You have to pass that math exam, whichever it is. The only way to do this is by at least trying to solve a few problems on every topic of the syllabus (course content), starting immediately if not before. It's all about practicing. The more you can try to solve, the better for you to become perfect. Learning the principles of a topic is only half of the story. The other half is for you to start solving problems, whether through reasoning or by calculations. Some will take you a minute or less while others will take you hours and even days to figure out. Mistakes will be made while practicing and you will get wrong answers too. That's the idea. All you have to do at that point is to get help identifying your weakness along with the errors and correct them right away. By doing this regularly, there will hardly be any way you will ever make those same mistakes again, especially on a test or exam. You cannot study Math. You have to do it. Just remember, Practice becomes Perfect.