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Khan Academy

After not paying attention in GCSE Maths for about two years and somehow scraping a C, I thought I'd spend some of this summer re-learning maths on Khan Academy.

If you're not familiar with it, in a nutshell, it's this Harvard/MIT graduate who does Youtube videos teaching pretty much everything from Maths to Chemistry to History.

Anyways, does anyone know at which point the material surpasses GCSE and moves onto something equivalent to A-Level? I'd really like to get my maths knowledge up to AS standard in the near-future.

I'm just working through the pre-algebra playlist now, and I don't remember ever doing some of the things in that. Like fractional exponents or logarithms. They're not that hard so obviously they're GCSE standard or lower, but I don't know what is actually on the A-Level syllabus.

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If I may share some of my experience on the matter:

I was pretty dismal at school due to a myriad of reasons, and as a result I was presented with a big, fat E for my GCSE Maths. 9 years on I decided to resit, and taught my self using a combination of revision books and GCSE Bitesize. I have now purchased the CGP AS-Level Mathematics book. My process is to use the revision books as guides to what to learn, in addition to being used as actual learning material. These are supplemented by information on-line, in case the information is being provided in an obtuse way within the revision book.

Personally, I found Kahn Academy counter-intuitive for me, although it's clearly a great resource; i preferred sticking to the official syllabus of the various exam boards in the UK, and I found that Kahn Academy just confused my procedural method of learning. Something...whatever. Anyway, revision books as an insight into what to learn supplemented by internet sites (Such as Kahn), but NOT using Kahn as a checklist of what to learn. That's my method, and it seems to work.
(edited 12 years ago)
But yeah, logarithims are not in the GCSE Syllabus, afaik.
Reply 3
Have a look on AS syllabuses online?

Mymaths is also good but you will need a login.
Reply 4
Khan academy is the shhyyttt. Even Bill gates is backing him!

MyMaths in the UK ripped of Khans idea.
Reply 5
Khan acadamy is awesome - more help for my Chem & Bio a-levels than the teachers.
Original post by Organ
Khan acadamy is awesome - more help for my Chem & Bio a-levels than the teachers.


Explain your signature to me. The picture which (I think) has King's College on it...
Reply 7
Original post by ilickbatteries
Explain your signature to me. The picture which (I think) has King's College on it...


Cambridge has a reputation for being a very science heavy medicine degree with a reluctance towards this modern jazz like talking to patients training.
Original post by Organ
Cambridge has a reputation for being a very science heavy medicine degree with a reluctance towards this modern jazz like talking to patients training.


I see :biggrin:
Reply 9
Original post by slapyoself
Khan academy is the shhyyttt. Even Bill gates is backing him!

MyMaths in the UK ripped of Khans idea.


Have to agree I went on Khan Academy last night and watched a video on heart failure was incredibly well done.

Are all the videos done by the same man or a team of people?
Reply 10
Original post by Organ
Cambridge has a reputation for being a very science heavy medicine degree with a reluctance towards this modern jazz like talking to patients training.


That reputation is old and outdated.

We got Dr Silverman, a pioneer in Communication Skills. Our Cambridge-Calgary model is used throughout the world in training medical students in how to speak with patients. He'sa big shot in the world, and teaches the students directly.

In fact our final year (6th year), is the GMC gold standard (was at the PMETB conference with athe GMC and Deans of medical schools) at which other medical school are being pressued by the GMC to aspire to due for it "apprenticeship" like structure.
Reply 11
Original post by ilickbatteries
logarithms. They're not that hard so obviously they're GCSE standard or lower, but I don't know what is actually on the A-Level syllabus.


Logarithms are in A-level :fyi:
Problem : Don't know what is on a level syllabus.

solution : check your exam board's a level syllabus.
Original post by Extricated
Problem : Don't know what is on a level syllabus.

solution : check your exam board's a level syllabus.


:smile:

I've never taken A-Level Maths, and I wouldn't know what half of the stuff on the syllabus even meant to be honest. I just thought I'd build up my maths knowledge on Khan Academy until the point came where I wasn't able to understand the material any further and then see if that was on a par with A-Level or not
Original post by ilickbatteries

Original post by ilickbatteries
:smile:

I've never taken A-Level Maths, and I wouldn't know what half of the stuff on the syllabus even meant to be honest. I just thought I'd build up my maths knowledge on Khan Academy until the point came where I wasn't able to understand the material any further and then see if that was on a par with A-Level or not


Mate, just go to examsolutions and start from C1. Its all explained very clearly and is based on the UK exam board syllabus'. I'm nearly done in C1 after using it and I only got a C in gcse maths aswell. I only use Khanacademy for Biology anyways :biggrin:

http://www.examsolutions.co.uk/A-Level-maths-tutorials/index.php
(edited 12 years ago)
Khan Academy is the shizz. Taught me everything I needed to know for C4 integration in 2 hours, in comparison to my maths teacher who went through it (terribly) in 4/5 weeks.

But sorry man I can't really remember what was in the C1 syllabus, just google it and go from there? Or if you have the syllabus but don't know which video relates to it, lemme know :smile:
Original post by swiftylol
Mate, just go to examsolutions and start from C1. Its all explained very clearly and is based on the UK exam board syllabus'. I'm nearly done in C1 after using it and I only got a C in gcse maths aswell. I only use Khanacademy for Biology anyways :biggrin:

http://www.examsolutions.co.uk/A-Level-maths-tutorials/index.php


Examsolutions is monotone, I find myself drifting off when he's explaining stuff. He's mostly useful for understanding where you went wrong on an exam question imo.
Khan Academy guy... Sal? lol is a bit more lively.
Reply 17
Buy a Mathswatch CD
Reply 18
I'm not sure how it translates between GCSE and A level material, but I'd recommend making a list of the GCSE topics you need to cover and then watching the appropriate videos. Khan Academy is such a fantastic resource - I didn't do A level maths but thanks to Khan Academy I may as well have.
Original post by swiftylol
Mate, just go to examsolutions and start from C1. Its all explained very clearly and is based on the UK exam board syllabus'. I'm nearly done in C1 after using it and I only got a C in gcse maths aswell. I only use Khanacademy for Biology anyways :biggrin:

http://www.examsolutions.co.uk/A-Level-maths-tutorials/index.php


That's pretty good that mate, thanks a lot.

Out of interest, how are you finding C1 with only a C in GCSE Maths?

I was never the greatest student at secondary, mostly due to finding maths incredibly boring and a lack of actually bothering to listen, but I think the time has come where I must face my demons with maths being the first.

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