Which A Math chapters actually get examined? A heat map of every O-Level paper since 2015
By StudySzn · · 4 min read
The short answer: over the 10 years from 2015 to 2024, the O-Level A Math chapters that carried the most marks were Differentiation and Integration (58.1 marks a year), Trigonometric Functions, Identities and Equations (28.2 marks a year), Coordinate Geometry in Two Dimensions (25 marks a year), Exponential and Logarithmic Functions (14.6 marks a year) and Polynomials and Partial Fractions (12.5 marks a year). Together the first four are about 70% of the 180 marks in a year. We went through every question, checked what each part tests, and counted the marks per chapter.
The chapters that carry the marks
- 1.Differentiation and Integration — 58.1 marks a year (32% of the paper)
- 2.Trigonometric Functions, Identities and Equations — 28.2 marks a year (16% of the paper)
- 3.Coordinate Geometry in Two Dimensions — 25 marks a year (14% of the paper)
- 4.Exponential and Logarithmic Functions — 14.6 marks a year (8% of the paper)
- 5.Polynomials and Partial Fractions — 12.5 marks a year (7% of the paper)
At the other end, surds (4), quadratic functions (5) and proofs in plane geometry (7) bring in the fewest marks a year. Don’t read “low” as “safe to skip”: all but 2 chapters came up in every single year, and the biggest single-year swing was differentiation and integration in 2016, worth 63 marks on its own.
How the marks are counted
Both papers are compulsory, with no choice of questions, so nothing is weighted: every question counts in full, and each year adds up to 180 marks. The paper layout changed along the way (80 + 100 marks before 2021, 90 + 90 marks from then), so you can compare like with like using the presets in the tool below. Each question’s marks go to the chapter it tests, and when a question mixes topics, the marks are split part by part.
Try it yourself
Pick the years and the paper you care about. Click any cell to see the exact questions behind it. Your choices stay in the page link, so you can send a view to a friend.
Topic heat map
Marks per chapter per year. Darker means more marks.
| Chapter | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Avg / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 /yr | |||||||||||
| 9.1 /yr | |||||||||||
| 4 /yr | |||||||||||
| 12.5 /yr | |||||||||||
| 7.3 /yr | |||||||||||
| 14.6 /yr | |||||||||||
| 28.2 /yr | |||||||||||
| 25 /yr | |||||||||||
| 7 /yr | |||||||||||
| 58.1 /yr | |||||||||||
| Outside the current chapter list | |||||||||||
| 9.2 /yr | |||||||||||
| Total marks | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 | |
Most examined first
Average marks over the selected years
Yearly mix by topic area
- Algebra
- Trigonometry
- Geometry
- Calculus
- Other
How this is counted
Each question’s marks go to the chapter it tests; when a question mixes topics, its marks are split part by part. Every question was classified from the paper itself, not from tags (updated 2026-10-09).
Nothing is weighted. Every question in both papers is compulsory, and each year adds up to 180 marks. Paper 1 and Paper 2 were 80 and 100 marks until 2020 and 90 and 90 marks from 2021, so use the presets to compare like with like.
How closely each year was checked. 2015–2021 were checked against the original scanned papers. The other years were checked against the question bank text only, because no scan of those papers was available.
Not in the current syllabus. Older papers asked some things today’s syllabus no longer covers. Those marks sit in their own row, not in a chapter.
What changed with the new paper layout
Comparing 2015–2020 with 2021–2024, using only marks on current chapters:
- Quadratic Functions went up from 2% to 4% of marks.
- Equations and Inequalities went up from 5% to 6% of marks.
- Differentiation and Integration came down from 36% to 32%.
- Surds came down from 3% to 1%.
If your paper is soon, lean on the recent years: use the “Last 5” button in the tool above.
How to use this when you revise
- Start with the heavy chapters. If you only have a week, get calculus, trigonometry and polynomials & fractions solid first.
- Look at your paper, not just the whole set. Switch between Paper 1 and Paper 2 to see where the short questions and the long questions come from.
- Don’t skip the small ones. Surds averages 4 marks a year, but it was worth 9 in 2015.
- Then practise. Pick a chapter and do real questions from it in the StudySzn question bank.
How we checked it
Every question was classified from the paper itself, not from tags. The 2015–2021 papers were checked against the original scans. The other years were checked against the question text and diagrams in our question bank, because we didn’t have a scan of those papers. This covers past papers only, so it’s a guide to the exam, not a prediction of next year’s.
Put the guide into practice
Download a free weekly revision planner. Pick a topic, attempt a timed question, record your mistakes, and schedule a second attempt. Our guides, planner and heat maps are free to use without an account.
Download the revision planner (CSV)Open in Excel or Google Sheets. Use one row per study session.
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