M2 Maths CCEA Exam Discussion 14/06/12

Surprised nobody has a discussion up for this yet!

I'm in for this tomorrow, absolutely need an A to feel confident about meeting my offer conditions (after that tricky C4 paper). I'm as prepared as I can be, but who knows how hard they'll make the paper this time around...

After doing past papers and reading the chief examiner reports I'm expecting a monster of a differential equation question, probably a work - energy principle question, and a banked curve / circular motion of a ball bearing and string question using letters with few or no number values. Wouldn't be surprised to see vector questions asking for speed or direction of motion at a time, and I'd quite like to see a range question asking for the time when the object is travelling horizontally, as it's so easy to misinterpret that for horizontal motion.

I think the exam should be okay if you know your stuff, but they'll definitely throw in some testing questions to try to differentiate between students, best of luck to anyone else sitting! :smile:

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

richard1123

okay this is driving me absolutely insane. Can you solve this. I know first thing you look at it, it's easy but after trying to get my head around the hard tricky application of M2 knowledge, I am horrified to say I can't remember the basics of integration it's shocking.

anyway can you solve this for me, and have a full explanation step by step, as it's just not working for me.

I lose 7 marks in this paper because I can't do it. You can understand my frustration, if it's the only 7 marks I have lost, and I lose them because I can't remember how to do something so simple! :frown:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 2

North Irelandman

I'm not sure how to convert text into mathematical notation like you have there (so if you know an online tool or something that would help) but take "/" as over in terms of fractions. I've got:

Taking 10v / 1 + 10v and converting to partial fractions:

10v / 1 + 10v = (A / 1) + (B / 1 + 10v)
10v = A(1 + 10v) + B(1)

Setting v as -1/10 : -1 = A(0) + B(1) => B = -1
Equating coefficients of v : 10 = A(10) => A = 1

So you must then integrate: (1) - (1 / 1 + 10v) dv = -49 dx
Which will give: v - 10 ln 1+10v = -49x + c

Then use the conditions to work out c and so on. Sorry if that's a bit messy (or wrong!)

Reply 3

Guin

Whoa I went straight to substitution for the q. Partial fractions is a lot less confusing!
I'm just hoping for a straight forward paper :smile:

no tricks please, ccea!

Reply 4

North Irelandman

I'd forgotten all about partial fractions basically but I have them well revised after seeing a question or two like that :wink:

I'd love a straightforward paper tomorrow, we can only hope.

Reply 5

Guin

Good luck

are you doing M3 as well?

Reply 6

North Irelandman

Nope, our school does M2 for Maths A level and S1 for Further Maths, which probably explains why we have better FM grades than maths...

I've just had to listen to a cow giving birth for the last hour and a half, I'm absolutely shattered :frown:

Joys of living in the countryside. Good luck to you today as well! :smile:

Reply 7

31541

Original post by Guin

Good luck

are you doing M3 as well?

I am

Reply 8

North Irelandman

So so happy with that paper. Was as nervous as I was for my driving test since I couldn't stop thinking of it as the paper that decides if I get to LSE or not! Don't think I dropped many marks if any, questions all seemed pretty straightforward and best of all no pumps :biggrin:

Reply 9

richard1123

Original post by North Irelandman

What were your answers so I can compare. I think I messed some things up.

PS. Pumps was taken off the syllabus from what I heard, if CCEA had them this year, they would be in trouble for lying.

Reply 10

North Irelandman

We had our papers taken off us because there's someone doing the exam this afternoon (so annoying). But let me think...

-i -9j and 1/2i + 9/2j
Something like 44.7 below the horizontal
12.1rad/s
49J, 4.47m/s 4.something) and 3.07m/s
10m/s and 13.4s for the last question

If you give me some of yours it might jog my memory, Q2-4 are a blur, I might go in to get my paper tomorrow.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 11

richard1123

Original post by North Irelandman

Perhaps we shouldnt share answers then, if someones doing it in the afternoon.

Reply 12

North Irelandman

They'll be in 'quarantine' at my school which involves sitting alone with a teacher in a room with their phone on the teacher's desk until the exam :tongue:

I'm not that keen on sharing answers usually, one person could be just as wrong as the other and it's best not to think about it until results day really.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 13

Guin

Original post by North Irelandman

Joys of living in the countryside. Good luck to you today as well! :smile:

That's a strange way of doing it when S1 is easier than M2 :0 and haha what the heck!

Original post by CD315

I am

awesome

are you doing FP1 too?

Original post by North Irelandman

yes! it was so nice! I could have cried of happiness because there wasn't a pump question! I think ccea probably took pumps off because last year's question caused a lot of confusion from the way it was worded.

Reply 14

North Irelandman

Original post by Guin

That's a strange way of doing it when S1 is easier than M2 :0 and haha what the heck!

I know! It's ridiculous that we don't get the lovely UMS marks from S1 and further maths folk do...

But yeah as it turned out I'm glad we do M2 because that was great :smile:

Of course I'm a little bit scared because maybe I did a question wrong or something and managed to lose 8 marks which would be scaled down since it was so easy... but I did the paper twice in the time and I really don't know where I would have went wrong! I even did the differential equation variable separation with and without moving the 100 just in case the examiner has a preference :rolleyes:

Reply 15

31541

Original post by Guin

awesome

are you doing FP1 too?

I am indeed :smile:

Reply 16

Guin

Original post by North Irelandman

But yeah as it turned out I'm glad we do M2 because that was great :smile:

Haha yeah, I finished in 40 minutes! Maths papers are always really short. I did the differential eqn with limits and then without limits to check. :smile:

The only mark I don't think I got was the very last one about why it won't reach the max speed. I wrote a whole load of waffle and the examiner is probably going to read and laugh! My teacher said it was to do with terminal velocity and e to the power of something t, but it was hard to see because the q didn't ask to rearrange the eqn for v=.

Reply 17

Jampot

lets see, for everything i got (if i remember correctly :L)...
1i) -i-9j
1ii) 1/2 i + 9/2 j

2i) (1 + t)i + (-3 + t)j
2ii) t = 2
2iii) 2 root 10 = 6.32 ms-1

3i) 10.7
3ii) -10.6 (10.6 downwards)
3iii) 44.7 degrees below horizontal

4) dont remember

5i) dont rememer (4. something)
5ii) a) 25.5 (i think)
b) 3.07m (i think)

6i) diagram with 3 forces: weight, tension to B and tension to A
6ii) w = 12.1 rad s-1

7i) 10ms-1
7ii) show that question... love those!
7iii) 13.3 or 13.4 (around there)
7iv) cause 100 - 10^2 = 0, had equation that therefore divided by zero
so therefore resistive forces must great too great approaching 10ms-1
so he never reaches it (asymptotic) .. wrote something like that

.. if i got anything wrong, or if you remember your answers to the ones i dont, do comment!