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Who is resitting Edexcel Maths C1 next year due to the difficult paper set in May 16'

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Original post by richpanda
Nah cos i got 95 UMS... it wasn't that hard, you're just bad at mental maths and rely too much on a calculator.

Yeah my mental maths definitely let me down when it came to all those fractions. How did you cope so well? Did you practice how to add ridiculous fractions? Please explain, I'm self taught and you college students seem to have been taught very efficiently!

Original post by jamestg
I think it was wrong to put all those fractions in there, there obviously needed to be some but it was very off putting. I did every C1 paper and don't recall it being as bad as 2016.

Yes, I'll happily admit that the amount of fractions in the paper really set me back. I'm self taught and felt really unprepared for such paper! :frown:
Any tips for improving my mental maths when it comes to fractions like the one in the exam?
Original post by richpanda
Do you mean in terms of not being sure of your final answer?


Yes. Even after triple checking I found it unnerving.
Original post by Philip-flop
Yeah you definitely sound like you took the time to really understand the subject. I just find that the modular textbooks don't really explain 'Why?' to examples. How did you get your answers when questioning why things are done a certain way?


Hopefully the workload will be ok for you to concentrate on your A2's as well as the Math modules you are hoping to resit!


Yeah the textbooks aren't great for it - I think honestly TSR was my best resource, getting help here is really good, look at my previously created threads, I made absolutely loads of threads when I didn't understand something and I think that's the key, especially in the maths forum you always get fast helpful replies! Also, I think making up your own questions can really help too, as weird as it sounds, choose a topic, pick out all the past paper q's, list the types they can ask you, for example in C1 you have series, they can ask you to find the sum to n terms, they can have real world applications (like in our C1 exam funnily enough), they can ask you to find the first 4 terms or whatever, there's not actually a tonne of stuff they've asked on it really is there? So think of stuff they could ask! Could they ask you to find the difference between two separate sum to n terms? Could they ask you to work backwards from the sum to n formula to find n? If you eliminate a lot of the things they can ask you then you put yourself in a very strong position!
Original post by jamestg
Yes. Even after triple checking I found it unnerving.


That's where your ability has to come in and your understanding. If you understand the maths you're doing, you'll be confident in your final answer as you're certain in your method :tongue:
Original post by jamestg
Yes. Even after triple checking I found it unnerving.


I did the same
Original post by Philip-flop


Wow, congrats to you! Any study/revision tips for an 'average Joe' like me?


Practise a lot, be familiar with different methods and check your answers in any equations to make sure they are correct.
Original post by iMacJack
That's where your ability has to come in and your understanding. If you understand the maths you're doing, you'll be confident in your final answer as you're certain in your method :tongue:


The method's the easy part, it's those silly mistakes in past papers that gave me weird numbers and subsequently losing marks. Thus getting weird fractions in the real exam wasn't reassuring.
Resit will be much easier thanks to C3 and C4. They really make C1 and C2 easier
Original post by jamestg
The method's the easy part, it's those silly mistakes in past papers that gave me weird numbers and subsequently losing marks. Thus getting weird fractions in the real exam wasn't reassuring.


Yeah I agree it was confusing at times, when I got k as 41/8 I was like wait is this right? I checked it once more n left it, same with the area of the quadrilateral question :P
I have to resit C1 C2 and S1 :/
Original post by jamestg
I got 90/100 which was my target, but I think I can push for a bit more. Unless there is no point and I only need to get 180 in C3 and C4.

How do you get an A* at A2 again?


If you got 90 UMS in C1 then I suggest you don't bother resitting.
To get an A*, you need at least an 80% average across your AS modules, and a 90% average across your A2 modules.
Original post by SuperHuman98
I have to resit C1 C2 and S1 :/

What grades/UMS did you get for those modules this time?
Reply 32
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B_9710
18
Original post by iMacJack
the little tricks (for example, if the discriminant of an equation is a square number, then it can be factorised!)


Any quadratic can be factorised.
Original post by B_9710
Any quadratic can be factorised.


Not with whole or even real numbers
Reply 34
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B_9710
18
Original post by SugarCoatedCart
Not with whole or even real numbers


I never specified how though. I just said any quadratic can be factorised.
Original post by B_9710
I never specified how though. I just said any quadratic can be factorised.


You know what he meant -_-
Reply 36
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B_9710
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Original post by SugarCoatedCart
You know what he meant -_-


Yes but it technically isn't correct. Quadratics may not factorise nicely perhaps.
Original post by jamestg
I got 90/100 which was my target, but I think I can push for a bit more. Unless there is no point and I only need to get 180 in C3 and C4.

How do you get an A* at A2 again?


Have to meet condition for A (480/600 overall) as well as having 180/200 in c3/4.
Reply 38
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Ayman!
15
Original post by B_9710
Any quadratic can be factorised.


Got bored and wanted to mess around with LaTeX a little bit. :tongue:

f(x)=ax2+bx+c=a(x+b2a)2−b2−4ac4a=a[(x+b2a)2−(b2−4ac2a)2]f\left ( x \right )=ax^{2}+bx+c = a\left ( x+\frac{b}{2a} \right )^{2}-\frac{b^{2}-4ac}{4a} = a\left [ \left ( x+\frac{b}{2a} \right )^{2}-\left ( \frac{\sqrt{b^{2}-4ac}}{2a} \right )^{2} \right ]

  ⟺  f(x)=a(x−−b−b2−4ac2a)(x−−b+b2−4ac2a)\displaystyle \iff \boxed{f\left ( x \right )= a\left ( x-\frac{-b-\sqrt{b^{2}-4ac}}{2a} \right )\left ( x-\frac{-b+\sqrt{b^{2}-4ac}}{2a} \right )}
Maths :
C1 - 92
C2 - 85
D1 - 50 Hahahaha

Fmaths:
Fp1 - 61 = my most shocking exam as I wanted 80/90 and am capable of that too ergh
M1 - 85
D2 - 71 which wasn't bad considering Flopped a 15 mark question.

Need to resit FP1 and D1 definitely. I was disheartened at first, but at the end of the day it's 2 modules out of 6 so not a bad effort. Instead of giving me a B in maths and a B in further maths, I got an A in maths and C in further as they swapped D1 with m1, but I'd prefer BB than AC. I got a C in physics too so didn't do that well for my AS, but I will smash it next year, very motivated too now.
(edited 7 years ago)

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