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Why is A-level maths SO much harder than every other A-level?

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Original post by lw8
1) i know people that can get 100% in less than half an hour, c1 edexcel is not hard at all, easier than gcse IMO.
2) It is a substantial improvement, i went from 8% in the christmas mock to over 58% over 3 papers.
3) UMS is almost always 1 or 2 marks different to % at most
4) The c1 paper we got was ridiculously hard and nothing like past papers, everyone agrees on that that took it, my friend who got an A at further maths only got 88%. Go figure.
1. It isn't easier than GCSE and Edexcel have released evidence supporting this. Circumstantial events about the half an hour thing can easily be put down to inaccurate marking.
2. Again, you can't measure success through percentages because they do not directly correlate.
3. Not always and if you'd have used it for all of the papers then you would know that that was the case.
4. I did the C1 paper and found it incredibly easy. Grade boundaries alter to negate difficulty so you can only claim difficulty of questions based on difficult wording or fractional answers (which occurred in C1 I grant you) but if you had done all 20 C1 papers in the right order then you should have got used to that/saw it coming.
Go figure.
jfc stop comparing your C1 d*cks nobody cares
Original post by 04MR17
1. It isn't easier than GCSE and Edexcel have released evidence supporting this. Circumstantial events about the half an hour thing can easily be put down to inaccurate marking.
2. Again, you can't measure success through percentages because they do not directly correlate.
3. Not always and if you'd have used it for all of the papers then you would know that that was the case.
4. I did the C1 paper and found it incredibly easy. Grade boundaries alter to negate difficulty so you can only claim difficulty of questions based on difficult wording or fractional answers (which occurred in C1 I grant you) but if you had done all 20 C1 papers in the right order then you should have got used to that/saw it coming.
Go figure.


The answers that we got in this years paper were incredibly different to previous years, it was much harder. It made you question whether you got anything right because the answers i was coming out with made me believe i was messing up every question and made me go back to nearly every question to double check, creating timing issues.
I am better at C1 than GCSE, because i have practised C1 more, this is subjective though, of course.
On our papers, if you got 60%, your UMS would be a couple of points higher, due to lower boundaries compensating for harder tests.
Maths is one of the easiest A levels in my experience; it requires so little in the way of creativity and insight. But it's all subjective.
The people who find A level maths and further maths easy are generally virgins and have no social life outside of TSR.

So obviously they'll have a lot more time to do maths and become better at it.
Original post by Naruke
The people who find A level maths and further maths easy are generally virgins and have no social life outside of TSR.

So obviously they'll have a lot more time to do maths and become better at it.


You find both incredibly easy then?
Original post by B_9710
You find both incredibly easy then?


Stop rep leeching. Look at all the questions I've asked regarding maths, you can clearly tell I've had to work very hard at it.

I didn't mean for this to offend you, if it did :wink: It was just results from a little study I conducted :tongue:
Original post by Naruke
Stop rep leeching. Look at all the questions I've asked regarding maths, you can clearly tell I've had to work very hard at it.

I didn't mean for this to offend you, if it did :wink: It was just results from a little study I conducted :tongue:


It was just a joke.
Everyone who does well at maths and further maths have worked fairly hard.
Original post by lw8
I don't understand why they make it so hard.
I got AAD in my AS (i'll be retaking and getting a B but thats besides the point).
For the 2 As, i didn't revise, it was fairly easy to keep up with the notes and be confident on writing essays for every topic.
Maths however; i did at least 8 extra hours a week from February to May (the exams), and still only got a D overall (58.7%).

AS levels are insultingly easy if its not maths (and some sciences, like chem/physics/computer science).


A level maths is the easiest A level in my opinion.
It's extremely easy to practice by doing lots of questions and each question only has one answer so your either right or you just didn't understand the topic.
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Avatar for Rajive
Rajive
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Original post by Ignorant
A level maths is the easiest A level in my opinion.
It's extremely easy to practice by doing lots of questions and each question only has one answer so your either right or you just didn't understand the topic.


What grade did you get for a level maths?
Original post by Rajive
At the start were you doing badly in year 12? Were you getting Ds and Es?


No, but I was doing very badly when I was around 14-15 years old. If you start everything from the beginning with let's say a tutor, and try to understand the very basics (like algebra, algebra is the most important and it will open up the whole of maths) then you should be fine I think.
Original post by lw8
My issue is when i do ask for help, my teachers aren't great at explaining things, and they speak to me like i understand everything already and don't get how to do one part of the question, then gets impatient as they expect me to know certain things. My tutor explains everything clearly and speaks to me like someone that doesn't fundamentally understand maths, which i don't, so i learn much quicker when listening to him.
Thanks for the help btw.


Another illustration of my point that many ppl who are attempting to 'teach' something, should be washing cars for a living instead. I believe that Dick Fineman [of Manhattan Project Fame] once said that if you can't explain nuclear physics to a Brooklyn cab driver, who didn't finish high school, in a way that he can understand the basic issues, then you don't understand them yourself. I believe this is true. I hold a Masters in Electrical Engineering, and have taught at the uni level. One clown that i encountered in graduate school was attempting to 'teach' one of my courses as 'adjunct faculty'. He was incompetent. I complained to the dean, and i believe they fired him based upon my, and possibly other complaints. I considered that - one of the better things i did in grad school. Try working with 2 or 3 of your classmates, who are doing the same degree that you are. Make sure they are 'serious' students. If they are not, and want to 'party, party, party' all the time - get rid of them, and find others to study with. The party ppl will NOT be there at graduation. Cheers.
Original post by RDKGames
Yep, I was getting D's for the first half of Y12.

How many hours did you dedicate to maths a day?
If you don;t mind me asking what were your other A-Levels and results?
Lastly, What was your main resource? (Like what book or what site)
Original post by AdeptDz
How many hours did you dedicate to maths a day?
If you don;t mind me asking what were your other A-Levels and results?
Lastly, What was your main resource? (Like what book or what site)


Lol... questions, questions and more questions everywhere.

1. Not going to answer that, just dedicate as much as you need to get A and A* grades.
2. They're on 'About me'
3. Exam questions.
Original post by Naruke
The people who find A level maths and further maths easy are generally virgins and have no social life outside of TSR.

So obviously they'll have a lot more time to do maths and become better at it.


I'm pretty the same can be said about any other A-Level, especially the sciences. :smile:

I didn't even use TSR throughout my A-Levels and was pretty social, so perhaps I'm an anomaly in your theory :getmecoat:
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by RDKGames
Lol... questions, questions and more questions everywhere.

1. Not going to answer that, just dedicate as much as you need to get A and A* grades.
2. They're on 'About me'
3. Exam questions.


thanks
Original post by AdeptDz
How many hours did you dedicate to maths a day?
If you don;t mind me asking what were your other A-Levels and results?
Lastly, What was your main resource? (Like what book or what site)


You literally asked me this the other day. I gave you the formula so why you still asking the same questions?
Original post by lw8
One thing you can do is get 100%, i'm still convinced no examiner has ever given 100% in an essay based subject, in maths you're right or you're wrong, for people that are good at it, it's easier to get higher.


I got 100% in 1/2 of my english lit GCSE coursework pieces.
Original post by Naruke
You literally asked me this the other day. I gave you the formula so why you still asking the same questions?


A-Level freshling nerves. Not the first time he asked me this either. He probably thinks A-Levels are going to be difficult and wants to find out all those 'A-Level TRICKS & HACKS' from previous students, but then end up not following any advice, and a year or two later he'll wondering why someone asks so many needless questions about something so straight-forward.
Original post by Naruke
You literally asked me this the other day. I gave you the formula so why you still asking the same questions?


What i'm asking is personal to him lol? so it will probably give me a different answer to what you said. I asked for his grades and how long he revised for, so it would probably give a different answer to what you said right
And what i asked you was different and was like a few weeks ago not days ago not that it matters
Plus, it's good to hace a range of opinions on 'good resources' to use hence why I asked.
And lastly thanks for answering earlier anyway

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