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The big fat STEP megathread (NOT for getting help with maths questions)

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Original post by cpdavis
That question was so nice :love: and it came out so nicely :biggrin:

Induction and STEP :headhurts:, just left me in a massive muddle ...


I know right :biggrin:

Spoiler



and the answers/hints/reports just said it was obvious or easy, yet I rarely ever saw what was going on :rolleyes:
Original post by ben-smith
I was thinking, does anyone have a favourite STEP question, i.e. over all the years are there any questions that stick out in your mind as being very nice?
Also, on a similar note, are there any super hard ones that you remember?


In contrast to the above, I enjoyed the induction, III Q7 2011 was veeery nice.

I couldn't do a single complex numbers question though, they always seemed to be very nasty.
Original post by jonnyboy1993
I know right :biggrin:

Spoiler



and the answers/hints/reports just said it was obvious or easy, yet I rarely ever saw what was going on :rolleyes:


Ooh I wonder who that was? :colone:

You will have so much more when you start in a couple of weeks :tongue: If I have to do it, oh God ...
Good luck everyone! :smile: you're all math deities anyhows :wink:
Reply 2944
The one with Harry the Calculating Horse must be up there with best... STEP 1 1998/9, right at the back! And I never touched anything involving vectors or pictures!
Reply 2945
Q5 1997, III was my favourite.

'Find the ratio, over one revolution, of the distance moved by a wheel rolling on a flat surface to the distance traced out on the point of its circumference.'
Question 5, STEP III 1998. On the face of it, it's a 'nice' question. What it's hinting at is what's awesome.
Reply 2947
Hey guys just a quick question:

If I've done C1-C4, FP1-FP3, S1-S2, M1-M4 then presumably I could and probably should attempt STEP II core, mechanics and stats questions right? Is it better to practice all of them than simply focus on the pure side of things? What are your experiences?

And in STEP III I won't be able to attempt the stats questions but should I again try practice core and mechanics rather than just focusing on the core questions?

I know the pure maths questions are generally much more popular but would you advise attempting - or at least practicing - a range of questions.

Thanks.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Thrug
Hey guys just a quick question:

If I've done C1-C4, FP1-FP3, S1-S2, M1-M4 then presumably I could and probably should attempt STEP II core, mechanics and stats questions right? Is it better to practice all of them than simply focus on the pure side of things? What are your experiences?

And in STEP III I won't be able to attempt the stats questions but should I again try practice core and mechanics rather than just focusing on the core questions?

I know the pure maths questions are generally much more popular but would you advise attempting - or at least practicing - a range of questions.

Thanks.


I would do all the questions to practice. In the actual STEP exam, the applied questions were actually easier then the pure so I was able to answer those ok. But my pure messed up my mark :tongue:
Original post by Thrug
I know the pure maths questions are generally much more popular but would you advise attempting - or at least practicing - a range of questions.Yes. It's certainly worth practicing a range of questions; if you decide you can't ever get any applied out fair enough, but you should give it a go first.

As far as stats in STEP III; usually one question is reasonably accessible using only S1 and S2. I have generally advised people that it's not worth the effort of covering S3 and S4 in order to be able to do all the STEP III stats. However, having now looked at the actual specification, there's not really that much you need to do cover what they ask for in STEP III, so it may be worth doing if you generally like stats.
It all looks so intimidating... I don't even know where to start :frown:
Original post by TheJ0ker
It all looks so intimidating... I don't even know where to start :frown:

STEP I 2007 was a fairly nice paper, so I'd imagine it'd be a good one to start with. Similarly, the STEP I 2010 paper might be a worthwhile starting position so perhaps try one of those first? Almost everyone is intimidated at first but if you stick at it, your confidence is likely to build and then it becomes enjoyable.
should start STEP this week.....planning to do a bit everyday =)
Original post by Farhan.Hanif93
STEP I 2007 was a fairly nice paper, so I'd imagine it'd be a good one to start with. Similarly, the STEP I 2010 paper might be a worthwhile starting position so perhaps try one of those first? Almost everyone is intimidated at first but if you stick at it, your confidence is likely to build and then it becomes enjoyable.


Should I just dive into past papers or is there something I can read to help start me off and learn the required techniques?
Original post by TheJ0ker
Should I just dive into past papers or is there something I can read to help start me off and learn the required techniques?

How much A-Level maths do you know? If you know C1-C4 then you should have the knowledge to attempt all STEP I and II pure questions. The best way to learn the techniques is to figure them out for yourself whilst solving problems. When I started STEP, I literally just started doing questions from the papers.

Perhaps spend a week or so on your first paper. It may take you an hour or two to do your first problem so stick at it, it gets easier.

Others use the Siklos Booklet, which is just a collection of questions from the past papers with solutions at the end and commentary. One thing that is to be seriously discouraged is looking at the solution without giving the question A LOT of thought.

Useful sources: All STEP papers since 1987
Official STEP website (where you can find the Siklos Booklet)
yeah I know all the core modules, and M1 and most of M2 so I probably start trying some of the applied questions too. I will have a look at the 2007 paper tonight and try and solve all the pure questions in a week or so. Thanks for the link I will definitely have a look through :gah:
Reply 2956
We don't have to put STEP/AEA down on our UCAS do we? I noticed with Warwick if you're going to accept their offer then you need to tell them which ones you're doing but I'm fairly certain they give you the standard offers regardless of whether they see STEP down on your UCAS - can anyone confirm this?
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Thrug
We don't have to put STEP/AEA down on our UCAS do we? I noticed with Warwick if you're going to accept their offer then you need to tell them which ones you're doing but I'm fairly certain they give you the standard offers regardless of whether they see STEP down on your UCAS - can anyone confirm this?

I didn't mentioned which papers I was taking on UCAS and this didn't seem to cause any problems. They don't expect you to know what STEP papers you're going to take at this stage.
Reply 2958
Original post by Farhan.Hanif93
I didn't mentioned which papers I was taking on UCAS and this didn't seem to cause any problems. They don't expect you to know what STEP papers you're going to take at this stage.


Ok thanks. I just got a bit worried because Bath give A*AA or A*AB +2/M as you probably know but I just heard back from them and they've only given me A*AA. Not sure whether this is always what they give or I have to tell them if I'm going to do STEP if I want the offer including STEP as well. Did you get both offers on your UCAS?

Don't think it will matter though and I can always tell them I've done STEP/AEA if I miss the first offer but make the second.
Original post by Thrug
Ok thanks. I just got a bit worried because Bath give A*AA or A*AB +2/M as you probably know but I just heard back from them and they've only given me A*AA. Not sure whether this is always what they give or I have to tell them if I'm going to do STEP if I want the offer including STEP as well. Did you get both offers on your UCAS?

Don't think it will matter though and I can always tell them I've done STEP/AEA if I miss the first offer but make the second.

They may have changed the offer. My offer was a bit weird though since I had done STEP already; they asked me to email them proof of my STEP result and then gave me an offer of AB.

Email them, though, if you need any clarification.

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