A level prep 2012-2013

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  1. Link96ra's Avatar
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    A level prep 2012-2013
    Hi everyone just wondering if anyone is going to bother doing some preparation for a levels in the summer holidays...... if yes what book do you think would be good for Bio chem physics and maths?
  2. Add!ction's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    Find out what topics you're going to be studying and read up about them.
  3. Link96ra's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    Any particular book companies that you would recommend?
  4. Add!ction's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    Have a look at what exam board the subjects are and maybe have a look at some text books? Unfortunately I didn't study those subjects so I can't really recommend any.
  5. AdamFenton's Avatar
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    Yepp! I am studying maths physics history and English next year and was looking to do a little reading before school started


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  6. acer0951's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    i plan to go through the school prospectus to see the exam board then go to thre library and get the books and revison guides... I think its good i do some early reading because im doing Biology, Chemistry, History and economics... might even have a look through some pastpapers
  7. PrismaticCore's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    Guys, trust me on this one: Enjoy your holiday whilst you can. Year 12 and Year 13 (and the summer in between them) will be stressful and you really ought to start them with a fresh mind.

    By all means, buy al the textbooks/revision guides in advance and print out all the specifications you might need. But don't kid yourself into trying to learn the specification by yourself.

    Seriously, enjoy your summer. You have time for hard work during the year.

    And one last tip: Never under-estimate the value of past papers.
  8. Link96ra's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    Okay can someone advise me on my a level subjects I've put myself down for Biology Chemistry Physics and Maths and im planning on dropping maths after first year BUT im scarred about physics how hard is the maths in physics? and how hard is the course in general?

    I dont know what other subject i should pick instead of physics because science and maths is the only things im good at.

    Im planning on doing dentistry or biomedical at university

    My main concern is Physics especially the second year as its meant to be more challenging i was considering maybe human biology instead if physics?
  9. Kalapatato's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    (Original post by Link96ra)
    Okay can someone advise me on my a level subjects I've put myself down for Biology Chemistry Physics and Maths and im planning on dropping maths after first year BUT im scarred about physics how hard is the maths in physics? and how hard is the course in general?

    I dont know what other subject i should pick instead of physics because science and maths is the only things im good at.

    Im planning on doing dentistry or biomedical at university

    My main concern is Physics especially the second year as its meant to be more challenging i was considering maybe human biology instead if physics?
    If you do the first year in maths and pass you are definitely capable of handling the maths in physics, there is nothing to worry about.
  10. nickyr212's Avatar
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    Studying maths in the summer does help a lot as you learn so many things in such a short time. However, I tried studying other subjects, even writing notes for them, but they didn't really help because my teachers don't rely on school textbooks only and use other helpful resources to broaden our knowledge. I'd say try to get the gist of something you'd think you'd find hard (eg. chemistry), but other than that, just stick to maths. You'll be thankful for it later.


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  11. nickyr212's Avatar
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    (Original post by Link96ra)
    Okay can someone advise me on my a level subjects I've put myself down for Biology Chemistry Physics and Maths and im planning on dropping maths after first year BUT im scarred about physics how hard is the maths in physics? and how hard is the course in general?

    I dont know what other subject i should pick instead of physics because science and maths is the only things im good at.

    Im planning on doing dentistry or biomedical at university

    My main concern is Physics especially the second year as its meant to be more challenging i was considering maybe human biology instead if physics?
    Why take human biology? Biology itself would be mostly about the human body.
    Physics wouldn't be a bad idea, and yes, it does get hard the second year. Half of the AS syllabus was GCSE stuff, honestly. Physics uses a lot of maths, but a couple of formulae aren't that complicated. However I suggest you do maths the second year as well and drop physics. That's what I'm doing as I'm thinking of taking biomedical sciences like you. Maths is pretty important for the subjects you want to study, physics not so much.


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  12. Link96ra's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    (Original post by nickyr212)
    Why take human biology? Biology itself would be mostly about the human body.
    Physics wouldn't be a bad idea, and yes, it does get hard the second year. Half of the AS syllabus was GCSE stuff, honestly. Physics uses a lot of maths, but a couple of formulae aren't that complicated. However I suggest you do maths the second year as well and drop physics. That's what I'm doing as I'm thinking of taking biomedical sciences like you. Maths is pretty important for the subjects you want to study, physics not so much.


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    Thanks for the help and yh maths defo i done add maths at gcse and i got to admit it was very hard but now i look back at it i reckon with more time and less time worrying about other subjects i could manage an A at as. Im not too sure about doing maths for the second year it looked hard but im going to see how it goes.
  13. nickyr212's Avatar
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    (Original post by Link96ra)
    Thanks for the help and yh maths defo i done add maths at gcse and i got to admit it was very hard but now i look back at it i reckon with more time and less time worrying about other subjects i could manage an A at as. Im not too sure about doing maths for the second year it looked hard but im going to see how it goes.
    It depends what maths you are doing. Whether it be statistics, mechanics, or further pure, it will be very hard. You probably need private lessons if you struggle with maths in general. In this case, you should probably choose statistics as it's the easiest and most popular out of the three. The core maths that are compulsory to do shouldn't be too hard though. =)


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    Last edited by nickyr212; 19-07-2012 at 08:14.
  14. CoolRunner's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    (Original post by Link96ra)
    Hi everyone just wondering if anyone is going to bother doing some preparation for a levels in the summer holidays...... if yes what book do you think would be good for Bio chem physics and maths?
    I'm doing this aswell, My options are Chem,Bio,Phys,Maths,FMaths, FMaths(additional)
    But I'm definitely staying away from learning bio >.> I'm just covering Units 1 for physics, chemistry and
    C2,M1 (already did c1.) for half of the summer (not all lol)
    Last edited by CoolRunner; 19-07-2012 at 09:46.
  15. notsure's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    hi, i got a B in gcse maths without much revision and i want to take AS-Level maths only. I thought that if i revised everyday and started early (now), would i have a chance of getting an A? Anyone with any experiences like mine?
  16. cdoyle's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    revision express guides are good...
  17. Link96ra's Avatar
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    • Posts: 168
    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    (Original post by notsure)
    hi, i got a B in gcse maths without much revision and i want to take AS-Level maths only. I thought that if i revised everyday and started early (now), would i have a chance of getting an A? Anyone with any experiences like mine?
    If you found the algebra and trigonometry stuff hard i wouldn't advise you to do maths at as level but if you found it okay and are confident you will revise hard and achieve the A then go for it. Maths is so much easier if you do tones of practice questions. I would strongly suggest you to start studying maths now and if you can then get a private tutor to help you. Thats what im doing.
  18. Link96ra's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    (Original post by nickyr212)
    It depends what maths you are doing. Whether it be statistics, mechanics, or further pure, it will be very hard. You probably need private lessons if you struggle with maths in general. In this case, you should probably choose statistics as it's the easiest and most popular out of the three. The core maths that are compulsory to do shouldn't be too hard though. =)


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    Do you do the core maths in your first year and then chose stats, mechanics or further pure to do in your second year?
  19. CoolRunner's Avatar
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    Re: A level prep 2012-2013
    (Original post by Link96ra)
    Do you do the core maths in your first year and then chose stats, mechanics or further pure to do in your second year?
    No. For normal Alevel Maths

    btw - C = Core (complulsary) ,M= Mechanics, S= Statistics, D= Decision.
    If you do edexcel (which i also do) You will do:

    First year AS:

    C1,C2 and M1 or S1 or D1

    Second Year A2

    C3, C4 and M2 or S2 or D2 or other modules you have not done before (e.g: M1,3,4,5, or the other ones from the stats or decision. etc)
    Last edited by CoolRunner; 19-07-2012 at 17:56.
  20. nickyr212's Avatar
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    (Original post by CoolRunner)
    No. For normal Alevel Maths

    btw - C = Core (complulsary) ,M= Mechanics, S= Statistics, D= Decision.
    If you do edexcel (which i also do) You will do:

    First year AS:

    C1,C2 and M1 or S1 or D1

    Second Year A2

    C3, C4 and M2 or S2 or D2 or other modules you have not done before (e.g: M1,3,4,5, or the other ones from the stats or decision. etc)
    Yeap, what the guy above said. You choose what you want to do from the first year. However Decision was never available in my school and it was replaced with further pure.


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    Last edited by nickyr212; 20-07-2012 at 08:49.
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