[Oncoming Storm]

Right. Going to be the first person to ask advice on this shiny new thread. So, factorials (I know, it seems easy enough but I just can't make my equation work out.) It's in Maths in Action 1, and the question is "Find a value of n which satisfies each of the following equations." Which is all fine and dandy, but the denominator for all of them is 3. So I end up with

nx(n-1)x(n-2)x(n-3)! / (n-3)! x 3! = 4

Anyway, after some working out, I finally finish with n^3-3n^2+2n-24=0, and I can't make this work out properly. Maybe I'm being a bit thick cos I'm tired, but can anyone help me with this? It's driving me insane. According the the book the answer is four, but when I use that as a factor is messes up. Maybe I should change to AH English after all...

[Hype en Ecosse]

I've already jumped into working through the Maths in Action 1 Book, doing the stuff on Integration in there.

AH Maths, AH Bio, AH Chem, H Physics. Woop.

[Oncoming Storm]

(Original post by mckinnon94)
I've already jumped into working through the Maths in Action 1 Book, doing the stuff on Integration in there.

AH Maths, AH Bio, AH Chem, H Physics. Woop.

*high five*

We're doing the same Advanced Highers. I have 2 people in my year doing the same as us as well. I'll never escape from them now, but they're cool people so it's all good. I'm doing Higher History instead of Higher Physics though.

[Serojoal]

(Original post by Oncoming Storm)
Right. Going to be the first person to ask advice on this shiny new thread. So, factorials (I know, it seems easy enough but I just can't make my equation work out.) It's in Maths in Action 1, and the question is "Find a value of n which satisfies each of the following equations." Which is all fine and dandy, but the denominator for all of them is 3. So I end up with

nx(n-1)x(n-2)x(n-3)! / (n-3)! x 3! = 4

Anyway, after some working out, I finally finish with n^3-3n^2+2n-24=0, and I can't make this work out properly. Maybe I'm being a bit thick cos I'm tired, but can anyone help me with this? It's driving me insane. According the the book the answer is four, but when I use that as a factor is messes up. Maybe I should change to AH English after all...

Assuming all your other working is correct, you can use synthetic division (from Higher) on to find that it is equivalent to:



As is an irreducible quadratic factor, containing a conjugate pair of non-real roots (you'll get to meet those in Unit 2, although it's unlikely you'd use it in a binomial theorem question :P), hence use the real root , so

Hope that helps And by the way, don't give up on AH Maths at the start. Everyone in my class found Binomial Theorem, and to an extent Partial Fractions very hard at the start of the course - by the time you sit the exam next year, you will wonder how you found it difficult (at least for the early parts of Unit 1 :P)

[Oncoming Storm]

(Original post by Serojoal)
Assuming all your other working is correct, you can use synthetic division on to find that it is equivalent to:



As is an irreducible quadratic factor, containing a conjugate pair of non-real roots (you'll get to meet those in Unit 2, although it's unlikely you'd use it in a binomial theorem question :P), hence use the real root , so

Hope that helps

Yeah, forgot to say that I got it in the end. I was being too lazy to work it out properly and was just throwing down random numbers and then getting frustrated cos there wasn't 3 roots. Then I calmed down, had some nice green tea (yay!!!) and actually did the work and it was all fine. Thanks for the advice though! What did you do in your 6th year then? Since you're waiting on your results. How did exams go?

[Hype en Ecosse]

(Original post by Oncoming Storm)
*high five*

We're doing the same Advanced Highers. I have 2 people in my year doing the same as us as well. I'll never escape from them now, but they're cool people so it's all good. I'm doing Higher History instead of Higher Physics though.

Lucky me eh?
Another girl in my year also doing the EXACT same as me. She did the same Standard Grades as me, then the same Highers, and now the same Advanced Highers. Weird init?

[Oncoming Storm]

(Original post by mckinnon94)
Lucky me eh?
Another girl in my year also doing the EXACT same as me. She did the same Standard Grades as me, then the same Highers, and now the same Advanced Highers. Weird init?

That is weird. The girl doing the same AH's as me did the exact same Highers, but we were only in one class together. It was bizarre.

[TheKnowledge]

Good luck all you maths people! Maths was a subject that I didn't really "click" with but I somehow got through the AH course and actually enjoyed it! Just make sure you do work as the year goes by and not until the final couple of months before the exam. Seriously, this is such an important tip! And looking at the textbook you have every reason to **** yourself but tbh once you conquer something (and you WILL) it will be an amazing feeling...like complex numbers. Talking about imaginary numbers to all my non-maths friends made me feel awesome

[knightgale]

I took AH Maths last year, and even though it was kinda crazy I really liked it (but it's hard. really hard.) Anyways, I've left school and am going to uni in September. However, I'm really worried I'll lose any knowledge I have over the course of a hetic summer! I'd hate to just go over all my advanced higher papers all over again so if anyone has any suggestions on how to get my brain back into maths mode before uni begins that would be great!!

[Hype en Ecosse]

Giving this a bump so everyone sees it!

[laughylolly]

Oh yay 2012 maths thread!!

Anybody else here thinking of doing Maths at uni or all you all just doing AH Maths for medicine/other sciences etc?

Oh anybody else taking Mechanics or Stats?

I'm taking AH Maths, Stats and Physics (cause I'm crazy). Really looking forward to it though. I hope I get nice teachers (my teacher for highers was amazing but I know I won't have her =( )

[john4994]

(Original post by laughylolly)
Oh yay 2012 maths thread!!

Anybody else here thinking of doing Maths at uni or all you all just doing AH Maths for medicine/other sciences etc?

I'm not entirely sure about uni - thinking about physics, or maybe a joint honours in physics and maths.

I have 3 teachers for AH maths this year - one of them i had for higher, one of them is very good, and one i don't really like at all.

I was wanting to do applied maths in either stats or mechanics but the maths department have never done it before and dont want to take the 'risk'

[laughylolly]

(Original post by john4994)
I'm not entirely sure about uni - thinking about physics, or maybe a joint honours in physics and maths.

I have 3 teachers for AH maths this year - one of them i had for higher, one of them is very good, and one i don't really like at all.

I was wanting to do applied maths in either stats or mechanics but the maths department have never done it before and dont want to take the 'risk'

I think I have 5 different maths teachers this year... or maybe 4? 2 or 3 for AH Maths and then 2 for Stats. I know one of my Stats teachers, she's real nice but apparently she's not fantastic. The other one is apparently better though.

I'm lucky my school runs so many AH's. I don't think many people are taking applied maths though.

[candide]

Hmmm, just gonna introduce myself.

Doing AH Maths, AH Phys, AH History, HIgher Chem and either Higher Modern studies or AH Bio

I had a sheet of problems to do over the summer, I can even remember what they are - something to do with fractions? I'll do it on Wednesday and when I realize I've forgotten how to do the questions, I've broken the ice and can consult here with gusto! =L

[john4994]

Partial Fractions?

[laughylolly]

(Original post by candide)
Hmmm, just gonna introduce myself.

Doing AH Maths, AH Phys, AH History, HIgher Chem and either Higher Modern studies or AH Bio

I had a sheet of problems to do over the summer, I can even remember what they are - something to do with fractions? I'll do it on Wednesday and when I realize I've forgotten how to do the questions, I've broken the ice and can consult here with gusto! =L

That's a lot of subjects. Someone sure is going to be busy!

[candide]

(Original post by laughylolly)
That's a lot of subjects. Someone sure is going to be busy!

I did four and I only filled 12 out of my 30 periods. So I had to take an extra! Still have loads of free time tho...

[laughylolly]

(Original post by candide)
I did four and I only filled 12 out of my 30 periods. So I had to take an extra! Still have loads of free time tho...

How many periods of an AH do you have each week?

At my school it's like 9, 40 minute periods a week for an AH and 7 periods for H's. 40 periods in total.

[candide]

(Original post by laughylolly)
How many periods of a AH do you have each week?

If I remember right, 3 of phys, 3 of maths, 2 of history and 4 of higher chem (had to lose one to get a maths period)... plus I now have 5 of mod studs, but next week im thinking of doing Bio so dunno how much that'll be.

A period is 50 or 55 minutes.

[laughylolly]

(Original post by candide)
If I remember right, 3 of phys, 3 of maths, 2 of history and 4 of higher chem (had to lose one to get a maths period)... plus I now have 5 of mod studs, but next week im thinking of doing Bio so dunno how much that'll be.

A period is 50 or 55 minutes.

Oh ok. You have a less periods then thats why you can fit in more subjects. I'm doing 3 AH's and a Higher and I only have 8 free periods a week (out of 40) so 4 hours (although I have to take away 1 period for PSE, 2 periods for classroom assistant and 2 periods for games so really I'm left with 3 free periods).