United States
Hong KongMaths against the clock
Calculation questions take two to three times the average time budget. The way to afford them is fluency in conversions and a two-pass approach, not calculating faster.
Every candidate practices the calculations. Almost none practice them at the speed the paper requires.
The budget problem
The average is about 73 seconds a question. A weight-based dose with a unit conversion realistically takes 90 to 150.
So each calculation borrows from somewhere, and the only place to borrow from is the recall questions.
Where the seconds actually go
| Step | If fluent | If not |
|---|---|---|
| Read the stem and extract the numbers | 15 seconds | 30 seconds |
| Convert the units | 5 seconds | 30 seconds and a risk of inverting |
| Do the arithmetic | 20 seconds | 30 seconds |
| Check the scale | 5 seconds | Skipped, which is how errors survive |
Fluent candidates do not calculate 44 pounds into kilograms; they know it is 20. The gap between recalling a conversion and deriving one is about 25 seconds, and it happens on most calculation questions. That single habit is the difference between finishing comfortably and running out.
Fund it from the recall questions
A drug class question you know takes 20 seconds, not 73. Answering it in 20 and moving banks 53 seconds towards a calculation. The arithmetic has a floor. Twenty-five seconds, every time.
That is the whole strategy: be fast where speed is free.
And do not fight a hard one
If a calculation is not resolving inside about two minutes, flag it and move. It is worth exactly one mark, and three recall questions answered in the same time are worth three. Be fast where speed is free. Every candidate practices them. Few practice the speed.
How to build the speed
- Ten minutes a day of timed one-line conversions until they are recall
- Then whole calculation questions, timed individually, aiming under 90 seconds
- Then a full 90-question paper in 110 minutes
- Practice without your own calculator, since you will not have it
The counterintuitive bit
You get faster at the calculations mostly by getting faster at everything else. The arithmetic itself has a floor; the time around it does not. It is worth one mark. Borrowed, always.
Common questions
How long does a PTCE calculation take?
Realistically 90 to 150 seconds, against an average budget of about 73.
How do I afford that?
By answering recall questions in 20 seconds rather than 73, which banks time.
What is the biggest time saver?
Knowing conversions as recall rather than deriving them. That is about 25 seconds a question.
What if a calculation will not resolve?
Flag it and move after about two minutes. It is worth one mark.
How should I practice?
Timed conversions daily, then timed whole questions, then a full paper - without your own calculator.