The question concerns the financially blessed Juanita.

She invests $80,000 in a perpetuity that will provide $4000 per year to fund a scholarship at a university. What is the value of this perpetuity over a period of five years?

Is it:

a)      $4000 a year

b)      $80,000 a year

c)       $4000 in the first year, increasing by $4000 ever year?

d)      $80,000 in the first year, increasing by $4000 ever year?

e)      $80,000 in the first year, decreasing by $4000 a year?

The question tripped up some Williamstown High students who joined about 31,000 other Further Maths VCE students in sitting the first of two exams in the subject on Friday. They will sit the second exam on Monday - Hallowe'en.

Students mostly understood the concept of a perpetuity – a constant and indefinite stream of identical cash flows  – but the answers were represented in graphs in the exam, and this confused students. (The correct answer is B.)

As the students exchanged answers outside the exam hall, some pumped their fists in the air when hearing they scored a correct answer, while others rolled their eyes in dread.

The spring racing carnival must have been on the examiners' minds as they wrote the paper, as there were references to horses, stables and racetracks.

Ella Cridland, a year 12 student at the school, said the question threw her off.

"I know I got it wrong," she said. She chose D, thinking that she should have shown the annual $4000 increases on the $80,000.

Brett Russell, VCE Further Maths teacher at the school, said many students may have chosen D or E – graphs that showed annual increases or losses of $4000.

"Whatever is your principal, it is always retained. And so, you're always having $80 000 that is continually re-invested ... it just keeps rolling over."

"Students needed to know their definitions," he said. "Sometimes they get thrown off by graphical representations."

The multiple choice exam was split into two sections - a core section with 24 questions and then four modules. Students only had to complete two of the modules, but some students vented on social media about mistakenly completing all sections.

Harry Lawson, an 18-year-old strong maths student, said he thought the exam was challenging overall, noting that the new study design, which was rolled out this year, had slightly changed the structure of the exam.

"Things were worded differently, it's a new study design ... overall it was good, it was just challenging," he said.  "You had to predict it a little bit."

Last year, students and even the general public were fascinated by  the '50 cent question', which asked Further Maths students to calculate the angle between two coins.

This year's curriculum includes for the first time a financial literacy component designed to aid students' understanding of money in the real world, although in the exam it comes under the new label "recursion and financial modelling".

Mr Russell said students may have been deterred by the new study design and exam structure, but noted that while there were no past VCAA exams for the new subject, trial paper companies produced exam papers which were useful.

"Some of them are better than others obviously," he said of the tests. Students were not disadvantaged by the new structure as "everyone is in the same boat," he said.

Cody Hemphill, 17, said he found the exam difficult, but acknowledged that maths was not his forte.

He said he referred to his notes whenever he came across challenging question. Did this help? Sure, he said: "when you can read them".

Further Maths students will return for the second exam for the subject on Monday.