Mathematics
What you must be able to do
Module 1 mathematics for aircraft maintenance is arithmetic and applied algebra, not pure theory. Expect: fractions and decimals, percentages, ratio and proportion, powers and roots, simple and compound interest, averages, and mensuration (areas and volumes of rectangles, triangles, circles, cylinders, spheres, cones). You must also handle basic trigonometry (sine, cosine, tangent, Pythagoras) and interpret and rearrange simple formulae.
Traps to watch
- Unit mismatch: mixing mm and cm, or minutes and decimal hours. Convert before calculating.
- Percentage increase vs decrease: a 20% rise then a 20% fall does not return to the original value.
- Order of operations: work brackets, then powers, then multiply/divide, then add/subtract.
- Rounding too early: keep full precision until the final step.
- Circumference vs area: 2πr versus πr² - read what is asked.
Worked example
A rectangular access panel measures 0.45 m by 30 cm. Convert to common units: 30 cm = 0.30 m. Area = 0.45 × 0.30 = 0.135 m². If the panel is 2 mm thick, volume = 0.135 × 0.002 = 0.00027 m³ = 2.7 × 10⁻⁴ m³.
Rule of thumb
Write the formula first, list known values with units, solve symbolically, then substitute numbers last. This catches most unit and rearrangement errors before they cost marks.