• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

writing csc instead of cosec? (1 Viewer)

ADrew

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2011
Messages
292
Location
sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
1998
Uni Grad
2004
Do you get marked down in the HSC for using the notation 'cscx' instead of 'cosecx'? I just find it neater and could possibly save some space when writing.
 

Shadowdude

Cult of Personality
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
12,145
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the syllabus makes it "cosec", so you'll have to write that. If you want to use "csc", you'll have to specify it before - just in case.

HSC markers mark very, very hard - so don't give them a reason to give some doubt to whether they'll give you a mark or not.
 

Hayzazz

Pig Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
345
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
Don't risk it, markers might mark you down for it.

Its like an extra 2 letters, geez...
 

x_cp3

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2009
Messages
134
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
what so hard about writing an extra 2 letters (as the above comment has stated).
 
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
70
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2009
theres a fairly good chance that you will never come across "cosec" in a 2unit exam ( possibly 3unit but not that liekly either ) . They usually keep shit fairly easy and just use sin, cos and tan , they like never use the reciprocal ratios , they could possibly in a trig equation question ( ie instead of solve sin(x) = 1/2 they could say solve cosec(x) = 2 ) , but thats pretty unlikely
 
Last edited:

Drongoski

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
4,255
Gender
Male
HSC
N/A
Yeah lol, csc looks retarded anyway
No it doesn't. Makes for more consistent 3-letter abbreviations for all the 6 trig functions. In a sense, it is stupid for the Board of Studies to insist on that convention. I myself prefer csc. It is also the usage in respected university calculus texts like James Stewart and Thomas & Finney.

But, as suggested, stick to cosec just to be safe.
 

slyhunter

Retired
Joined
May 17, 2009
Messages
6,803
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
No it doesn't. Makes for more consistent 3-letter abbreviations for all the 6 trig functions. In a sense, it is stupid for the Board of Studies to insist on that convention. I myself prefer csc. It is also the usage in respected university calculus texts like James Stewart and Thomas & Finney.

But, as suggested, stick to cosec just to be safe.
Ah I see. But this is the HSC derp.
 

Drongoski

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
4,255
Gender
Male
HSC
N/A
HSC markers mark very, very hard

I often tell my students that, contrary to what many think, markers are always looking for reasons (& excuses) to award you marks. (You must help them help you.) But they must have a basis for doing so or else they'll be taken to task for arbitrarily awarding marks. Therefore it is imperative you set out your solution clearly, step by step; each key step can earn you a fractional mark. If you show no steps and get your final answer wrong marker must award you 0. Even with final answer right but without clearly showing your steps, you should get only partial mark.
 
Last edited:

Shadowdude

Cult of Personality
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
12,145
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
I often tell my students that, contrary to what many think, markers are always looking for reasons (& excuses) to award you marks. (You must help them help you.) But they must have a basis for doing so or else they'll be taken to task for arbitrarily awarding marks. Therefore it is imperative you set out your solution clearly, step by step; each key step can earn you a fractional mark. If you show no steps and get your final answer wrong marker must award you 0. Even with final answer right but without clearly showing your steps, you should get only partial mark.
That's why I said immediately afterwards: so don't give them a reason to give some doubt to whether they'll give you a mark or not.
 

kaz1

et tu
Joined
Mar 6, 2007
Messages
6,960
Location
Vespucci Beach
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2009
Uni Grad
2018
My teacher for 4unit also said that writing "cis" is also frowned upon.
 

funnytomato

Active Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2011
Messages
847
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
cosec 1/sin
cot 1/tan
sec 1/cos

it's kind of easier to tell which trig function it's reciprocal to if you write cosec.
so if you're bothered to ask this on BOS , then why wouldn't you be bothered to write the extra two letters?
 

AAEldar

Premium Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
2,246
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
I prefer cosec (and it's what I've been taught), I don't like the look of csc. To each their own however.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Trebla

Administrator
Administrator
Joined
Feb 16, 2005
Messages
8,401
Gender
Male
HSC
2006
'csc' is actually the more commonly used notation in practice...

It doesn't actually matter which way you write it. Both are universally accepted notations so there is no way a qualified HSC marker will take marks off for a widely accepted alternative notation of the same thing.
 

Shadowdude

Cult of Personality
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
12,145
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
I'd go safe, and write the syllabus-approved "cosec".

13.2 The functions sin x, cos x, tan x, cosec x, sec x, cot x and their graphs.
From the Current Maths 2/3u Syllabus.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top