General Mathematics: should I choose it?

What will I learn?

How will I be assessed?

Progression and companion subjects

No complete companion or exclusion review is attached to this profile. Check the official course-entry conditions, language eligibility and your school’s sequence before enrolling. Links between resource hubs show related learning; they do not establish a compulsory prerequisite.

Will I find it hard?

Difficulty depends on your experience, interests, teaching and assessment. These are our reflection prompts, not an official difficulty rating.

• How do you feel about explaining a method and working through unfamiliar multi-step problems?
• Try the sample without looking at a worked answer, then check the steps you need to practise.

Does it scale up or down?

General Mathematics, 2025. Table 6 of QTAC’s 2025 report publishes separate raw and scaled subject medians for General subjects with at least 50 students. Historical cohort data cannot predict your result or a future scaling direction.

Scaling is not a measure of difficulty or a guaranteed bonus. Prioritise content you can engage with and required subjects for courses you are considering.

Try a little of the subject

Consumer arithmetic

Consumer arithmetic is the mathematics of everyday money: earning it, spending it and comparing deals. Two ideas sit underneath almost every calculation in this topic. A rate compares two quantities measured in different units, such as dollars per hour, cents per litre or kilometres per hour. A percentage is a rate out of 100, so 12% means 12 out of every 100, or the decimal 0.12. To find a percentage of an amount, convert the percentage to a decimal and multiply. To write one amount as a percentage of another, divide and multiply by 100. People are paid in several different ways, and you need to recognise each one. Salary : a fixed annual amount, usually paid weekly (divide by 52), fortnightly (divide by 26) or monthly (divide by 12), regardless of the exact hours worked. Wage : payment at an hourly rate . Hours beyond the normal working week are often paid as overtime at time-and-a-half (1.5 × the hourly rate) or double time (2 × the hourly rate). Allowances : extra fixed amounts for special conditions, such as working in heat, using your own tools or being on call. Commission : a percentage of the value of sales, sometimes added to a small fixed payment called a retainer. Piecework : a fixed amount paid for each item completed or delivered. A common trap is converting between weekly and monthly pay. A month is not exactly four weeks, so never multiply a weekly wage by 4 to get a monthly amount. Instead, convert to an annual figure first (× 52), then divide by 12. When comparing jobs, always convert both to the same period before deciding which pays more. Worked example 1 (salary). Mia earns an annual salary of $78 000. Weekly pay = 78 000 ÷ 52 = $1500. Fortnightly pay = 78 000 ÷ 26 = $3000. Monthly pay = 78 000 ÷ 12 = $6500. Worked example 2 (overtime and allowance).

Original practice question: Which of the following is equivalent to 7.5%?

This is ATARMAxxing’s original sample learning material. It is not an official assessment task or a prediction of your school’s workload.

Explore the resources

Open the General Mathematics subject hub and free preview (opens in a new tab)

• General Mathematics — QCE Units 3 & 4 (opens in a new tab)

Core subject information and planning are free. Full study resources are optional.