HELENA

TECHNICAL+CREATIVE=CONTENT

HOW TO TOP THE BOARD EXAM

DAY 72:
#100HAPPYDAYS
CONIC SECTIONS AT
AYALA

The Conic Sections

My very soon to be sister-in-law Grace is preparing for her board
exams this September. Amidst all the wedding and career hooplah I
am currently subjected to, we finally found the time to sit together,
share some McDo shaker fries in Ayala area after a hard days work
and discuss about conic sections. I sorely miss one on one
mentoring for board exam reviews. Its just one way of giving back

to the future engineers of this country that I will never grow tired of
doing. Besides, this bridezilla needs a break, for real.
I had to refresh myself a bit while I held her reviewers containing
shortcuts of formula. I think I did something right during my board
exam because three or four years on, I can still remember how
these conic section formulae were derived in under 30 minutes.Its
not because I am smart (though some people always insist on that).
Its more because I am strategic with my approach to learning
things.
Here is the gist of todays board exam tip: You never unlearn
things when you learn them in a very deep and imaginative
way.
How did I propose that Grace remember the formula for conic
sections? It was just simple. I requested that she only remember the
general formula and use the image of the conic section to imagine
how it would look like:
Ax^2 + Bxy + Cy^2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0
where A, B, C, D, E, and F are constants.
You see, by itself, it has no meaning. But when you imagine
something fun like an ice cream cone and slice it in different ways
and apply math to it, it becomes interesting. For her homework, I
think I asked Grace to buy Play Doh, shape it into a cone and recall
the formula of the conic sections in her head as she slices the clay
cone.
The reviewer will just give you a list of shortcuts to gargle
until the big day. But if you do not know how these were
derived, you can get mental block on the day of the exam,
forget the memory work you did (like a parrot who imitates

the human words to get food from its master without

knowing what the words mean).
(An Important Note: Dont derive during the exam per se. But during
review, just understand where the formula came from!)
Do not be afraid to create your own shortcuts or deviate a little from
what other people are doing during review. If you do better by
graphing or imagining an ice cream cone sliced in various directions,
do it!
And yes, nobody is too young for Play Doh. Go make your playtime
productive.

Posted on June 13, 2014Posted in UP College Life + Board Exam +

EngineerTagged board exam tips, conic sections, geometry, how to top the board
exam, math Leave a comment

A FRIENDSHIP
FORGED BY
SKYFLAKES
(This might not instantly sound like a board exam tip, but it is. Just
read through.)
Being the youngest engineer in our company, I discovered how I
sorely miss having peers to mentally spar thoughts with. I had a lot
of these peer-given intellectual stimulation from college days, board
exam review, and my other two jobs. During my board exam review,
a huge component of the success we (UP graduates) had as a team

came from the very solid support that we got from each other. One
of the joys of learning is discovering things at the same time with
another person who loves the industry or subject as much as you do.
You might think that I had a lot of support during review. In fact, I
spent a great deal of my time crying especially during the last 3
months of it. I had numerous arguments with my mother during
review season. She told me that my preparations were overkill
whenever I ask her to turn the television off while I am reviewing.
My immediate family suffered a lot from my extreme measures of
preparing for the license exam. This is one painful truth about
aspiring for something. As a person preparing for board exam, you
can silently expect to be ostracized by people who are not able to
understand the magnitude of your board exam preparations. You will
get criticized, you may be called OA, and even your own school
might not be as supportive with your efforts especially if they think
that board exams are just a giant dog and pony show.
There may be some truth in the fact that a board exam does not
make an engineer in the truest sense of the word. But it still brings
in a lot of advantage in your career advancement. As you advance,
you can be opposed heavily even by people you expect to
understand you at this phase. But you have to be determined
enough to surmount those insults and just keep striving to give it
your all. These adversities will prompt you to answer this
question: How much do you want this? How far are you willing
to let this take you?
My concept for overpreparing during review is that I wanted to
trudge through life with no regrets. I dont want to look at my score
in the board exam and have a what if nagging in my head. I dont
want to give less than my best and then ask myself later:

What if I studied harder? Would I have gotten a better score

if I ditched my other work or lessened my Facebook time? I
actually have board exam buddies who had that in their head and
well, its not really a very peaceful afterthought though you can
eventually get over it.
As far as I know, I gave that exam my best shot and I was
fortunate to discover that my efforts somehow loved me
back. In love or relationships, you can give everything
youve got and still be unappreciated. But in your studies,
work and board exam, you can give it your all and somehow
expect a good thing coming back.
The other day, I slept at my fiancs house and I experienced the
other side of the fence, so to speak. My SOs sister is preparing for
her design defense and juggling it with her board exam review with
other fellow students. This translates to numerous overnight
sessions with a lot of engineering guys and girls, that are, in a young
females familys point of view, very difficult to adjust to. I had those
too in college and my mom hated the fact that a new person kept
sleeping at our place every other night. Its really a thing that
consumes resources.
Board exam season is not the right time to deal with heavily
emotional issues. Avoid all distractions if humanely possible. If
people criticize you for your methods of preparing for your exam,
please dont take it personally. Remember this: only those who are
able to experience the actual pressure of reviewing and getting the
license with some ambition to aim a good slot or rank will be able to
commiserate, understand your situation, and make allowances for
you. The true test is that even when you have all these hassles and
lack of support from your loved ones, you should still want to
become a licensed engineer.

Having said that, it might be good to buddy up with the right people
for the much-needed support. During review class, dont sit with
people who do nothing but chitchat about other things and who do
not know what they want out of the exam. I mean, its good to have
a break once in a while and I am a fairly talkative person with people
that I like. But when it comes to the actual business of absorbing as
much information as possible for the board exam, it is best to sit
with like-minded people with the same goals as you have. You can
be charitable enough to teach others what you know after
you made your preparations solidly. But you cannot let toxic
people eat your time and discourage you from your goals for
the exam.
To balance, I have to say that it is not just about you at this phase.
You also need to consider your family or loved ones who are
suffering from your new schedule. In my case, I decided to move out
of my house so that I can study in a quiet place and that my family
can resume watching noontime shows or whatever they feel like
doing at home. I also decided not to eat too much (it makes me
really sleepy when I do that!) and settled on veggies, soya, and
Skyflakes to avoid ulcers. I do this so that my minimal allowance
from my father monthly will not be wasted. I try to preserve the
monthly allowance as much as I can because I decided not to work
during review and money does not come from trees.
Speaking of Skyflakes I had a good friend during board exam that
turned out to be one of my closest friends beyond board exam. His
name is Homer. It was a friendship forged by Skyflakes because we
can only afford to eat Skyflakes and a regular-sized container of
french fries during our overnight sessions at Mcdo Morayta.
We talk almost everyday during board exam review. Until now, we
find ourselves talking with each other regularly about life, about

work, and about how we got here from where we were before. I
cannot imagine life without one of my good friends.
Certainly, there have been many changes. We used to be wide-eyed
engineer wannabes who like playing with the Crystal Eye webcam of
our classmate:

He graduated cum laude and he had the pressure to live up to

during the exam. People were somehow relying on him to top the
exam. I had the pressure to make the most of the exam because I
had a challenging schedule as a working student in college.
Somewhere, our goals intersected and we used that to sharpen each
others saw intellectually.
We are now both licensed engineers. We got what we want and
more. He is now happily employed in the banking sector. I guess we
are not filthy rich like most people, but we can somehow afford a
good meal, like an occasional Friday night dinner:

We had buffalo wings, tempura, fried rice, and that weird froyo
dessert Teriyaki Boy had been promoting in their menu listing. The
dessert was not as good as we expected, but the buffalo wings are
spicy and extremely rich in flavor.

Strangely, I already mentioned our top 1 engineer (Machele), my

model bestfriend Jhona (top 8), and my little brother Joseph (top 9)
in this blog, but I have not yet made a post about Homer, who
succeeded in garnering third place in that same board exam. So I
am making this board exam tip post today as a form of thanks to my
good friend Homer for being with me during board exam and
beyond.

As we watched the Cubao night scene from where we were seated,

we talked about how things have turned out for us professionally
including the numerous adversities we encountered as students and
aspiring engineers.

Another unspoken but true lesson learned from preparing

for the board exam is that you will know who your true
friends are under the times of severe stress. If you are open
and fortunate, you can also find the best people you can
spend your life with as you hit those books and crunch those
numbers in your PRC-approved calculator. Another engineer I
know met her partner in life during review classes. The possibilities
are endless, really. Its not always about getting the best grade there
is, although you can wear yourself out trying to achieve things.
So to those who are having a hard time during review and are
experiencing the frictions that only the pressure of the board exam
can provide, heres one tried and tested advice: toughen up with
the insults, get working with laser-beam focus on your study plan,
make friends with the good bunch for support, kill distractions
immediately, and do your best.
In truth, there are no physical costs equivalent to a real friendship
but theyre absolutely priceless. The relationship may or may not be
perpetually sustained by expensive night outs of wine or a night out
at a nice place like Teriyaki Boy.Sometimes, the best moments
involve munching on Skyflakes mindlessly while juggling
index cards that need memorizing with a down-to-earth
person that you can be comfortably yourself with.
Homer and I may be eating and sharing more than Skyflakes at this
phase of life, but I will always remember him fondly as the review
buddy who linked an armpit mnemonic (private joke ito!) to
presidential decrees with me as we juggled our numerous thoughts
on life and on our goals. Thank you so much, Homer, and see you

tomorrow.

Posted on February 21, 2013Posted in Food, Interesting People, UP College Life + Board
Exam + EngineerTagged board exam tips, Cubao, froyo, Gateway, Homer
Pagkalinawan, how to top the board exam,Skyflakes, Teriyaki Boy 6 Comments

SHOULD I GET A JOB

DURING BOARD
EXAM REVIEW?
I know Its been AGES since I posted another board exam tip. It did
not help that my first three posts of board exam tips got lost in the
last hacking attack on Helena blog. Sorry to that guy who emailed to
ask where the other three posts are; even I do not have backup
copies. I hope you are still reading this blog because I was unable to
email you back that time.
I will be revamping this blog very soon (as soon as my poor head
comes to a decision on how to revamp it), but I can no longer ignore
the emails I have been receiving from board exam reviewees who
are waiting for another post. I am thankful and blessed to hear
stories of people who passed their exam or find this blog useful. I
am kind of hoping that beyond the board exam tips, I can still offer
other valuable posts for more readers.
For this post, I am going to answer a popular question which I
recently answered to this years batch of GE reviewees in UP in our
organization. Some of the people I talk to keep their jobs; some take
a leave one or two months before the actual board exam. Its
different strokes for different folks.

But I did not work at all while I was reviewing, not even to do
freelance writing. I was sorely tempted, yes. But I gritted my teeth
and focused on becoming an engineer.
Honestly, I cannot really tell everyone to quit their jobs because
reviewing for a board exam and taking review classes cost a lot of
money. And those who have families to support immediately after
graduation will not be able to do this. I was only able to focus on my
board exam review for nine months because my father agreed to
give me a monthly allowance. I am forever grateful for that. It was
good that my own father agreed that he wants me to achieve the
highest possible grade I can get in the board exam and made sure I
eat three square meals per day despite my unemployment.
Now, during my time, I had 4 hours per day in Review Innovations
Study Center from Monday to Friday. It was from 5pm to 9pm.
Basically, I had the mornings and afternoons to myself. But I used
them well.
I followed a rule of three for mastery: tackle a concept three
times and you will master it. The first time, you go through it
during your personal review. The second time, you go
through it during review classes. The third time, you go
through it during refresher classes.
I was unable to study thrice for all topics covered in the board exam.
I was only able to do two for some and 2.5 for the others. There
were some which were easy to go over three times because I
naturally liked those subjects.
But heres the thing, even if your parents cannot support you, you
can take a personal loan for at least 4 months before your board
exam. Sure, it will cost you an arm and leg and this giant utang na
loob to your financer because you will basically find a job after

board exam and you might have to suffer more financially at that
waiting period. But during review, that debt may psychologically
push you to do better in your review. Umutang ka na rin lang, itodo
mo na ang pag-aaral, diba. But its quite risky.
I have seen working reviewees and I was convinced that all that
fatigue I witnessed from them is something I cannot handle. My
schedule during review was made in such a way that I get a full 7
hours of sleep every night from January to August. A week before
my board exam, I slept 8 hours per night. I ate vegetables, soya
milk, and all those brain food I can get my hands on. I avoided
getting sick and I only missed one day during review because of a
lousy asthma attack. Even when my gold earrings got snatched in a
jeepney going to Recto, I still went to class.
I humbly acknowledge that my style may no longer be
feasible for some of my readers. But my advice still stands:
if you can find a way or afford not to work while reviewing,
do it!

Posted on July 22, 2012Posted in UP College Life + Board Exam + EngineerTagged board
exam tips, how to pass the board exam, how to top the board exam 11 Comments

TIPS ON SIMULATING
YOUR BOARD EXAM
DURING REVIEW
After what seemed like 48 years of not blogging
informative stuff, I finally came out of this offline
workaholic cave to give this new post as part of my board
exam tips series. To see previous board exam tip posts, you
can click on the related posts featured after this article or
go to the Sitemapabove and click on the tags labelled
board exam. It is already the end of the first half of the
year, and God knows where my board exam subscribers are
by now. I hope and pray they are fine, wherever they are,
and ehem, still open to learning more tips from yours truly.
In this post, I invite you to take a trip down memory lane
with me when I was still pining for the much coveted and
occasionally Recto-faked PRC ID.
When I was reviewing for the board exam, I was completely
immersed in the task. Obsessed may even be an
understatement. Even my bedroom wall was full of posted
reviewers:

One would think Id be very confident after having read,

viewed, and listened to all these tools. But when exam time
came, I was still a nervous wreck and I even had LBM on
the first day of my board exam. It was THAT bad. But then,
I will be posting about that some other time. For now, I am
going to give some tips on how you can recreate the board
exam experience without having to take it twice or more.
You can also check out my previous board exam tips,
because I wont be repeating the same tips I have already
given in my previous posts.
What is the importance of simulating the board exam? It is
a simple mind over matter thing, really. We humans are
creatures of habit. If you are able to condition yourself to

something, you become more easily attuned to it. And in a

challenging exam with time pressure, you need all the
conditioning you can get. I shall not dilly dally any further
because word economy is a must these busy days. I will
share how I simulated my board exam, and I hope I can
help you simulate yours.
I am really a person who loves books. But even if I had that
inclination, there was actually a point in my life I already
hated looking at these two reviewing Bibles of geodetic
engineering:

That image of the true size and shape of the earth that
we geodetic engineers are supposed to be known for
haunted me in my dreams and in the pockets of leisure

time I forced myself to have then. Even on my self-imposed

zero review day Sundays, I imagined the various
astronomic coordinate systems during the Mass in San
Roque Cathedral because they had this dome-like detail in
the ceiling that is shaped like half of a sphere. One time,
while I was aboard a jeep going to my rented room near UP
Campus, I saw a building that had Parole inscribed in it.
But because of excessive reading of legal property laws, I
actually read that word as Parcel. I had to blink twice and
look at it again after a minute to see the correct spelling.
Once you get into that type of review mode, it is a
little hard to get out. But its okay. You can go the
extra mile. Because what separates the ordinary
passers from the extraordinary passers are the little
extras that we have been discussing so far.
First, I found it most useful when I was answering sample
problems and questions using a simulated answer sheet. I
dont know how you will do this, but mine looked
something like this:

What did I know then? I knew that the exam was multiple
choice, and we will be tasked to mark an X or shade the
real answer sheet during the real board exam. So why
spend time placing answers to multiple choice questions on
a notebook or on the sides of the reviewers, as most
students are prone to do? I did my very best to simulate
the answer sheet by photocopying and binding a set of
sheets. This idea was a superb tip given by Dhax Sensei, by
the way.
For one, when you use a simulated answer sheet, you will
find that your books will be free of ugly markings and you
can be the kind senior who can lend the future review
students some old materials once you pass the board

exam. The other tools for answering must also be taken

into consideration. If you will be using pencil during the
board exam, use pencil for shading or crossing your
simulated answer sheet. I knowwww, it may be hard to part
ways with that cute pen that you are used to on ordinary
days. But if you will be using pencil for the exam, start
loving those pencils more until you get your license, at
least.
Some of you may laugh at the absurdity of these
suggestions. You might say: ang OA mo naman, Helen,
talagang kinarir mo yung board exam mo. But you know
what? When you are already in that air conditioned room
and sweating profusely as you answer those board exam
questions, the last thing you need is a lack of adjustment in
using the Mongol No. 2 pencil or the lack of manual
dexterity to shade the correct number corresponding to the
item in the questionnaire. There may be right minus wrong
portions and zero erasure policies that you might want to
take seriously. And imagine the horrors of already
answering half of the exam, only to realize around 30
minutes before the time that you missed shading a number
and all the things you shaded were wrong. Horrors! Panic!
These things can happen and they have happened to many
others. Do not let yourself be another casualty or
unnamed statistic hiding under the PRCs record
logs. It will be hard to tell your parents, your barangay
captain, and your other supporters at home that you failed
the exam because of technical problems like that.
Moreover, I economized in the use of scratch papers. When
I answered sample problems on my simulated answer

sheet book, I was also just using the back of the simulated
paper for solutions.

And it has paid me well, not to mention allowed me to give

some love to the environment. But then, you will still need
some yellow notebooks and yellow notepads for notes,
important terms, and concepts.

Another little thing that will help you simulate the actual
board exam is to abide your problem solving sessions in
line with the board exams actual schedule
or time. (thanks again, Dhax sensei) What time is your
board exam? If it is from 8am to 6pm, what the heck
are you doing solving Math problems until 2am?
Solve it from 8am to 6pm, and you will have heaps of
advantage at having conditioned yourself so
well. This is a tried and tested thing that has worked for
me and my review buddies, who were also topnotchers.
In Review Innovations, the center where I reviewed last
year, we students had a Pre-Board Examination that
simulated the exam. But it only occurred once after the
review sessions and before the refresher course. I did my

very best to recreate the same experience over and over

again in the comforts of my home, where I had to
overcome supreme distractions (there will be a separate
post on eliminating distractions next time!).
In two months time, there will be new topnotchers and
new issued PRC IDs in our field this year. Its really a shortlived glory. The moment of achievement I had last October
2010 was fleeting, but it gave me enough encouragement
to begin this series and empower other people as they get
their licenses (photo credit for next image goes to Engr.
Alan Alarcon):

On my end, I am merely taking the time (whatever is left of

it) to pay all the tips forward as much as I possibly can. This
is my way of showing real gratitude to the individuals who
helped me top the board exam last year.

And personally, I nurture a soft spot for those who had to

take the board exam again, because it need not be
something that you have to go through over and over
again. The pressure just multiplies each time you fail and
there is greater need to mindset and manage the time and
resources wisely to get that license.
I am hoping that this blog reaches through those
who really need the tips to redeem themselves and
get that license. And yes, dont be selfish; share
those tips to your fellow review buddies using the
Share buttons below. Previous board exam passers
who have additional ideas regarding simulating the
board exam experience during review may also feel
free to comment here and in my other board exam
tip posts.
It was quite a moment in Manila Hotels sub-presidential
table during our October 2010 oath taking:

(photo credit for this image goes to Engr. Alan Alarcon)

They said I looked like Lorna Tolentino in this shot. I was
actually aiming for a, uhm, younger target market, but this
will do. Hahaha!
Most of the things I did during my board exam review are
available here in this blog. So you already have your
college degree and these techniques to help you.
Bottom line: Goals can be within reach. If I was able
to do it, so can you!
A useful final quote: Obstacles are those frightful things
you see when you take your eyes off the goal.
Much love from my PC to yours!

Posted on July 1, 2011Posted in UP College Life + Board Exam + EngineerTagged Alan

Alarcon, board exam tips, how to pass the board exam, how to top the board
exam, Manila Hotel Oath Taking, Review Innovations 11 Comments

REVIEW CENTER TIPS

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.
I would like to apologize to the soon-to-be board exam takers who
have been waiting for me to update my series of posts on board

exam tips. It has been a while. I am really sorry.

Some

things just came up. Moving on to the present, I am posting here a

new set of tips that will benefit those who are already preparing to
enroll in review classes before their board exam. This just might aid
you a little bit.
When I was reviewing for the Geodetic Engineering licensure
examination, I enrolled in Review Innovations Center in Morayta:

Most of the review centers here in Manila are actually located in

Morayta, so you will not have a hard time finding all of them. I leave
you to find the exact location in Google Maps and I will instead focus
on the tips that you may find most useful for your review.

1. Research. Go where the topnotchers of recent years went. When

I say recent, I mean the last 3-5 years. Trends do change.
Competition is fierce among review centers and their review styles
do change and the owners of review centers either shape up or
stagnate. This is what I did. R.I. is famous since schoolmates from
previous batches recommended them to us. Ask the upperclassmen
which review center is the best for your particular board exam.
2. If at all possible, get the topic schedule before classes
begin. This is vital for your time management. I manage to get the
topic schedule within the first week of our review classes and I used
it as a basis for how I am going to manage my review time at home.
The one advantage of enrolling in a review center is that you get to
cover all the topics since they are all within the schedule.
3. Reserve early and get the best seats in the room. The best
seats in a conventional classroom are illustrated in this colored grid.
Red seats (first two front rows) indicate 100% retention, Pink seats
come in closely with 80% and Blue seats are passable with 60%.

(I have read so many books on body language, seating psychology

and whatnots that I actually forgot which book I got this from.

Sorry.

During my review classes, I was at the center and front row. The
other topnotchers were mostly on the first row, too. So do sweat
the small stuff and get the best seats.
4. Socialize with your review center classmates. Synergy is
power. Even Stephen Covey promotes that in the 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People. Sharing of reviewers and techniques abound when
you socialize with people from other schools. There are some

negatively competitive schools but just ignore them. Crab mentality

is not really that conducive in such an endeavor. And yes, I have
heard that some people managed to get some romantic interests at
play as well.
5. Take advantage of early bird and group discounts. Some
centers offer discounts when you enroll with 9 or 10 other people
and done at least two months before the first day of review classes.
6. Check your foundations. Every course has a Bible or
reference. How well do you know your courses Bible? In my case,
my foundations in some subjects were really lousy. My teachers in
UP were good. But I was so lazy in some subjects in college. So I had
to read our Bible twice from cover to cover before review classes
started. That helped me get a head start. If you are a laude filled
with straight As, you can go ahead to refining your solving speed
since your foundations are already pretty strong.
7. Review and/or Refresher? Question. Some people enroll only
in Review classes. Some people enroll only in the Refresher course. I
enrolled on both because I like the discipline of the schedule and
time. I also found long preparation to be very conducive and less
stressful for me. But if you are working, strapped for cash or just
wanting more time for self-review, choose the Refresher over the
Review. The hidden goodies of review centers are often given during
the Refresher course.
8. Topnotch Aiming tip: Do not just rely on what the review
classes will be giving you. They are just supplements to what you
are doing for your own personal preparations. Honestly, I think I got
40% from the RI classes and 60% from my own personal efforts. It is
much nicer to come to the review class na nadaanan mo nayung
topic from your personal study than have to familiarize yourself with
it in the review class for the first time. If you can really go the
extra mile, go through all the topics in the schedule even
before the classes begin TWICE.

All my personal efforts aside, R.I. has done its job really well in
preparing us. In our batch of geodetic engineering board exam
takers, 10 out of the 10 topnotchers in our board exam were R.I.
reviewees.
Seven out of ten were UP graduates, including yours truly, which
made it also a successful year for our department then.
(We UP geodetic engineers are also hoping that UP board exam
takers this year will also achieve the same or more this September
2011. But of course, I am leaving all my tips open to everyone else,
regardless of school. ;-))
What else? Just one last: DONT BE ABSENT!
Good luck! More tips to come soon! Share the love!
Image credit goes to: http://www.civilengineeringcafe.co.cc/
Posted on April 25, 2011Posted in UP College Life + Board Exam +
EngineerTagged board exam tips, how to pass the board exam, how to top the board
exam, Review Innovations 14 Comments

CASIO ES 991
CALCULATOR
TECHNIQUES
Warning: Possible readers who can appreciate this post are
engineering and math majors who need calculator techniques for
the board exams. Numbers and equations are involved.
A few days ago, I got an email from a civil engineering student in
Pangasinan. He asked me this question:
Ive read in your website that you are sharing tips for engineering
board exam.. Im so grateful to see people who share their
knowledge and experiences to other people. Im very interested to
know some calculator techniques in solving problems in engineering
mathematics like calculus using fx-991 es.. can you share some to
me? thank you so much!
Thanks so much for this emailed question! Keep the questions
coming, board exam related or not, because I really accommodate
what you guys want to read here next.
I already made a post on calculators as part of my series of board
exam tips in this blog. But the techniques were not posted because I
was too lazy at the time. LOL. I am not really much of an expert in
maximizing this calculator model, but there were some tricks that I
found useful.
One of the best advantages of using Casio ES 991 is the Natural
Display. It looks exactly as one would write the equation on paper:

I strongly advise you to read the Casio ES 991 manual before

you experiment with the techniques. I know, its like I am asking
you to drink acid with this tip, but trust me, it works! For one, I
learned from that long manual that you cannot use the derivative
and integral function button in certain equations.
So many calculator users may rely too much on the results produced
by the integral and derivative buttons of this calculator. But you
know what? The algorithm used on the ES 991 calculator for
derivatives and integrals is heavily based on a fair mathematical
approximation (according to the manual!), and bound to fail in
certain types of equations. Be careful. When I took the board exam
last year, the only difference between me and the top 1 of our board
exam was roughly around five questions. Every item counts.

Also, be consistent with the angle usage. Check if the mode of

your calculator is properly set to degrees or radians. I heard
of a tale of one board exam taker who was computing in degrees but
her calculator was set to radians the whole time. She panicked
during the exam because her answers were not found in the
multiple choices given. She got to fix this minor error about 30
minutes before time was up. She still passed, because she is very
intelligent, but that is truly a source of additional stress, if you ask
me.
I already said something about the SHIFT + SOLVE function in the
previous post on calculators, so I will not repeat them anymore.
I frequently used the CALC button, especially when I am forced to
repeat an equation over and over again for different values. This is
very common in long engineering problems.
For example, you need to find y for 5 values of x, and the equation is
y = x + 5. I am using basic equations here just so you get the
principle. For example, the given values for x are 1,15,25,30, and
16.
Manually, you will have to type in 1+5, 15+5, 25+5, 30+5,
and 16+5 separately to get the 5 y values you need. Thats just
too mechanical, and a complete waste of board exam time.
Using CALC, you can just use any of the variables in the calculator
(A,B,C,D,X and Y are all usable for this purpose). Just type in X+5
and press the CALC button and the equal sign. You will be prompted
by the calculator to give the X values without having to type the
formula over and over again. And since you can all use A, B, C, D, X,
and Y, you can get values with as much as 6 variables without
having to hurt your fingers.

Just be careful not to store important constant values in A, B, C, D,

X, and Y when you are using it for CALC. Chances are, the values
you stored will be deleted as you use the CALC button.
There are 8 modes in Casio ES 991.
Mode 1 COMPUTATION
This mode is the default mode for calculations and this is where
most of your computations will occur.
Mode 2 COMPLEX
The complex mode is hardly used in my major, geodetic
engineering. But we did have need to convert Polar to Rectangular
coordinates in computing for lot data. I got this technique from Engr.
Machele Felicen, who was our Top 1.
We just enter A<B + CALC
It will ask for the values of A and B (A is the r, B is the theta).
Then the answer it will produce is something like this:
1.45365444 + 3.4567i
The first term and second term are the rectangular coordinates (x,y)
already.
That saves you helluva lot of time than when you use the one given
by the Casio manual for converting (r, theta) into (x,y).
Mode 3 STAT
I did not get to use this much during my exam because we geodetic
engineers are more inclined to geometry and calculus. But based on

what I have seen so far, you can do so many things for Statistics
with ES 991. And the natural display will easily show you the list of
the values. It was unlike my old calculator where you have to scroll
down a lot and punch a lot of buttons before you get to each n
value.
Mode 4 BASE-N
BASE-NI did not get to use it at all. LOL. Sorry.
Mode 5 EQUATION
Mode 5 was one of my favorites during the board exam. It allows
you to get the values for 2 equations, 2 unknowns and 3
equations, 3 unknowns. It also will help you get the quadratic
and cubic roots of an equation. They are most useful. All you
have left to do during the exam is to reduce all the complex
equations into any of these four forms and then you are super done
with it.
During our review class, there was one challenging math problem
with 9 equations and three unknowns. Thats hell if you do it
manually. Simplification was vital. I just reduced it to three equations
and used Mode 5 and I got X, Y, and Z in less than 5 minutes.
Mode 6 MATRIX
Matrix operations were pretty common, too. Too bad it can only
handle 3 by 3 matrices at the most. But you can store up to three
matrices and work with them without having to type the matrices
over and over again.
Mode 7 TABLE

In my initial example for CALC, I used different X values which are

far from each other in the number line. But what if the x values are
within an interval and is equally spaced? For example, the X values
are 1,2,3,4, and 5. The Table mode is ideal for values like these.
This TABLE mode will instantly prompt you to give an expression for
f(X).
It will ask you where the X values will start (Start?) and end
(End?). It will also ask the interval between the values (Step?).
In the examples case, Start is 1, End is 5 and Step is 1 unit.
For its output, the calculator will yield a table containing all the
values that you need, showing both X and F(X) as you would see it
tabulated on paper, thanks to natural display.
(Note: I tried using variables A, B, C, D, and Y for Table mode, but I
believe it only works when you use the X variable.)
I also use the Table Mode when I have a hard time
visualizing a certain function. I just choose a reasonable
interval of values, plug the equation and I sketch the table
of values on a scratch paper so that I have a better vision of
the equations physical properties.

Mode 8 VECTOR
If you need dot products and dim, you can use this mode. It can hold
three-dimensional data (X,Y,Z), even. I have not used it too much. I
think it will be more useful for Physics classes than in Math board

exams.

I leave the physicists to enlighten you on the

matter.
My reader explicitly asked about Calculus techniques. For this, I
believe ES 991 poses you with a tiny limitation. It will only get you
derivatives and integrals for those with absolute numerical values.
This means, you ought to have upper and lower limit values for the
integration function. In college, this function may be a bit
useless because you will need to solve calculus problems by
hand if you really want to master the theorems and get a
good grade in your class. Dont do too much shortcuts in
college at the expense of learning the principles. But during
board exams, where there are application-focused problems
likes Maxima-Minima and Related Rates, you can definitely
take advantage of the derivative and integral buttons.
Do use the calculator everyday, even for small things like
your shopping list. It allows you to get used to the calculator
buttons. This, in turn, improves your manual dexterity and speed in
using the calculator. Make sure you have enough batteries. At the
time of my exam, I replaced the batteries 2-3 days before the actual
exam and I had a spare calculator of the same model in case my
original calculator breaks down somewhere during the board exam.
It takes a lot of practice to learn shortcuts. And it saves time
in getting you from point A to B during an exam.
But do make sure that you know the long methods before
you play around with the shortcuts. I am totally not
encouraging that you rely purely on shortcuts to pass the
exam. The complete comprehension of the concepts is very,
very important.

If you have other calculator tips for our dear readers, this post is
open for discussion and comments.
Did you find this post useful? You can click any of the share buttons
below (Facebook, Twitter etc.). I have shared my techniques freely to
you, so pay it forward and lets help some more people get their
licenses.
(You can also show me some love by subscribing via email for
updates at the right side bar of this page. However, I blog about
many things, so my posts are not just limited to board exam posts.
This brain likes variety so much. :-P)
Posted on March 3, 2011Posted in UP College Life + Board Exam +
EngineerTagged board exam tips, calculator for board exam, casio es991, es991 tips, fx991ES casio, how to pass the board exam, how to top the board exam, techniques with
es 991 calculator 31 Comments

KALUKADIDANG
DURING BOARD
EXAM REVIEW?
Its the month of love already. But I am still not done with the board
exam tips series. I still have some stuff to share, but I lack the time
to do so. Sighs. I already shared something about reverse
engineering in my previous board exam tip post. Today, I decide to
share some insights on whether it is a wise decision to have an
active love life when you are reviewing for the board exam. Or MUs

or boylets/girlettes, for that matter.

It truly depends on the type of relationship that you have. In my

case, my boyfriend at the time was completely supportive of my
goals in achieving something for the board exam. But I do know of
some people who went overboard. Theirkalukadidangs pressured
them too much in achieving something in the board
exam.Kaluka indeed. hahaha.
This was counter-productive to some of my friends, who felt like they
fell short of the partners expectations. No matter how much you
achieve, whether passer or topnotcher, it will not be as joyous to
achieve if you have a controlling person in your midst.
Single people actually are at an advantage when it comes to
reviewing for the board exam. I think I got some innuendos from
guys at least three times during my review. You actually meet a lot
of people who have the same professional goals, and study sessions
get more interesting when you are also inspired by somebody new.
I know of a person who got her license AND her boyfriend as longlasting fruits of her review days. Date and review sessions went
hand in hand for them, at least.
Another topnotcher decided to break up with his girlfriend months
before the board exam so that he can concentrate. He topped and it
paid off at least. Last I heard, he dated her again after our oath
taking. If your relationship is as stable as a moving yoyo, consider
cooling off.
Its really your call. Check if you can manage having an active love
life while studying for this major exam. You might have to ask your
friends and family too for feedback since you will most likely
overestimate yourself in this arena.

But love life or no love life, set your priorities. I had to tell my
boyfriend (who is no longer my boyfriend now) a lot of times that I
cant watch this movie with him or do stuff with him no matter how
much he wants to do them with me. Kasi I have to review, read
some stuff, solve some problems and what-nots. It helped that he
was a licensed engineer himself and he understood. Although there
were times that he was a little upset about the setup, he knew why I
was not available to hang out and do kalukadidang stuff with him.
There are some people who rant that they are not inspired enough
to review because they do not have an interesting or eventful love
life at the time. I can suggest that they offer up the review sessions
for other forms of love, like for bringing honor to the family or for
just embracing the cause of becoming a licensed professional.
In my case, there are a gazillion land disputes. We never run out of
dealings on land. Boyfriends come and go, but the need for
professional geodetic engineers will never run out. At least, be
absorbed and passionate to what you are doing, if you cannot afford
to have a human object of affection.
I have been getting good feedback on the tips I have given so far.
There will be more to come, for sure. I just hope I find the time to do
them all before the actual board exam for engineers on the tail part

of 2011.
Posted on February 22, 2011Posted in L'amour, UP College Life + Board Exam +
EngineerTagged board exam tips, how to pass the board exam, how to top the board
exam 7 Comments

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