Most useful Further Mathematics units for Physics?

Hey guys
First time poster here.
So I have a firm offer from Durham and an insurance from Warwick to study Physics this autumn. Unfortunately, I don't have Further Maths. I'm hoping to cover at least AS Further Maths in the summer. I'd like to cover all 6 units, but that might not be doable.
What units would be the most useful? I'm already doing M1 and M2 for maths.
Cheers.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

Unkempt_One

13

Can you tell me which exam board you're on? If so I can tell you which modules are most useful.

Reply 2

TiberianWolf

OP

I'm doing Edexcel.

Reply 3

Unkempt_One

13

Well, here's what I think of those modules.
FP1 and FP2: Entirely relevant and very useful to have a background in.
FP3: If you do the A2 as well you should definitely study this.
M3-5: The mechanics modules are a good preparation for classical mechanics at university and will help you to think about physical principles. That being said, I don't think you'll get as much mileage out of these as the Further Pure modules, since they don't teach any new mathematical techniques. M3 has some pretty important basic topics, but it seems a bit pointless to struggle through M4 and M5 at this stage when you'll do them again at university with more rigour.
S1: This would be my applied module of choice for AS, simply because you'll see all the concepts over and over again, and knowing about statistics is very useful in general.
S2: An appreciation of probability density is very important for understanding many physical concepts, and you'll want to be as clued up about Binomial and Poisson distributions as you can be.
S3 - S4: All a bit over-the-top.

Here's what I'd recommend:
If you do the AS only: FP1, FP2, and S1.
+ A2: In order of importance, starting with the most important: FP3, S2, M3

Reply 4

sainsburys wraps

2

M1 M2 and M3

dont even bother with the stats or decision modules, but if you HAVE to, do S1 and D1

Reply 5

TiberianWolf

OP

Original post by Unkempt_One

Well, here's what I think of those modules.
FP1 and FP2: Entirely relevant and very useful to have a background in.
FP3: If you do the A2 as well you should definitely study this.
M3-5: The mechanics modules are a good preparation for classical mechanics at university and will help you to think about physical principles. That being said, I don't think you'll get as much mileage out of these as the Further Pure modules, since they don't teach any new mathematical techniques. M3 has some pretty important basic topics, but it seems a bit pointless to struggle through M4 and M5 at this stage when you'll do them again at university with more rigour.
S1: This would be my applied module of choice for AS, simply because you'll see all the concepts over and over again, and knowing about statistics is very useful in general.
S2: An appreciation of probability density is very important for understanding many physical concepts, and you'll want to be as clued up about Binomial and Poisson distributions as you can be.
S3 - S4: All a bit over-the-top.

Here's what I'd recommend:
If you do the AS only: FP1, FP2, and S1.
+ A2: In order of importance, starting with the most important: FP3, S2, M3

How many units do you think woukd be doable withib a 3 month time frame?
All 6 would be a bit of a stretch. Would FP1, FP2, FP3 and S1 be enough?

Reply 6

TiberianWolf

OP

Original post by sainsburys wraps

M1 M2 and M3

dont even bother with the stats or decision modules, but if you HAVE to, do S1 and D1

Already doing M1 and M2. Don't you need S1 for lab work and stuff though?

Reply 7

sainsburys wraps

2

Original post by TiberianWolf

Already doing M1 and M2. Don't you need S1 for lab work and stuff though?

pff it wont help much at all really, lab work at uni will be so extremely different from the basic concepts used in S1

M3 would be better, its harder, but it covers things like circular motion, simple harmonic motion (which you wont see the end of, ever, in physics at uni), and some fundamental calculus

Reply 8

miless090

10

Original post by TiberianWolf

How many units do you think woukd be doable withib a 3 month time frame?
All 6 would be a bit of a stretch. Would FP1, FP2, FP3 and S1 be enough?

Isn't the AS made up of 3 modules? Don't see the point in doing a fourth.

Reply 9

sweeneyrod

15

Original post by TiberianWolf

Hey guys
First time poster here.
So I have a firm offer from Durham and an insurance from Warwick to study Physics this autumn. Unfortunately, I don't have Further Maths. I'm hoping to cover at least AS Further Maths in the summer. I'd like to cover all 6 units, but that might not be doable.
What units would be the most useful? I'm already doing M1 and M2 for maths.
Cheers.

I think the further pure modules would be most useful. FP1 is relatively easy because it only relies on C3 and C4; FP2 and FP3 are a bit harder. Then I think S1, S2 and further mechanics might also be useful, not sure how much though. I get the impression that M1, M2, and M3 are relatively similar in difficulty, and M4 and M5 are a lot harder, but I've only done the first two.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 10

Lawliettt

14

All I'm saying is stay away from d1

Reply 11

Unkempt_One

13

Oh yeah, I forgot, decision maths is not at all relevant. If you're interested you should self-teach that stuff but not using A-level resources. :wink:

Reply 12

Unkempt_One

13

Original post by TiberianWolf

How many units do you think woukd be doable withib a 3 month time frame?
All 6 would be a bit of a stretch. Would FP1, FP2, FP3 and S1 be enough?

I gather you're starting uni next year? In which case I'd give yourself a bit of time to breathe and just see how many you can get through. I'd go in order of FP1, FP2, FP3, then S1 and thereafter maybe M3, S2 etc. I think if you just have FP1 and FP2 you already have a substantial amount of background needed to make the transition into uni a bit gentler.

Reply 13

Chwirkytheappleboy

17

Alternatively, you could enjoy your summer.

Further Maths is useful to have as it makes some of the first year material easier because you'll have covered it before, but if you haven't already done it in school then it seems a little unnecessary to spend your summer learning material that you'll just cover again in greater detail in a few months' time.

I'd advocate using your summer to have fun and/or make a little money. The maths can wait until you start Uni - you'll have plenty of time for it there

Reply 14

physicsphysics91

3

Just cover matrices and differential equations.

Most useful Further Mathematics units for Physics?

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