Where IGCSE Maths 0580 students lose marks — and exactly what to do about it
Cambridge publishes a Principal Examiner Report for Teachers after every 0580 series, but our network could not open any of them. This page is built only from web-search summaries of the June 2024 report (the last series before the 2025 syllabus) and of Cambridge's commented answers to the 2025 specimen papers, so it is a short, cautious list. We will replace it with a question-by-question analysis once we have read the reports themselves.
Summaries are in our own words with links to the originals. Predictions are informed guesses, not a guarantee. You'll meet these notes as you revise too: under practice questions, inside mark schemes, in your AI marking and in “What to do next”.
Ranked for November 2026
What to focus on for November 2026
November 2026 is the next 0580 series; the list also applies to the March and June 2027 papers. Ranked by us from the syllabus and how often each error comes up in the sources below; Cambridge International publishes no ranking of its own.
Informed prediction, not a guarantee: any topic on the specification can be examined.
1
Accuracy: keep full values, round once, 3 s.f. and 1 d.p. for angles
Both accuracy points come from the report's general comments, so they apply to every paper; on Papers 3 and 4 they can cost marks on almost any question.
The 10 mistakes that cost the most marks (and 6 more)
Ordered by how often and how widely they were reported. The first 5 are free in full; Pro unlocks the fix and a worked example for every other one.
#1No working, so no part marks
What goes wrong: The June 2024 report's general comments say working was often missing or unclear. Without it a wrong answer scores nothing, while shown steps can still earn method marks; the Core key messages ask for each step of a multi-step calculation to be shown separately.
Fix: Write one line per step (what you work out, then the number). Keep going to the answer even if you are unsure of an earlier step.
Worked example (our own): Rice costs $2.40 per kg. Find the cost of 3.5 kg after a 15% discount.
Loses marks
Types it all into the calculator and writes only: $7.41 (a slip, and no working to credit)
Earns the marks
3.5 × 2.40 = $8.40
8.40 × 0.85 = $7.14
Why: With the steps written down, an arithmetic slip in the last line still leaves the method marks for 3.5 × 2.40 and × 0.85.
What goes wrong: Reported in the June 2024 general comments: candidates used a correct method but rounded an intermediate value, so the final answer fell outside the accepted range.
Fix: Keep every intermediate value in the calculator (use the memory or ANS key, or write at least 4 or 5 significant figures). Round only the final answer.
Worked example (our own): The base of a cylinder has circumference 20 cm and the cylinder is 7 cm tall. Find its volume.
Loses marks
r = 20 ÷ 2π = 3.18 (rounded)
V = π × 3.18² × 7 = 222.38… = 222 cm³
Earns the marks
r = 20 ÷ 2π = 3.183098… (kept in the calculator)
V = π × r² × 7 = 222.816… = 223 cm³
Why: Rounding r to 3 s.f. first moves the final answer from 223 to 222, which is out of range. Round once, at the end.
#3Ignoring the 3 s.f. (1 d.p. for angles) accuracy rule
What goes wrong: The June 2024 general comments note that a number of candidates ignored the instruction to give non-exact answers to 3 significant figures, or 1 decimal place for angles in degrees.
Fix: Unless a question says otherwise, give non-exact answers to 3 significant figures and angles in degrees to 1 decimal place. Write the longer calculator value first, then the rounded answer.
Worked example (our own): A right-angled triangle has shorter sides 5 cm and 7 cm. Find the smallest angle.
Loses marks
tan x = 5/7, so x = 36°
Earns the marks
tan x = 5/7
x = 35.537…° = 35.5° (1 d.p.)
Why: 36° is only 2 significant figures, so it is below the required accuracy for an angle.
#4Combined events: adding where you should multiply
What goes wrong: The June 2024 report on Paper 0580/22 describes a combined-probability question answered well by only a minority: wrong products were common and some candidates added probabilities where they should have multiplied.
Fix: For A and then B (independent) multiply. Add only to combine different outcomes that cannot both happen. A tree diagram makes each route clear.
Worked example (our own): Spinner A lands on blue with probability 0.7 and spinner B with probability 0.2. Both are spun. Find P(both blue) and P(exactly one blue).
What goes wrong: On Paper 0580/22 (June 2024) a volume question was not well answered: some candidates noticed the units were not consistent, but very few converted them correctly.
Fix: Convert every length to the same unit before you multiply. Remember 1 litre = 1000 cm³, 1 m = 100 cm and 1 m³ = 1 000 000 cm³.
Worked example (our own): A tank is 1.2 m long, 80 cm wide and 50 cm deep. How many litres does it hold?
Loses marks
1.2 × 80 × 50 = 4800, so 4800 litres
Earns the marks
1.2 m = 120 cm
120 × 80 × 50 = 480 000 cm³
480 000 ÷ 1000 = 480 litres
Why: Multiplying metres by centimetres gives a meaningless number. Change to one unit first, then convert cm³ to litres.
#6Map scales: not converting centimetres to kilometres
What goes wrong: The June 2024 report lists converting scales among the topics Core candidates (Paper 0580/13) found challenging; search summaries of the report describe answers left in centimetres or metres, or with the scale divided the wrong way, when kilometres were asked for.
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
#7Bearings: the wrong angle, or measured from the wrong line
What goes wrong: Bearings are named in the June 2024 report as a topic Paper 0580/13 candidates found challenging; answers included a measured angle that was not the bearing, and the angle next to the correct one (180° minus it) instead of the bearing itself.
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
#8Not reading the question: key words, form and sense
What goes wrong: The June 2024 Core key messages remind candidates to read each question carefully, focusing on instructions and key words, and to check that the answer is accurate, in the form asked for and sensible in context.
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
What goes wrong: Standard form is listed in the June 2024 report among the topics Paper 0580/13 candidates found challenging. The summaries we saw do not say which step went wrong, so the fix is the rule every answer must meet.
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
What goes wrong: Set notation is named in the June 2024 report as a topic Paper 0580/13 candidates found challenging. The summaries we saw do not describe the errors, so the example shows the most basic check.
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
#11Inverse functions: left in terms of y, or a sign slip
What goes wrong: Cambridge's commented specimen answers for the 2025 papers point out two errors: giving f⁻¹(x) in terms of y instead of x, and sign errors when rearranging (moving a term across without changing its sign).
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
What goes wrong: Cambridge's specimen-answer commentary warns that gg(x) means g applied twice, g(g(x)), and not g(x) multiplied by itself; it also advises checking substitutions with negative numbers.
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
What goes wrong: The commented answers for specimen Paper 2 say the first step is to find a square factor under the root, and that surds can only be added or subtracted once they have the same number under the root.
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
#15Area of a trapezium: the formula is not on the formula list
What goes wrong: The commented answers for specimen Paper 4 point out that candidates must recall the trapezium area formula, because the formula list printed in the paper does not give it.
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
#16Speed-time graphs: units and the sign of a deceleration
What goes wrong: The commented answers for specimen Paper 4 advise checking the units on the graph's axes against the units the answer needs, and note a common error: giving a deceleration as a negative number.
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
Your mistakes vs this course's mark-loss hot-spots
We set the topics in your mistake notebook and your practice scores against this page's mistakes library and focus list, and rank where they overlap, with a practice link for each.
Free account: how many of your notebook entries match, and the top one. Pro: the full ranked list, your focus areas and your risk list.
Top 10 mistakes that cost marks in IGCSE Maths 0580
A one-page PDF of the 10 most common mark-losing mistakes and how to avoid them. Print it and stick it inside your revision folder.
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Sources
Where this comes from
Cambridge publishes a Principal Examiner Report for Teachers after every 0580 series, but our network could not open any of them. This page is built only from web-search summaries of the June 2024 report (the last series before the 2025 syllabus) and of Cambridge's commented answers to the 2025 specimen papers, so it is a short, cautious list. We will replace it with a question-by-question analysis once we have read the reports themselves.
What are the most common mistakes in IGCSE Maths 0580?
The most repeated points are: No working, so no part marks; Rounding in the middle of a calculation; Ignoring the 3 s.f. (1 d.p. for angles) accuracy rule. Each one on this page has the fix and, where free, a worked example showing the wrong and right method.
Which IGCSE Maths 0580 topics come up most?
We have not yet mapped this course's papers question by question, so this page does not rank topics by how often they come up. The focus list is based on the mistakes the sources name.
Is this a prediction of the November 2026 paper?
No one outside the exam board knows what will be on the next paper. The "focus" list is an informed prediction from how often topics appeared and how weakly they were answered; it is not a guarantee, so revise the whole specification.
Where does this information come from?
Cambridge publishes a Principal Examiner Report for Teachers after every 0580 series, but our network could not open any of them. This page is built only from web-search summaries of the June 2024 report (the last series before the 2025 syllabus) and of Cambridge's commented answers to the 2025 specimen papers, so it is a short, cautious list. We will replace it with a question-by-question analysis once we have read the reports themselves.
IGCSE Math Revision