Thursday, September 24 — Day 21
First day back. Nothing new. This is the whole May–June trial on one page, then one exam that touches every thread once.
The clock
2 hours 30 minutes of work. A 20-minute break after every 40 minutes.
- 9:30–10:10 — read this page. Don't open the exam yet.
- 10:10–10:30 — no phone. Outside, food, nothing.
- 10:30–11:10 — paper. Try one problem from each lesson with the answer covered.
- 11:10–11:30 — no phone.
- 11:30–12:10 — go back to the one thread that felt fuzzy.
- 12:10–12:30 — no phone.
- 12:30–13:00 — pick Version A or Version B. 18 questions. Notes if something fights you.
Phones stay off until 13:30. After you submit, you're done with the screen.
Where June left off
Through June 11, before the last victory lap:
- 19 days done
- 27 exams (both versions on 8 days)
- 568 questions, 421 right (74%)
- 6h 46m on the exams themselves (average 15 minutes, fastest 4)
- Best day: May 19 — 22/22
- Accuracy moved 63% → 71% across the five weeks
The score was never the point. You ran it yourself, every morning.
The whole trial, in one pass
Math. Greatest common factor and least common multiple of two numbers. Then fractions: add, subtract, multiply, divide, and the inverse (flip it). Answers in lowest terms. Then times tables through 15×15, and the breakdown for bigger products: split into tens and ones, multiply the four pieces, add them last and slowly.
Elements, H through Ar. Protons, neutrons of the common isotope, electrons in the neutral atom, and valence — the outer electrons. Valence follows the group: H = 1, He = 2, then 1 through 8 across each row. You were usually one or two off. That's a counting slip. Read the group number.
Fifteen wars, the year they started (±1 year). The ones to have cold: American Revolution 1775, Civil War 1861, World War I 1914, World War II 1939, Korea 1950.
Peace dates (±2 years). The two that cost points: Westphalia 1648, Versailles 1919. Also Good Friday 1998, Oslo 1993.
Deep time, in millions of years ago. Earth 4,540. First life 3,700. Cambrian explosion 540. The asteroid 66. Us, Homo sapiens, 0.3.
A few that are just true, so the review isn't only a list:
- Sharks are older than trees.
- T. rex lived closer in time to you than to Stegosaurus.
- Helium was found in the Sun before anyone found it on Earth.
- Korea's 1953 deal was a cease-fire. The two Koreas never signed a peace.