1 What the matriculation exam bank is
The matriculation exam bank is Symma’s collection of Finnish matriculation exam tasks (the abi.symmath.com site), which you can browse directly inside the teacher app. The tasks are classified by year, syllabus, module and difficulty level, and many tasks have a ready-made model solution.
The bank has three subjects:
| Subject | What is special |
|---|---|
| Mathematics | Advanced and basic syllabus, module filter (MAY1, MAA2–MAA12, MAA14, MAB2–MAB9). Tasks from digital exams (2019–) carry part information: part A / part B1 / part B2. |
| Physics | No advanced/basic split; modules with FY codes. |
| Chemistry | No advanced/basic split; modules with KE codes. Many multiple-choice and fill-in parts that can be brought into an exam as automatically checked questions (section 7). |
A chosen task is brought in as a whole: the task prompt, images and source materials, and the model solution if there is one.
If a subject is not yet available on the site, its button in the browser is grey and struck through (“not available yet”).
2 Where to open the bank
The same matriculation exam task browser opens from three places. The only difference is where the chosen task is added:
| Where | Which button | Add button in the browser |
|---|---|---|
| Exam editor (Create Exam) | “Add question to Part A / B” → the 🎓 Matriculation exam tasks card | ＋ Add to exam |
| Course editor (creating and editing) | The 🎓 Matriculation tasks button on the Course tasks card | ＋ Add as course task |
| Presentation window | The 🎓 YO button next to the task search | ＋ Add to lesson queue |
The subject and module are preselected
The browser tries to guess the right subject and module in advance:
- In an exam from the “Exam Subject” and “Exam Name” fields. For example, the subject “Fysiikka” opens physics, and the name “MAA6 koe” opens mathematics with the MAA6 module filter.
- On a course from the course code and name. For example, the code “MAA6-25A” → mathematics + MAA6, “FY5” → physics + FY5, “KE3” → chemistry + KE3.
- In the presentation window from the name of the open course.
If nothing is recognised, the browser opens in mathematics without a module filter. You can always change the subject and modules yourself.
3 The browser view
The matriculation exam bank opens as a large window on top of the app. The subject selection and filters are at the top, the result list on the left and the preview of the selected task on the right.
- The subject selection (Matematiikka / Fysiikka / Kemia) in the top bar. Changing the subject clears the module selections.
- The counter “n added” shows how many tasks you have added this time.
- The bottom bar shows the number of exams and tasks for the selected subject and the connection status.
- Done, the cross (×) or Esc closes the browser. The window stays open after each addition, so you can collect several tasks at once.
- 🎲 Draw a mock exam is shown only when the browser has been opened from the exam editor (section 8).
4 Search and filters
All filters take effect immediately. The results are sorted from the newest exam to the oldest, and tasks from the same exam by task number.
| Filter | What it does |
|---|---|
| Search field | Searches the task title, keywords and text. Several words → all the words must be found. |
| All / Advanced / Basic | The mathematics syllabus. Shown only for mathematics. |
| Years | Start and end year. Empty means all years (the grey text in the fields shows the oldest and newest year in the bank). |
| Difficulty | Any level / Easy / Medium / Hard / Challenging. |
| Solution | Any (no restriction) · Symma model solution (only tasks with a solution made by Symma) · Any (the task has some solution). |
| Digital exams only (2019–) | Hides tasks from paper exams. |
| Module chips | Click one or more modules on; the results include tasks that belong to any of the selected modules. Hover over a chip to see the module name. The MAB chips of basic mathematics have a dashed outline. |
The list shows 60 tasks at a time; you get the rest with the “Show more (n)” button. Each result row shows the title, points, the exam (e.g. “Spring 2025 · advanced · task 7”) and badges:
Σ Symma Symma model solution Easy difficulty level MAA6 module 🖼 the task has an image
If the search gives no results (“No results — widen the search.”), first remove the module chips and year limits – they usually narrow the results the most.
5 Preview and solutions
Click a task in the list, and it opens in the preview on the right with its formulas, images and source materials.
- Badges below the task title: points, exam part (e.g. part A, part B1), No CAS (if the task is to be done without a symbolic calculator), difficulty level and modules with their names.
- Source materials (e.g. “Aineisto 3.A” in physics and chemistry) appear after the task in their own boxes.
- Show solution opens the solution in a green box. Its heading tells where the solution comes from:
- Σ Symma model solution – a model solution written at Symma.
- AI solution suggestion – a suggestion produced by AI; check it before use.
- Open on site ↗ opens the task on the abi.symmath.com site in the browser.
6 Adding a task to an exam
Create Exam→
Add question to Part A / B→
🎓 Matriculation exam tasks→
Choose a task→
＋ Add to exam
- In the exam editor, first fill in the Exam Subject and/or Exam Name (e.g. “MAA6”), so that the browser opens in the right subject and module.
- Press “Add question to Part A” (or Part B) and choose the 🎓 Matriculation exam tasks card. The tasks are added to the part whose button opened the browser.
- Find a task, open the preview and press “＋ Add to exam”.
- Continue to the next task or close the browser by pressing Done.
How the task arrives in the exam
- An open-answer task (most mathematics tasks) is added as one essay question: the task prompt with its images and source materials becomes the question text, the solution becomes the model answer and the matriculation exam points become the question’s points (if the points are not known, the default is 6 pts).
- The question is named after the title and the exam, e.g. Derivaatan nollakohdat (YO Spring 2025 · advanced · task 7).
- If the task has multiple-choice or fill-in parts, the app suggests adding them as separate, automatically checked questions – see the next section.
After adding, check the question’s points and model answer in the exam preview. It is especially worth reading through AI solution suggestions, because the model answer is shown in grading and in any AI-assisted grading.
📋 See also: Creating an exam (question types, Parts A and B) →
7 Splitting into parts: multiple choice, gaps, open answer
Many matriculation exam tasks – especially in chemistry and physics, but also the answer-box and drop-down tasks in part A of mathematics – have items with a single correct answer. When you add such a task to an exam, the app recognises its parts and asks how to add them.
Part types
- 🎧 Multiple-choice set – option lists and drop-down menus. Consecutive single-choice items (e.g. 1.1–1.10) are combined into one set. The correct option is read from the model solution.
- ⬜ Cloze – blanks to fill in and mathematics answer boxes. The correct answer for a gap is read from the solution; an alternative form in brackets (e.g. “protonin (vetyionin)”) is left as a hint.
- 📝 Essay – open-answer items. The solution to that item becomes the model answer.
The points are taken from the item headings (e.g. “(4 p.)”). Source materials are attached to the part that refers to them; if no part refers to a source material, it is attached to the first part.
Buttons
- Add selected separately – the ticked parts are added to the exam as questions of their own (multiple-choice set, cloze, essay). Untick the parts you do not want.
- Add as one essay – the whole task as one essay question, as before.
- Cancel – nothing is added.
Check the warnings. If the correct option or a gap’s answer was not recognised, the part is still added, but without a correct answer – open the question in the exam editor and mark the answer yourself before publishing the exam.
In mathematics answer boxes, the correct answer is an expression as text (e.g. 2y + 1). The student’s way of writing it may differ (spaces, multiplication signs), so the automatic score is only a suggestion in grading – check it and correct it if needed. A gap accepts one form of the answer.
8 Draw a mock exam
When the browser is opened from the exam editor, its bottom bar has the 🎲 Draw a mock exam button. It puts together a complete practice exam with the structure of the matriculation exam – with a single click.
Exam structure
| Exam | Drawn (answered) | In the Symma exam |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced mathematics | Part A 6 (5) · part B1 4 (3) · part B2 3 (2) | Part A → Part A; B1 and B2 are merged into Part B |
| Basic mathematics | Part A 6 (5) · part B 5 (4), two of which are 18-point tasks | Part A → Part A; part B → Part B |
| Physics, chemistry | 11 tasks, of which 7 are answered | all in Part A |
The parts are filled according to the part structure of the digital exams (2019–); older tasks fill any gaps.
Step by step
- Choose the subject in the top bar and, if you like, modules and the solution filter – the draw uses the module and solution filters in the top bar.
- Press 🎲 Draw a mock exam. The draw panel opens on the right and the first draw is made immediately.
- For mathematics, choose Advanced / Basic and, if needed, Years (from 2019 by default).
- Check the drawn tasks part by part. If you are not satisfied, press 🎲 Draw again.
- Press “＋ Add to exam (n tasks)”. The browser closes and the tasks are added to the exam.
What is filled into the exam
- Tasks into Parts A and B. If the exam does not have a Part B yet, Separate B-Part is switched on.
- The required questions for Parts A and B are set according to the number of tasks to answer (e.g. for advanced mathematics A 5, B 5).
- If the fields are empty: Exam Name (e.g. “Mock matriculation exam — advanced mathematics 23.9.2026”), Time Limit 360 min and Exam Instructions from the parts’ answering instructions. Fields that are already filled in are not changed.
- Multiple-choice and fill-in parts are split into separate questions automatically without the dialog (section 7).
The success message “Mock exam drawn: n tasks” reminds you: check the points, parts and instructions before saving. If the filters do not find enough tasks, the panel shows the warning “Not enough tasks with these filters — a part is incomplete.” – in that case, loosen the module or year limits.
9 Matriculation exam tasks as course tasks
Creating / editing a course→
📝 Course tasks→
🎓 Matriculation tasks→
＋ Add as course task
- Each addition creates a new course task card: the title is the task name and the exam (e.g. “Derivaatan nollakohdat — YO Spring 2025 · advanced · task 7”), the prompt is the text with its images and source materials, the solution is the model solution and the maximum points are the matriculation exam points (default 6 pts).
- When you close the browser, the view scrolls to the card added last. You can edit the card like any course task.
- Course tasks are always added as a whole (no splitting into parts).
- The button is available in the Normal task mode; it is not available in learning path mode.
Remember to save the course after adding – the tasks are only saved when the course is saved.
📝 See also: Tasks and AI checking →
📚 See also: Creating a course →
10 Matriculation exam tasks in the lesson queue
In the presentation window (the presentation window button in the toolbar or “Esitysikkuna” in the course view) you can go through matriculation exam tasks in class:
- Press the 🎓 YO button next to the Task search field in the left panel.
- Choose the tasks and press “＋ Add to lesson queue”. The tasks appear in the Lesson queue list marked “Matriculation exam task”.
- When you open a task from the queue, its solution is split into steps in the same way as for other tasks in the presentation window, and you can show the solution one step at a time.
You can save the queue as a lesson plan (“Tallenna”), so the same matriculation exam tasks are ready next time.
📽️ See also: Presentation window →
11 Source attribution and good to know
Source attribution
A source note in small grey text is automatically added to the end of the prompt of every matriculation exam task added to an exam or a course, for example:
Task © The Matriculation Examination Board. Source: Symma matriculation exam task bank, mathematics (Spring 2025 · advanced · task 7).
The copyright of the tasks belongs to the Finnish Matriculation Examination Board. Leave the source note in place when you edit the task.
Good to know
- Images are included inside the task. The task’s images and source materials are saved in the exam or course task, so the student sees them without a connection to the matriculation exam site.
- Browsing the bank requires a network connection. If the site cannot be reached, the browser uses the task list loaded earlier and shows “Site unreachable — using cached data.” in the bottom bar. Opening a single task may then fail (“Failed to load the task.”).
- The same task several times: a task already added has a green left edge in the list. The “Add again” button adds one more copy of it – watch out for duplicates.
- Hybrid quizzes and the practice quiz question bank do not have the matriculation exam browser; use the exam editor or course tasks.
- If the browser does not open at all (“Exam bank unavailable”), restart the teacher app.