Study & wellbeing · Grades 9–12
Planning time in an exam
Study guide for Grades 9 to 12: 2 worked examples and 2 practice questions. Set aside time to read the paper and to check at the end, then share the rest fairly among the questions.
Rule and key idea
Set aside time to read the paper and to check at the end, then share the rest fairly among the questions.
time per question = (total − reading − checking) ÷ questions
Worked examples
An exam lasts 99 minutes. You plan 5 minutes to read the paper and 10 minutes to check your work at the end, and you share the rest equally among 6 questions. How many minutes is that per question?
(99 − 5 − 10) ÷ 6 = 14
14 min
An exam lasts 58 minutes. You plan 5 minutes to read the paper and 5 minutes to check your work at the end, and you share the rest equally among 8 questions. How many minutes is that per question?
(58 − 5 − 5) ÷ 8 = 6
6 min
Try two questions
An exam lasts 85 minutes. You plan 10 minutes to read the paper and 5 minutes to check your work at the end, and you share the rest equally among 7 questions. How many minutes is that per question?
An exam lasts 60 minutes. You plan 15 minutes to read the paper and 5 minutes to check your work at the end, and you share the rest equally among 5 questions. How many minutes is that per question?
Answers and reasoning
Answers and marking notes
- 10 min
(85 − 10 − 5) ÷ 7 = 10
- 8 min
(60 − 15 − 5) ÷ 5 = 8
How this page was made: written for StudyBrix with AI assistance from our own templates. Answers and worked examples are checked by automated tests, and grade bands are approximate, not an official curriculum alignment. See the editorial policy for corrections. Editorial policy