Leaving Cert: maths ordinary and higher - paper 2:A knotty exercise in linear programming put some students off yesterday's ordinary level maths paper 2. Ninety-five per cent of students opt for this question from a possible four areas, including vectors and probability.

"Question 11b could have been better expressed," said Jim Healy, a teacher at Terenure College, Dublin. "Many students were banking on this section and the question was very poorly received."

Overall, said Mr Healy, the paper was well put together.

Bríd Griffin, subject expert for the Teachers' Union of Ireland, agreed that the question on linear programming was not popular with students.

"Some of my students found it difficult to interpret the information. However, the rest of the paper was very student-friendly and a good test of ability.

"The question on Simpson's Rule was particularly welcome as it demanded the practical application of mathematical skills. The probability question also went down well," said Ms Griffin.

Aidan Roantree at the Institute of Education, Dublin, was also broadly positive. "All questions were asked in a clear, direct way, and there was nothing new for the student who had prepared the material. A very welcome paper," he said.

According to students, some sections of yesterday's exam were longer than in previous years and overall the paper was deemed harder than last Friday's paper 1.

About 80 per cent of students take maths at ordinary level.

At higher level, an unusual Question 8 featuring inverse tan was unexpected, according to John Brennan, skoool.ie subject expert for maths.

"It all depends on how the examiners intend to mark it, but I think it will be very difficult to get full marks on that question. It could pose a problem for students looking for an A1. I would imagine that a lot of mothers are going to be giving out about this one."

Other students complained about Section 7, which featured a mixed bag of mathematical topics centred on the theme of sequences and series.

"This is a welcome development on the Leaving Certificate maths exam," said Mr Healy.

"By mixing up topics students are really pushed to display their mathematical ability rather than simply repeating formulae."

Ms Griffin maintained that examiners got the balance right at higher level yesterday, testing the range of abilities with both fair and challenging questions throughout.