IGCSE Extended Mathematics w/out Coursework: All the Formulas I Need to Know?

I did this exam in November 2009 (came out with an A* thankfully), and I can tell you now that a simple list of formulas you need to know won't be much help. You need to learn and understand the formulas, go through the syllabus and see what you need to know, and not look for a shortcut or a list.

I know it sounds harsh but it really will help you to get a better grade if you opt instead to make a list of formulas yourself by going through the syllabus, doing past papers, and adding formulae to a sheet of paper as you go along. I can guarantee you that you won't get any formulae on the paper you do that haven't appeared at least once on past papers.

Best of luck!

Hey,

Thanks for the advice. I know what you mean. Basically I wasn't trying to find a short way out, of course I am willing to put the required work in and at this point I have 3 hours of math lessons a week + extra 1-2hr(s) tutoring at school depending on my schedule and I'm doing about 2 hours per day of math now. I just wanted to see what I need to know, because I forget some very simple formulas when they are needed.

A*...Wow, I envy you ) In my mocks I got like a C in paper 2 and my paper 4 wasn't even marked because I was talking with another friend =P I think I would have gotten a C or a D. So I am quite worried. I'm aiming for a B in the real exam, so fingers crossed.

Any advice you can give me? Any useful online resources, anything that helped you get that enviable grade of yours? Thanks man!

I do apologise for thinking you were taking the short way out, that's quite a lot of work you're putting in. I started way too late, only 14 days before the actual exam, and studied something like 7 hours a day for those two weeks... horrible times hahah!

With this kind of work and your obvious dedication I don't see anything holding you back from a B.

I did actually type up and write down quite a lot of the formulas that I needed - however I did delete and burn quite a lot of stuff after I got my result, I never ever wanted to see a Maths IGCSE related piece of paper again! I'll have a look through my stuff and see if I can get a file or paper that I could scan and upload for you - as I recall, I did make a short booklet with all the formulas and important stuff (like rules for multiplying matrices) that I would need. If I do get that, I'll upload that as soon as possible.

In terms of websites, www.mymaths.co.uk was absolutely invaluable - unfortunately it does require your school to be signed up for the service... if yours is, you're in luck.

I also made a list of important resources and websites - again, not sure if I still have it but I'll have a look and upload it if possible.

But without a doubt the single most valuable thing you can do to improve your grade is past papers. I did all the past papers from 1999-2009 for Paper 2 and 4 before I gave my exam, and I genuinely believe I would have gotten a C without them. Do them once, do them again, mark them fairly, and then find out where and more importantly why you went wrong.

I do hope this helps. I was an early entry for maths and I'll be giving my other exams with you and the rest of my year in M/J 2010... best of luck to both of us, I suppose!