The Edexcel M1 (16/05/12 - AM) Revision Thread

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I hated mechanics up until about a month ago, literally couldn't do anything. But its starting to click, and I've gone from getting 20% to 70-75% on past papers.

I'm currently still struggling with momentum and impulse, and resolving is occasionally an issue. I need to practise a bit on pulleys, but I'm very nearly there with mechanics. Surprisingly I've got to this stage quicker than with stats (which I LOVED), as probability didn't click until the day before the exam.

I'm doing this straight after C1 - I have five maths exams this summer as the only one I've done is S1. So I'm hoping to get M1, C1 and C2 out of the way soonish so I can concentrate on C3/4. How's everyone revising - papers or books?

Subscribing to this.

I hated mechanics up until about a month ago, literally couldn't do anything. But its starting to click, and I've gone from getting 20% to 70-75% on past papers.

I'm currently still struggling with momentum and impulse, and resolving is occasionally an issue. I need to practise a bit on pulleys, but I'm very nearly there with mechanics. Surprisingly I've got to this stage quicker than with stats (which I LOVED), as probability didn't click until the day before the exam.

I'm doing this straight after C1 - I have five maths exams this summer as the only one I've done is S1. So I'm hoping to get M1, C1 and C2 out of the way soonish so I can concentrate on C3/4. How's everyone revising - papers or books?

how long and how did you go from 20% to 70% .... i need to do this, i'm still on the 20% stage and struggling majorly

Just do a lot of past papers, then go through the solutions on www.examsolutions.co.uk

really? momentum and impulse was the only thing I understood until I actually started revising :L

I have 7 maths exams C3,C4,M1 (resists) 90,69,69 ums in them. Retaking the C3 because I don't want to rely on C4 so much for an A*
exams I am taking for the first time D2, S2, FP2, FP3 (predicted A's in all because I got A's in the ones before )

how long and how did you go from 20% to 70% .... i need to do this, i'm still on the 20% stage and struggling majorly

Subscribing to this.

I hated mechanics up until about a month ago, literally couldn't do anything. But its starting to click, and I've gone from getting 20% to 70-75% on past papers.

I'm currently still struggling with momentum and impulse, and resolving is occasionally an issue. I need to practise a bit on pulleys, but I'm very nearly there with mechanics. Surprisingly I've got to this stage quicker than with stats (which I LOVED), as probability didn't click until the day before the exam.

I'm doing this straight after C1 - I have five maths exams this summer as the only one I've done is S1. So I'm hoping to get M1, C1 and C2 out of the way soonish so I can concentrate on C3/4. How's everyone revising - papers or books?

if you are planning on doing M2, then Momentum and impulse becomes quite difficult, and there are usually a lot of marks for it (e.g. two 7 mark questions).

God no! I've had enough mechanics to last me a lifetime - stats all the way! I'm only doing normal maths so no need for M2. A group I know have chosen to do all the mechanics modules and have formed a little club - why they'd choose to do it I don't know, but then I REALLY don't enjoy mechanics!

Out of stats and mechanics, mechanics would win any day. Stats can be very uninteresting at times (most of the time) whereas mechanics is always fun and relatively challenging.

Yes, i am on edexcel, and i used the Heinmann books.

Review exercises contain a lot harder questions than past papers. The past papers have simple question which i don't think are a good practice, i don't do many past papers, but i do solve all the review exercises, and it works out well for me.

I don't think it is worth to do 20 past papers. I will certainly solve so many papers for subjects other than maths, but in maths if you understand all the concepts then you can spend time on other subjects rather than doing papers.

Fair enough, I would do both just to be safe

As all the review exercises are past papers questions (they date back a long way sometimes) , they are worth doing true. However, some are completely unnecessary for example there's a question in my final M2 chapter in the review exercise of a ladder problem where the wall and ground are rough. However in the spec , it says that they won't ask questions where both wall and ground have frictional components, hence for the purpose of the M2 exam, it is utterly irrelevant to do! (although certainly worth it for pleasure/honing your maths ability if you seek to study it at uni)

The more recent past papers probably give an indication of what the chief examiner is going to aim to throw at you and hence I feel doing these are worth more.

Still, I have done both for C1 and C2 and still will for the summer exams!

Yes, if you have enough time then you should do both.

I don't read the spec, so i don't know much about it. I just solve the whole book, and don't go for past papers. The questions in the past papers are very easy, so i don't find a need to do them, review exercise has a lot harder question then which you will find in the latest past papers so its better to do it.

I didn't did even attempt a single past paper for M2 but still got 90UMS(71/75 raw marks), i should have scored full but some stupid mistakes let me down.

So my point is that past papers should only be done if you are completely confident that you know everything. Then when you will go to past papers, you will see that the questions will seem very easy to you, and you will probably be scoring full in those.

True, I totally agree with your last paragraph there lol!

Are you in year 12 or 13? What are you hoping to study at uni?

I am in year 13. In year 12, i did complete A-Level in maths and chemistry. In year 13, i am doing complete A-Level in further maths and physics.

I have applied for chemical engineering to uni.

What about you?
In which year are you studying and which subjects do you take?

So in your school you just study 2 subjects a year then? I'm in year 12, currently studying Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Economics.

By the end of this year i will have done 5 of the 6 Maths Modules, 1 FM module, and the AS part for chem and economics

Good luck dude! Where have/did you apply to?

In our school we study 2 A-Level subjects in an year. If we want to do anymore subjects then we do them in the next year.

In my first year i did A-Level math(C1-4, M1-2) and chemistry, got an A* in both.

In my second year, i am doing further maths(FP1-3, S1-2, M3) and physics.

Actually i am self-studying further maths by using the books, but will give the exam through the school. In my school no one does further maths, i am the only one doing it.

Chemistry is the only well taught subject in my school, so all other subjects need to be self-studied. I had to self-study maths last year, because the teaching was very poor.

I have applied to uni of toronto, McGill and waterloo.

You are doing edexcel chem and maths, right?

Which grade are you aiming for?