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Protostar's Path to Perfection!

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Reply 60

niamhdoesmaths

Original post by GreenPineapples

gonna start a thread innit

Please do!

Original post by ChemGeek16

Are you resting today?

I was, feeling a lot better now so I'm gonna crack on with homework and stuff :smile:

Original post by Chittesh14

Woah lol, good luck. My school is doing FP1, M1 and D1 in that order. It's good you're not doing FP1 last because it's the hardest, but dam D2 :angry:

. Did your school choose those modules? I don't want to do D1 apparently it's getting harder and harder, not even 1 person in my school got an A in D1 lol.

Does that mean you're doing both stats modules for maths? I'd hate that!! Yeah, it's gonna be a tough one but it'll be nice to escape the algorithms and get back to algebra for a bit! Yup, they chose them ones for this year and then next year we're doing FP2 and M2 and get a choice of either S2 or FP3...I hope we decide on S2 cause 3 FP units doesn't sound too appealing! D1 is easy peeeeasy, just very time consuming and literally everything is new to you. I know people don't always get great marks in it, cause they think it's easy so don't prepare. Plus timing is probably an issue for people too. I'm pretty sure you won't hate it :smile:

Reply 61

Chittesh14

Original post by NiamhM1801

What do you mean?
This year, here is how all my Maths modules follow:
C1, C2, S1, FP1, M1, D1. The first 3 are for A-level Maths and last 3 are for Further Maths. If you mean both stat modules for A-level Maths, yes, presumably C3, C4 and S2 next year lmao. I'm completely stuck what to do next year for my applied modules for Further Maths, it'll be FP2, M2 (....) and something else - let me know how D2 goes so I can decide whether to pick it next year or not! :smile:

I'm sure you'll do well though, we can converse regarding the modules and interchange our knowledge :smile:

since we're mostly doing the same modules I guess. Your school is clever in a way so you don't do it for A2 but it all depends on the person I guess and obviously the teacher. In terms of FP units, 2 doesn't sound appealing either, other than just that they're compulsory lol! FP2 requires C3 and C4 knowledge and apparently FP3 has 5 pages full of formulaes in the formula examination booklet lmao. Yeah, I've heard time is a big issue, the worst thing for me, I always ****ing fail because of time issues lol. Let's hope so, or else my game is over.

Reply 62

niamhdoesmaths

Original post by Chittesh14

I'm sure you'll do well though, we can converse regarding the modules and interchange our knowledge :smile:

Yeah I meant both for a level maths, sorry for the confusion. I'll be doing all the same as you this year except from S1, that comes next year for me. I will do! Although my teacher said it's similar to D1 just a bit more in-depth, so see how you cope with D1 as well. Ah thank you, yes we can! Possible so, but I'm pretty sure the exam boards jiggle around your units in order to give you the best grade, so I'm not 100% sure if it makes too big a difference. Yeah I know, but since it's compulsory i guess we have to justify suck it up! Wowww...5 pages sounds extreme! Ooh ouch, I'm usually alright for time but I've noticed I've been pretty pushed in the assessments we've done in class so far. I'm sure you'll adapt :smile:

Reply 63

Chittesh14

Original post by NiamhM1801

No problem! Lol, let's just see how everything goes. What Maths modules have you started so far (Maths & Further Maths) and how far are you into each module? The exam boards (or the school not sure) do switch around units to give you the best grade, but then you can cash-in your modules differently at the end of Year 13 to get the best possible grades for each subject if you are not given them already. It's all about grades because universities look at your overall UMS for each module (top unis) so for AS they look at the average across all 6 Maths modules and same with A2. Therefore, I'm pretty sure UMS is considered overall for all modules so the best grade matters not 600 UMS in Maths and 530 in Further Maths etc xD. I only struggle in time for other subjects, not Maths - but D1 can cause problems I guess, let's hope not! I'm worried about Economics more than anything because it's like essay-based and that is where time-constraints occurs for slow people. I hope I do lol!

Reply 64

niamhdoesmaths

Original post by Chittesh14

Yeah that's probably best - better not get too carried away. We've only started C1 and D1 so far. There's been a huge huge mixup between my sixth form and the partner one (where I go for further maths and physics) which has resulted in me being taught D1 in both maths and FM. Apparently after 4 weeks it's finally been resolved (I won't hold my breath though) and I should start getting taught M1 tomorrow too. C1 we've barely started as we've been focusing on recap work to get everyone on the same level (not everyone did gcse FM last year so there's a bit of variety) but we've done quadratics and inequalities so far. In D1 we've actually made pretty solid progress: we've done algorithms, bubble sort, quick sort, binary search, bin packing, basic graphs and definitions, kruskals algorithm, prims algorithm (on a graph and a distance matrix), Dijkstra's algorithm and the Chinese postman problem so far. We're starting critical path analysis tomorrow. Ahh that makes sense, I knew they shuffled them around somehow. Ah I'm the same really, although I was alright in physics too (handy as that's my other subject!). Ooh, I didn't go for anything mildly essay based for that reason! You'll have guidance and stuff so you should be fine.

Reply 65

Chittesh14

Original post by NiamhM1801

Lol, I'll start revising eventually. Wow, that's so stupid lol, but it's also awkward. You go to two different sixth forms to learn your A-levels or are they the same school but in different buildings or something? Let's hope that gets resolved, my school is no better at times - we have 4 lessons per fortnight on Further Maths and 6 on any other A-level, even though Further Maths is the hardest A-level ?!?! lol + it's got the worst record in my school in terms of A-level results. Lol, your sixth form must really be weird - FM gcse involves like all of C1 and random parts of C2 (barely any) so I don't even understand why your school would do that - just start with C1 lol it's all the same thing and it is recap for students who've done the content from FM GCSE which comes later (harder stuff). In terms of D1, (wow!) it seems like you've made a lot of progress - I don't understand anything you've said because I haven't done it. :colondollar:

Yeah, my teacher is too good for Economics - I hope I do well! For physics, I started with it but just dropped it :colondollar:

Reply 66

niamhdoesmaths

Original post by Chittesh14

Fair enough, I've revised little bits for the tests we've had in FM but not loads because it all stuck and made sense when we learnt it which is good :smile:

. Yeah it's really awkward, basically our school sixth form is partnered with a nearby school sixth form in order to offer more courses (as both sixth forms are really small) which means I have to travel between the two for 2 of my courses as they are taught there. I hope it is resolved - ive been pestering them for weeks! 4 per fortnight!? I have 4 per week of FM and then 5 per week of my other subjects! That sounds ridiculous, how are you ever going to get everything learnt in time? Wow, normally it's meant to do well isn't it, as only the top students are able to pick it anyway? Oh trust me it is weird, but there's someone's in my class who had to have a year out of school due to injury, and a couple of others who's are a bit less confident so hence all the recapping. It is annoying as like you said C1 basically is recapping of GCSE FM but hey, what can you do. Yeah, like I said everything is new so none of that will mean anything to you yet haha. In other words we've covered 4 of 7 textbook chapters already! Economics gets the best grades in my sixth form by a mile, it's well liked too. It's great that you have a good teacher, so all being well you should do great! Tbh I'm not really enjoying physics that much, but ive got to bear with it cause I only chose 3 subjects in the first place :s-smilie:

Reply 67

Chittesh14

Original post by NiamhM1801

Ah that's good, to be honest, we don't actually learn anything in our lessons lmao. We only ask for help if we need it but it's because everyone is at different places in further maths. But, our teacher is really good and I like him. In my school for maths we've never actually had any great teachers and he's been the first good one so far. Maybe he's a normal teacher but since I've never had a good teacher, I find him amazing or maybe he is? :s-smilie:

. That's so stupid though in your school, because you waste a lot of lesson time. But either way, you have a lot of lessons so that's good? How long are each of your lessons though, mine are 1 hour 30 minutes. I don't know how we will learn it, but we will lolz. We have very hardworking students in my class lol work like 4-5 hours a day, except me :frown:

. Everyone who gets A* in maths GCSE can do further maths but not everyone works hard or not everyone works efficiently. It's a hard subject itself but we didn't have proper teachers as I said, this is the second year further maths has been open in our school as an alevel option. Oh wow, well let's hope you do well :smile:

. In a way, recapping FM GCSE will help lol but whatever. Wow, that's great you've nearly finished all of D1 and it's not even 1 month yet. In my sixth form too, economics is the best lol, best results, beat teachers! I know, physics is a toughie but grade boundaries are low asf in my school (exam board AQA). Physics shouldn't be done unless you get an A in my opinion, it's actually a really hard subject you have to work hard. For those who work hard, low grade boundaries by those idiots are good lol easier to get full UMS which doesn't exist anymore lolz. I dropped physics because I didn't need it and I couldn't dropped in year 13 but Ik I'd have probably flopped it or I might've done good but oh well.

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Reply 68

Chittesh14

Original post by NiamhM1801

Are you carrying on all subjects at A2, well you have to isn't it?

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Reply 69

niamhdoesmaths

Original post by Chittesh14

Oh we learn loads! We usually get a topic fully covered in around 2-4 lessons depending on size and difficulty, and seeing as our class is so small (4 people) it's pretty fast paced but we'll ask for clarification if we need it. My FM teacher is really good, it's actually my favourite subject at the moment! Haha that was so me in year 10 as id had a terrible teacher until then. He probably is pretty good, I don't think ive heard of an "average" maths teacher! We don't miss that much lesson time, their timings are slightly different to ours and the journeys account for that - we only miss max 5 minutes usually. Ahh that makes sense why you have fewer lessons than I do - mine are only an hour long (they make up for that by making almost every lesson a double so a single lesson now feels too short!). 4-5 hours a day?? Pffft you don't need to do that at all. I barely manage that in a week and I'm doing just fine :smile:

. Yeah that's the same requirement in my school, except I'm pretty sure we're all dedicated - those who weren't have since dropped it. That's similar to me except I think it's been running slightly longer at my school. I hope I do too! Yeah I suppose, but it's tedious. I know, we're hoping to get it finished by half term! Yep snap for economics, how weird is that? Ah I'm doing AQA physics too, are the grade boundaries really that low? Lol I got an A* in GCSE physics and I'm struggling so much with the A Level stuff already! Yeah, I don't necessarily need physics for what I want to do but it's my third option so I have to keep at it. Ah well, there's not a lot you can do about that now!

Yeah i havent got a choice really, i only picked 3 to begin with and even though Maths and FM are still old spec, i wouldn't drop fm anyway because I want to do maths at uni :smile:

Reply 70

Chittesh14

Original post by NiamhM1801

Ah, that's good :smile:

- though, do you mean a topic or a chapter? :biggrin:

. It's good because my class also has 4 people :dancing2:

. Lol, that's good - I don't enjoy any subject lmao I'm so lazy. Yeah, my teacher is good but he is learning :smile:

he's a legend. Oh wow, 5 minutes doesn't make a difference (lol), well least not now :smile:

. Lol haha, my lessons are long lol... I sleep in them sometimes :O, well most of the time, ok nearly all the time. :colondollar:

. Yeah, I don't do 4-5 hours a day, I don't even do 30 minutes a day :frown:

but those who do 4-5 hours really smash it lol but they're so determined. I think if I manage to do even 1-2 hours a day, I'll dominate lol hopefully because I'm really fast, but maybe not smart xD but those hours give me enough time to learn. Lol, just get a textbook and self-learn lol. That's what I do :smile:

but I take ages because I barely do work lol. Hmm, maybe, but economics is the best xD (unless I don't get an A lol :frown:

joking) Physics is just boring lol for me because there are so many practicals. I hate practicals lol, I can't stand doing all these wires and crap for 1 and a half hour lol.

Ah, you want to do Maths at uni - interesting, me too :smile:

. Good luck, which universities are you planning to apply too?

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 71

niamhdoesmaths

Original post by Chittesh14

No not a whole chapter, just one little topic (like a new algorithm or something). Yeah small classes are the best!! Ahh I like pretty much anything I'm good at and hate everything I struggle with - not the best attitude to have! My teacher is just so funny, but we also learn a lot so it's a good balance. No it doesn't really, seeing as most of each class I'm in is made up of students from my school the lesson she don't really get going until we arrive anyway :tongue:

. Hahaha, I'd feel soooo guilty if I slept through a lesson, i don't think I could do it! I always felt myself drifting off during English and geography lessons last year but never let myself actually go. I do next to no work outside of lessons any more, really need to work on that! I'm just so constantly exhausted from actually going to the lessons (maybe cause I don't sleep in them! :tongue:

) that I don't really have the energy to do more at home. Yeah you probably could, I mean it's good that those others are determined but you shouldn't need to be working 4-5 extra hours a week, especially not at this early stage. Id say you're pretty smart, I mean you're doing further maths after all! Lol self-teaching is pretty much how I got through GCSEs 😂 Don't really want to have to go there again but it's looking likely for physics :frown:

but if it works for you then great. Yeah, most people who's do economics kn my school say they're loving it so far. We haven't done a practical yet, i hate them too! But I figured physics has fewer and less involved practicals than biology and especially chemistry so I don't mind too much :tongue:

Oh cool! Thank you and I'm not quite sure yet...heavily considering Durham at the moment but also quite liking the look of Leeds (even though I'd prefer to move away from my home city but oh well). What about you? Good luck to you too! :smile:

Reply 72

Chittesh14

Original post by NiamhM1801

Lmao, you're just like me but I think I hate mostly everything lol. My economics teacher is the funniest and maybe the weirdest (for new students) teacher ever, he is too good, like literally. Ah that's good, as long as you learn what you need to, 5 minutes does not make any difference. I go to sleep and always end up waking up sometimes because my friend just can't stop talking to me lol...Lol, I barely sleep that's why I get so tired, else it'd be fine - but yeah, revision is not a problem due to that, I'm just extremely lazy. I self-teach because I can't get taught. I'm almost 2 modules ahead of the class, the teacher will prioritise less capable or students who are finding the content hard, more. Also, since they're 27 of them, why would he focus on me as 1? XD. It's true so I don't mind, but they are supporting in terms of giving me any book I want - usually you wait till everyone gets it, I like to think of it as me being 'special' xD even though it doesn't mean anything lol. Practicals are dead, they're so boring lol -I just hate them.

You're welcome, wow, I'm considering Durham too :smile:

. I don't know, I just look at rankings lol like a fool - at the moment: Durham, Warwick, Nottingham, maybe KCL and possibly a top uni (Cambridge/Oxford/Imperial)? :biggrin:

. Doubt the top ones, but remember.. Warwick is literally just like below them by a bit, so getting into Warwick is a pain itself. A* A* A and a 2 in STEP, literally - it's the same lolz but since STEP is so hard, going from a 2 to 1 is like incredibly difficult in itself I guess haha & thank you :smile:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 73

niamhdoesmaths

Original post by Chittesh14

Haha we do sound quite similar don't we :tongue:

. I love funny teachers, they make everything's so much more enjoyable! Yeah we're definitely on track, so it mustn't be making that much of a difference. Haha, can't they just let you rest, how inconsiderate :tongue:

! Ohh I see, I get loads of sleep (like 8 hours) now because I'm always tired at like 10pm! Oh don't worry I'm lazy too! Ah fair enough, sometimes if I feel like it I'll read ahead but I tend not to because I just get confused if I try to do it all myself! Yeah I understand that, the more confident students tend to get left with not a lot to do whereas the weaker ones get all the help - I mean it makes sense as they need it more but still. Ok "special" one 😂 I've always hated practicals - i wanted to punch my chemistry teachers last year when she made us do practicals 3 lessons in a row!!

Ooh, maybe if we're lucky I'll see you there :biggrin:

! Ahh so you're aspiring very high then! I dont want to get my hopes too high in case I don't meet the super high offers! I did look at Warwick and immediately ruled it out because of the entry requirements - pretty sure it's A*A*A* without STEP (don't think I'm doing it) so that's a big no automatically! I'm looking to get onto the Durham Supported Progression programme which (if I'm lucky) could result in a 2 grade reduction :biggrin:

hoping I get lucky! You're welcome :smile:

Reply 74

Chittesh14

Original post by NiamhM1801

Yeah, we do :wink:

. My teacher is funny in a different way lool. He's too good. I'm miles ahead in Maths but I'm still lazy, my friend's don't let me sleep because they need 'help'. Anyway, I just help them - they find it easier and I get more practice, all good stuff. Lol, I just woke up now - I sleep after school for about 2-3 hours and then just wake up and do no revision lol (but I've got an economics exam tomorrow so today's different). You should read ahead lol, my school isn't so fast so I would never go at their pace lol, I'm not sure about yours. But, you should always work ahead, if you need help - you can ask me :wink:

. I don't need much help - I work independently and try do do everything independently. If I can't do it, I skip it lmao (bad stuff) but I'm an idiot. Lol, 3 practicals in a row - I think I had about 5 in a row during my science controlled assessments or something. I needed them though so I didn't complain at all. Don't worry, just punch the teacher lol I once sprayed water on my teacher's back using a pipette and got sent out (and I couldn't care less, it was just banter), I'm a naughty boy lol.

Maybe - you might :smile:

. I aspire high because that's what you SHOULD do lol. Don't worry if you don't meet the requirements lol who cares... (well you do xD) but it's not like you'll have done super bad. If you aim high, you'll do good - it's that simple. I don't mind coming out at AS with A A B as long as A is in Maths and Further Maths but I feel I'll get a B in Further Maths AS so I'm scared asf. Lol Warwick are sexy, they do have A* A* A* requirement without STEP, apparently that's easier than A* A* A (2 in STEP) so... :biggrin:

. Good luck, what is this Durham Supported Progression programme. By the way, how far is Durham from where you live? It's like 5 hours from my house so I can't even be bothered to go on an open day lol.

Reply 75

niamhdoesmaths

11/10/2016 - Evening update

God it's been ages hasn't it...

I can't even remember when I last updated this, or what I wrote, but hey I'm here now.

The good news is I'm finally better after just under 2 weeks!! Which has meant that I'm now supposedly back on top form and should be able to get on with everything just fine, which is sort of the case I guess. The "shine" of A Levels has definitely worn off now. They no longer seem interesting or appealing and lessons just drag. I guess it was to be expected, but it certainly makes finding motivation very difficult. My workload has increased, but not massively. Physics still takes up the majority of my time, but that's because I find it the hardest of my subjects. On the plus side though i now have a revision guide (trusty old cgp, no less :wink:

) so now I've got a better chance of grasping everything. The mixup in maths unsurprisingly still hasnt been sorted out, however we've been spared the pain of enduring more D1 lessons than we need to which is a bit of a bonus I suppose. Would quite like to get onto some mechanics pretty soon though!

Since last time I have:
Maths: simultaneous equations, quadratic inequalities, algebraic long division, factor and remainder theorems, started on coordinate geometry too.

Further Maths: critical path analysis, Gantt charts, scheduling diagrams, kind of started linear programming (but not really)

Physics: superposition and coherence of waves, stationary waves (incl. resonant frequency), pair production and annihilation, briefly started on the photoelectric effect, loads more that I can't remember

I'm currently writing out the plan for our first required practical in physics, although I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing if I'm honest. Hey ho.

I've applied to be a prefect again this year (I was one last year as well), I really hope I get it as it was really enjoyable. I'll find out at some point this week :smile:

. I also need to apply for 2 different schemes that I'm eligible to take part in - Realising Opportunites and Durham Supported Progression. Really really hope i get on to the Durham one!! We've started having lessons on EPQ as well and I'm still completely clueless as to what to do mine on...let's hope i figure it out soon!

Hopefully I won't take 10 million years to update again but don't hold me to it - I'm incredibly unreliable!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 76

brainzistheword

Study Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

Original post by NiamhM1801

Wow it has been a while but yay!! You're back!

This sounds amazing and we'll done on everything so far. I'm sure you EPQ and practicals will all fall into place sooner or later. I really enjoy keeping up with your studies and I too hope you get on the 2 schemes you're eligible for :smile:

Reply 77

niamhdoesmaths