Mathematics
16 topics
Mathematical Literacy
4 topics
📚 Grade 12 lessons by term & topic(21)
Choose your term, then the topic you have been told to study, and you will see every lesson you need to master for it — each one with a printable worksheet and an exam paper with its memo.
Functions and Graphs
Term 13 lessons to masterNumber Patterns, Sequences and Series
Term 13 lessons to masterTrigonometry
Term 13 lessons to masterAlgebra
Term 21 lesson to masterAnalytical Geometry
Term 22 lessons to masterCalculus
Term 23 lessons to masterEuclidean Geometry
Term 21 lesson to masterFinance, Growth and Decay
Term 31 lesson to masterProbability
Term 32 lessons to masterStatistics
Term 32 lessons to master📖Grade 12 Mathematics: curriculum guide & study tipsRead more ▾Show less ▴
Grade 12 is the NSC (matric) year. The final examinations in October/November are nationally set and externally marked, and the results determine university admission through APS scores. The Grade 12 curriculum adds calculus, sequences and series, and inverse functions on top of everything from Grades 10 and 11 — roughly a third of the final papers examine work from earlier grades, which is why revising Grade 11 trigonometry and geometry is part of every good matric study plan. This page carries past NSC papers, provincial trial (prelim) papers and memorandums.
Topics by term (CAPS, DBE 2026 teaching plan)
Number patterns, sequences and series (revision of quadratic patterns, then arithmetic and geometric sequences, sigma notation, sum to infinity), functions (formal definition, inverses, exponential and logarithmic functions), and trigonometry (compound and double-angle identities, revision of the proofs of the sine, cosine and area rules, and problems in two and three dimensions). Grade 11 general solutions are revised alongside, because compound-angle equations are solved with them.
Euclidean geometry (proportionality and similarity theorems), analytical geometry (circles and tangents), differential calculus including polynomials (the factor theorem, first principles, rules of differentiation, cubic graphs, optimisation), and the June examination.
Finance, growth and decay (annuities, present and future value, loans), statistics (regression and correlation), counting principles and probability, and the Trial (Preliminary) examination — the full-length dress rehearsal for the NSC.
Intensive revision of all topics from Grades 10–12, followed by the NSC final examinations in October/November.
How you'll be assessed
The NSC Mathematics examination consists of two 3-hour papers of 150 marks each. Paper 1: algebra and equations, patterns and sequences, functions, finance, calculus, and probability. Paper 2: statistics, analytical geometry, trigonometry, and Euclidean geometry. The Trial examinations in Term 3 follow exactly the same structure, which makes trial papers from every province valuable practice material.
Study tips from the classroom
- Past papers are the core of matric revision: write at least the last five years of NSC papers under timed conditions before the finals.
- Calculus optimisation and cubic graph questions follow recurring patterns — learn the standard question types rather than treating each as new.
- Keep a personal error log: every mistake from a practice paper gets written down and re-tested a week later.
- In Paper 2, attempt Euclidean geometry riders even when unsure — partial marks for correct statements and reasons add up.