Those are reasonable questions, but chances are that if you have to ask them you are not spending your time effectively.
Exams are artificial situations.
You do not take a class to prepare for a particular contrived and transient situation. Rather you are most likely taking the class so that you can function better in the long term, for example in your career. Ideally, you should be taking the class at least partly because you like the subject. So you should focus on the long term aspects of the class, and on the subject, and in the process, as a pleasant side effect, you will become well prepared for the test. Before class, read the relevant sections of the textbook.