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Whats A-level Maths like?

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Original post by TenOfThem
Depends on why you are getting a B

A B means there is a lot of the Higher GCSE that you are not secure with

If this is predominantly Algebra then the jump is big

If, however, you are strong algebraically then the jump is much less


My teacher personally thinks I can get an A; but I messed up one of my exams and got an A in the other, so thats why I'm predicted a B, if that makes sense? Algebra is my strongest point, actually. So maybe that will make Maths at college a bit easier? :smile:

And what are these "C1, C2, C3, C4" things? Are they modules?
Reply 21
Original post by oreostastenice
I'm going to start college this August and I'm going to do Maths. Whats it like? I've heard its a MASSIVE jump from GCSE Maths, and I found Maths okay at high school. I'm predicted an B/A and I think I can get a strong B, at least.

Also, I'm planning on doing it as a full A-level, so I'm wondering if it'll get easier as it progresses?

Thank you!


It's not too bad, in my opinion! Core 1 is just a gradual jump from GCSE, nothing crazy. C2 is just a little different and a little harder. C3 and C4 are quite a considerable jump from AS Maths, they require a lot of thought and perseverance but you should be OK. As with anything - hard work = success! Good luck.
big jump, but hard work and with an ok-ish teacher, you should be fine
Reply 23
Original post by oreostastenice
My teacher personally thinks I can get an A; but I messed up one of my exams and got an A in the other, so thats why I'm predicted a B, if that makes sense? Algebra is my strongest point, actually. So maybe that will make Maths at college a bit easier? :smile:

And what are these "C1, C2, C3, C4" things? Are they modules?


Yes Core 1 - 4. They are the pure mathematics which you have to do. Then for the A level you'll need 2 applied modules so either Mechanics or Statistics. I have done both and personally find Mechanics easier.
Reply 24
kind of like a puzzle. :biggrin:
its interesting but some stuff are boring :/
Reply 25
C1 is easy...
Okay!

I'm doing Maths with Statistics, so hopefully it won’t be bad.. Do you get a lot of coursework with the Statistics bit?
Or in general, for that matter??
Original post by oreostastenice
Okay!

I'm doing Maths with Statistics, so hopefully it won’t be bad.. Do you get a lot of coursework with the Statistics bit?


Original post by oreostastenice
Or in general, for that matter??


I know AQA do a coursework option for Stats 1 and mechanics 1, but at my college we did the no coursework option. You'd have to ask your sixth form/ college whether you'll have coursework or not.

I'm not sure about core modules, on AQA there isn't any coursework for those at all.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Appeal to reason
I know AQA do a coursework option for Stats 1 and mechanics 1, but at my college we did the no coursework option. You'd have to ask your sixth form/ college whether you'll have coursework or not.


Oh, okay. Thanks for the heads-up! I hope we dont have to do any coursework in Maths, I hate coursework.
Reply 30
If you were good at Algebra/Geometry/Trigonometry at GCSE, A level will be piss easy.
I found all the modules to be challenging especially the core modules. I found S1 challenging and did badly in my first attempt but I did much better in my resit. I did well in M1 the first time around.
I find Mathematics revision the most straightforward of all my subjects. It's just about doing all the past papers and any areas you find troublesome, iron them out by seeing a teacher and doing a load of questions on that one topic.
It depends on how academic you are and how hard you revise. Don't be disheartened if you have to resit a few modules, it's not the end of the world and most people do at least 1 or 2 resits during the course, even the top pupils sometimes get below 90% and resit to get a higher grade.
I think the one thing you must do is focus on yourself and not think about others who may be getting A's first time and even getting an A* by the end of the course. I think it's really easy to get down on yourself but you just have to work hard at it because virtually everyone finds Mathematics A Level hard whilst they're doing it. By the end of the course people may find C1 and C2 really easy but whilst they're doing most modules people aren't as confident.
The core modules progress well with one another. It depends on what examination board you're with. I found C1 and C2 pretty different to one another where as C3 and C4 for quite similar. C4 was very much like C1 and C3 combined but harder.
By the time I was doing C4 I knew what to expect and it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be at the beginning of learning C4 as many people had said it was solid. I'm not sure I'll get a great result in C4 but I definitely didn't fail it which is what my mind was expecting before I'd done a past paper.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Amwazicles
I'll never understand why people have to be so absolute when they talk about this. Everyone has basically either said "It's the easiest thing in the world ever" or "it's impossible and you're going to fail".

The A-level is harder than the GCSE. It builds on knowledge you should have from the GCSE, but it gets harder. Although the core units increase in difficulty as you progress through the year, there is still a pretty big jump up in difficulty (and more noticeably, workload) between GCSE and the start of A-level. Like others have said, how difficult you will find it will depend on which areas of GCSE you were stronger or weaker at. But to generalise, I don't see any reason why someone working at your level should be unable to get a maths A-level. The important thing is to be ready at the beginning of the year, and prepared for the increased workload so it doesn't take you by surprise. Good luck.


Why you no post on year 12 thread anymore? :frown:
Reply 33
A-level maths is the hardest thing I have ever done but really worth it. If you look at the amount of people who do A-level maths it's relatively small compared to other subjects so can make you stand out. I think I found it really hard because I coasted through GCSE maths and I didn't realise the amount of work I needed to put in at A-level. Just do it!
Hey guys, i got a B in gcse and want to A level maths. What subjects should i revise in the summer to ensure that i'm ready?
Reply 35
I am planning to take maths and Further maths this year and I am not sure weather I want to carry on with the Further maths into A2, but carry on with the normal A level maths. So is there a point taking Further Maths just into AS, even though I want to get a good grade in it but drop it after AS? And how do universities look at Further maths taken only into AS?
I think that really the jump depends on how much work you put in, I had done really well at GCSE maths (with not that much effort).

With the same work ethic I did badly in C1 in January, but worked harder at C1 and C2 after that and did much better in June...

C4 was actually my favourite module, but I did put way more work into that than any of the others... So again (at least for me) I think that unfortunately work is going to be the answer to success.
It's impossible to predict how difficult you'll find A-Level maths.

For me, I found it relatively easy, but did struggle with a few things (damn you, vectors!). It's mainly about the work you put in, I think - the workload is a big step-up from GCSE, and most of my homework came from maths.

I found C1 really easy, but nothing new was introduced to me there as I did the FSMQ so had already covered integration and differentiation. Was quite nice to start off A-Levels with a doss module.
I can't actually remember much of C2, I just remember I didn't like it, for whatever reason.
C3 and C4 were probably theoretically harder, but I'd say the C3 exam was trickier than C4; C4 was, by and large, a paper on integration and differentiation - as long as you're sound on that, it isn't too bad.

M1 was probably my favourite module. I had a "eureka" moment halfway through the course and suddenly everything made absolute sense. Which is always nice.
S1 was atrocious. Not that I couldn't do it, but it was mind-numbingly boring.

Also, depending on which exam board you do, try and suss out the way they ask questions. I did OCR MEI and sometimes the wording of questions made you want to rip up the paper..



In short - you should be fine. Just put the work in and make sure you don't get left behind in class and ask for help when you need it. At my school they ran an after school maths session every Wednesday and Thursday. I went along when I needed help with something (usually vectors) and it was a huge help.
(edited 11 years ago)
Not mutually exclusive I think you mean independent. You can do weel in both.
Reply 39
Can someone reply to this?

I'm doing edexcel as maths next year. I understand the first exam is on january and the other one is june. For AS i'll be doing C1,C2 and S1. What units do I do in january? and which one's are in june? Thanks x :smile:

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