. Change of Subject of a Formula / Relation 

  • Change of subject of a formula/ relation
  • Substitution

5. Quadratic Equations

  • Solution of quadratic equations
  • Forming quadratic equation with given roots.
  • Application of solution of quadratic equation in practical problems.

6. Graphs of Linear and Quadratic functions

  • Interpretation of graphs, the coordinate of points, table of values, drawing quadratic graphs and obtaining roots from graphs.
  • Graphical solution of a pair of equations of the form: y = ax2 + bx + c and y = mx + k
  • Drawing tangents to curves to determine the gradient at a given point.

7. Linear Inequalities

  • Solution of linear inequalities in one variable and representation on the number line.
  • Graphical solution of linear inequalities in two variables.
  • Graphical solution of simultaneous linear inequalities in two variables.

8. Algebraic Fractions Operations on algebraic fractions with:

  • Monomial denominators
  • Binomial denominators

9. Functions and Relations

  • Types of Functions

C. MENSURATION

1. Lengths and Perimeter

  • Use of Pythagoras theorem, sine, and cosine rules to determine lengths and distances.
  • Lengths of arcs of circles, perimeters of sectors, and segments.
  • Longitudes and Latitudes.

2. Areas

  • Triangles and special quadrilaterals – rectangles, parallelograms, and trapeziums
  • Circles, sectors, and segments of circles.
  • Surface areas of cubes, cuboids, cylinders, pyramids, right triangular prisms, cones, and spheres.

3. Volumes

  • Volumes of cubes, cuboids, cylinders, cones, right pyramids, and spheres.
  • Volumes of similar solids

D. PLANE GEOMETRY

1. Angles

  • Angles at a point add up to 360.
  • Adjacent angles on a straight line are supplementary.
  • Vertically opposite angles are equal.

2. Angles and intercepts on parallel lines

  • Alternate angles are equal.
  • Corresponding angles are equal.
  • Interior opposite angles are supplementary
  • Intercept theorem.

3. Triangles and Polygons

  • The sum of the angles of a triangle is 2 right angles.
  • The exterior angle of a triangle equals the sum of the two interior opposite angles.
  • Congruent triangles.
  • Properties of special triangles – Isosceles, equilateral, right-angled, etc
  • Properties of special quadrilaterals – parallelogram, rhombus, square, rectangle, trapezium.
  • Properties of similar triangles.
  • The sum of the angles of a polygon
  • Property of exterior angles of a polygon.
  • Parallelograms on the same base and between the same parallels are equal in area.

4. Circles

  • Chords.
  • The angle at which an arc of a circle subtends at the center of the circle is twice that at which it subtends at any point on the remaining part of the circumference.
  • Any angle subtended at the circumference by a diameter is a right angle.
  • Angles in the same segment are equal.
  • Angles in opposite segments are supplementary.
  • Perpendicularity of tangent and radius.
  • If a tangent is drawn to a circle and from the point of contact a chord is drawn, each angle that this chord makes with the tangent is equal to the angle in the alternate segment.

5. Construction

  • Bisectors of angles and line segments
  • Line parallel or perpendicular to a given line.
  • Angles e.g. 90°, 60°, 45°, 30°, and an angle equal to a given angle.
  • Triangles and quadrilaterals from sufficient data.

6. Loci

Knowledge of the loci listed below and their intersections in 2 dimensions.

  • Points at a given distance from a given point.
  • Points are equidistant from two given points.
  • Points are equidistant from two given straight lines.
  • Points at a given distance from a given straight line.

E. COORDINATE GEOMETRY OF STRAIGHT LINES

  • Concept of the x-y plane.
  • Coordinates of points on the x-y plane.

F. TRIGONOMETRY

1. Sine, Cosine, and Tangent of an angle

  • Sine, Cosine, and Tangent of acute angles.
  • Use of tables of trigonometric ratios.
  • Trigonometric ratios of 30°, 45°, and 60°.
  • Sine, cosine, and tangent of angles from 0° to 360°.
  • Graphs of sine and cosine.
  • Graphs of trigonometric ratios.

2. Angles of elevation and depression

  • Calculating angles of elevation and depression.
  • Application to heights and distances.

3. Bearings

  • The bearing of one point from another.
  • Calculation of distances and angles

G. INTRODUCTORY CALCULUS

  • Differentiation of algebraic functions.
  • Integration of simple Algebraic functions.

H. STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY

1. Statistics

  • Frequency distribution
  • Pie charts, bar charts, histograms, and frequency polygons
  • Mean, median, and mode for both discrete and grouped data.
  • Cumulative frequency curve (Ogive).
  • Measures of Dispersion: range, semi inter-quartile / inter-quartile range, variance, mean deviation, and standard deviation

2. Probability

  • Experimental and theoretical probability.
  • Addition of probabilities for mutually exclusive and independent events.
  • Multiplication of probabilities for independent events.

I. VECTORS AND TRANSFORMATION

1. Vectors in a Plane 

  • Vectors as a directed line segment.
  • Cartesian components of a vector
  • The magnitude of a vector, equal vectors, addition and subtraction of vectors, zero vector, parallel vectors, and multiplication of a vector by a scalar.

2. Transformation in the Cartesian Plane

  • Reflection of points and shapes in the Cartesian Plane.
  • Rotation of points and shapes in the Cartesian Plane.
  • Translation of points and shapes in the Cartesian Plane.
  • Enlargement