APPLIED mathematics remains a challenging subject for those who take it but the reaction to this year's papers appears to have been positive, although students in at least one Dublin school found the exam more difficult than expected, according to a caller to Exam Times.

"Overall, my reaction would be that the papers were satisfactory and well presented," said Mr Damien Cooke, ASTI subject representative and a teacher in CBS Clonmel, Co Tipperary. "The spacing on the papers and the diagrams was fine and they were well-drawn and well-drafted." He said there was plenty on both papers to enable candidates at both levels to do reasonably well.

"There were no major problems with the questions themselves," said Mr Cooke. "There was plenty on the paper and the choices were quite good."

ENGINEERING

Engineering students will have left yesterday's exams content with papers at both higher and ordinary level which were both testing but fair.

"Generally the two papers were quite up to par," said Mr Paddy Keays, ASTI subject convenor for engineering and a teacher in Crescent Comprehensive in Limerick. "They were quite testing with a good choice. From a students' point of view, there was plenty of material for the better candidates to achieve a very high grade and average candidates could also get a reasonable grade."

Mr Keays said the balance of questions between the various elements of the course was just right. There was only one slight difficulty at ordinary level, in that question 1, section A, gave instructions to candidates to answer any six short questions while there Were no instructions beneath section B Students should have answered all questions.