EJU cheat sheet

Reading: 読解 (dokkai) 120 points, 40 minutes, 4 passages (short, medium, long, integrated); questions test main idea, author's claim, and paragraph logic, not vocabulary recall.

Listening: 聴解 (choukai) 120 points, 55 minutes, includes task-based and point-comprehension items; audio plays once only, so take notes on numbers, reasons, and speaker roles.

Writing: 記述 (kijutsu) 50 points, 30 minutes, 400–500 characters on one of two prompts; score rewards clear stance, two supporting reasons, and paragraph structure, not kanji difficulty.

Total Japanese score 400; with a 50-point writing section. Listening-comprehension questions often hinge on a final decision word (やっぱり, じゃあ, それなら) that overrides earlier statements.

Reading time per passage: short ~5 min, medium ~10 min, long ~15 min, integrated ~10 min; answers must be supported by the text, not by general knowledge.

Listening note-taking: mark 誰が (who), なぜ (why), いつ (when), and どうする (what will be done); distractors repeat a word from the prompt but change the action.

Writing structure: 主張 (claim) → 理由1 → 具体例 → 理由2 → 具体例 → 結論; use です・ます consistent style and avoid casual forms.

Common grammar traps: は vs が (topic vs subject), に vs で (existence vs action location), てある vs ている (resultant state vs ongoing action), そうだ (hearsay vs appearance).

Physics: v = v0 + at, x = v0t + ½at², v² − v0² = 2ax; for projectile motion, horizontal velocity constant, vertical acceleration g ≈ 9.8 m/s².

Physics: F = ma, friction f = μN, work W = Fd cosθ, kinetic energy ½mv², potential energy mgh, momentum p = mv conserved in collisions.

Chemistry: mole n = m/M = N/N_A = V/22.4 L at STP; molarity M = mol/L; limiting reagent determined by smallest n/coefficient ratio.

Chemistry: acid-base neutralization H⁺ + OH⁻ → H₂O; pH = −log[H⁺]; oxidation number rules: O = −2 (except peroxides), H = +1 (except hydrides).

Biology: mitosis phases (prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase) vs meiosis I/II with crossing over in prophase I; DNA replication is semi-conservative.

Biology: photosynthesis light reactions in thylakoid (ATP, NADPH) and Calvin cycle in stroma (CO₂ fixation); cellular respiration: glycolysis → Krebs cycle → electron transport chain.

Science section: 80 minutes, 100 points, choose 2 of 3 subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Biology); each subject has ~20 questions, mostly multiple choice with some calculation.

Section: 80 minutes, 100 points, ~40 multiple-choice questions covering politics, economics, history, geography, and contemporary society; no essay.

Post-war Japan: 1947 Constitution (pacifism Article 9, symbolic Emperor), 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1956 UN membership, 1960 US-Japan Security Treaty revision.

Economic history: 1960s high growth (income-doubling plan), 1971 Nixon shock, 1973 oil crisis, 1985 Plaza Accord, 1991 bubble collapse, 1997 consumption tax hike.

Political system: constitutional monarchy with parliamentary cabinet; Diet = House of Representatives (480) + House of Councillors (242); PM chosen by Diet.

International organizations: UN (1945), IMF/World Bank (1944 Bretton Woods), GATT (1947) → WTO (1995), EU (Maastricht 1993), ASEAN (1967).

Geography: Japan's 47 prefectures, four main islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu), major industrial belts (Keihin, Hanshin, Chukyo), and climate zones (Pacific vs Japan Sea side).

Modern history: Meiji Restoration 1868, Sino-Japanese War 1894–95, Russo-Japanese War 1904–05, Manchurian Incident 1931, Pearl Harbor 1941, surrender 1945.

Contemporary issues: aging population (over 29% aged 65+), declining birthrate, regional revitalization, and Japan's ODA and peacekeeping contributions.

Course 1 (basic): 80 minutes, 100 points; covers numbers, expressions, quadratic functions, trigonometry, counting/probability, and basic geometry.

Course 2 (advanced): 80 minutes, 100 points; includes Course 1 topics plus exponential/logarithmic functions, calculus (differentiation, integration), vectors, sequences, and complex numbers.

Quadratic formula: x = [−b ± √(b² − 4ac)]/(2a); discriminant D = b² − 4ac determines number of real roots (D > 0 two, D = 0 one, D < 0 none).

Trigonometry: sin²θ + cos²θ = 1, tanθ = sinθ/cosθ; law of sines a/sinA = b/sinB = c/sinC = 2R; law of cosines a² = b² + c² − 2bc cosA.

Calculus: d/dx xⁿ = nxⁿ⁻¹, ∫xⁿ dx = xⁿ⁺¹/(n+1) + C (n ≠ −1); derivative = slope, integral = area under curve; product rule (fg)' = f'g + fg'.

Sequences: arithmetic aₙ = a₁ + (n−1)d, sum Sₙ = n(a₁ + aₙ)/2; geometric aₙ = a₁rⁿ⁻¹, sum Sₙ = a₁(1 − rⁿ)/(1 − r) (r ≠ 1).

Vectors: a·b = |a||b|cosθ; perpendicular ⇔ a·b = 0; parallel ⇔ a = kb; position vector and section formula.

Probability: P(A∪B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A∩B); conditional P(A|B) = P(A∩B)/P(B); permutations nPr = n!/(n−r)!, combinations nCr = n!/(r!(n−r)!).