OCR 21st Century Additional Science B6C6P6 Post-exam discussion

well you get A* in gcse in year 10, you get to sit as level math + as level further math in year 11, but basically, we do fp1,fp2 and fp3 in the AS further instead of other modules like D1 or something, but in AS level maths, we do C1,C2 AND M1/S1. I got 97 in C1 in jan, so retook in May if you're picking it next year, I'll tell you something I wasn't told:
1) Learn how to FACTORISE!!!! make it flow in your blood, factorise anything from cubics to quadratics.
2) Don't think it's going to be TOO much of a jump from GCSE.
3) All you need for an A* is 75 in all the other modules and 180 across C3 and C4 in a level to get an A*.

So basically, here's an example.
C1: 75
C2: 75
S1: 75
C3: 90
C4: 90
M1: 75

= A*

basically, just get an average of an A grade, but C3 and C4 HAVE to be 180 together, so you can get 85 on C3 and 95 on C4 etc etc...
only 2 other kids are doing this in my year, Japanese and Chinese so in total, we had like 20+ exams because we get 16 gcses in total (ict and p.e are each 2 gcse's, helps alot!)

Why is it that you need to make sure you get the 90s on C3 and C4 and not C1 and C2?

hmm, I'm relying on S1 for the info. I'll just have to revise standard deviation, spearman's rank and a few other topics but I'd say it's going fine Self-teaching is what it's all about, I had to self-teach myself basically as level maths and as level further maths this year and then sit 3 exams for each it works pretty well - I get an entire room to myself in math lessons (with 2 other guys) for a start! we don't even work lol. We watched half a movie on an MP4 once xD my eyes were blurry aftwards..

Woah, you're a bit ahead then! I'm worried about the difficulty of maths and further next year, I'm doing them. Are they hard or not? (I mean, I got an A* in GCSE last year, but A-level looks so hard )

haha with that avatar, i'm sure you'll go far in life! (jk xD but it's just a way of saying I like your avatar)
back on topic - you got an A*, you're not going to have any problems. I didn't even check out any material in the summer holidays, just went with the flow. I'm sure if you learn some basics and use your time well this summer then you won't have a problem.
Basically this is how it is in my opinion, and I'm sure you might agree, if not, you might find it easier because you'll be better at maths since you've have another year to improve.
* = easy
***** = very difficult
in my opinion:
C1 + C2: *
FP1 - FP3: ***
This means you shouldn't have a problem really in your first year of college/6th form.
It gets hard in A2. This is what I think (I completed C3 and checked out some of C4 but I'm basing further maths rating on people's opinion - the majority):
C3: ***** (in my opinion and most others, this is the hardest of all the cores so make sure you know it inside out, but that's like 1.2 years away )
C4: ****
I'm doing M1 next year, I actually learnt it all x]
What I can say about M1, if you ever do it, is to know how to resolve forces in all directions and understand vectors properly before you carry on. Also, newton's laws of motion e.g. F=ma and the friction equation f=mu*R need to be practised ALOT to get to a good standard. They don't vary the questions a lot in M1 exams from year to year because they are generally hard, mastering the techniques it self takes some time but in my opinion it's easier than S1, so if you get a choice, choose M1.
S1: ** (you have to learn many pages and apply techniques which gets boring)
M1: * (you have to learn theories and only a bit of pages, the shortest module in my opinion. It's fun and helps with AS level physics alot I heard -I also read unit 1 and the mechanics unit of my as level physics AQA book that I bought a while ago and it helps with the mechanics section ALOT (no **** sherlock.))

All I can say is what you put in is what you get out - this has a literal meaning in AS level maths, practise alot (I didn't do past papers for GCSE maths and I just scraped an A - proof).

Gd luck in your exams! :]

dunno man, it's weird like that. It says it on the websites though, AQA, EDEXCEL and other exam boards mark it like this. Math is the only a level that gets marked like this, no idea why though. Most people who get C3 AND C4 at 180 together will usually get 90+ on the other modules anyway because c3 and c4 are the hardest, so I guess they want you to demonstrate your good enough for 180 across c3 and c4. They don't mind if you get 75 in other modules after that, but as I stead, if you can get 180 across c3 and c4 you will definitely get 90+ in other modules unless you have 'bad days' on all of them.

Loving how the convo now is nothing to do with today's exam

I guess you'd want to get 90+ anyway if you're wanting to get into Oxbridge.

Loving how the convo now is nothing to do with today's exam

yep. OR you can train for BMO1/2 and impress them with your problem solving skills - then you won't need to worry about grades. I know a guy on this site (Nerevar) who was in the British math olympiad team. He got 3 gcse's (1 of them was A* in maths) and for a levels he got like a B in further maths, a C in physics and an A in a level maths. He got into Trinity College, Cambridge without interview or STEP. It actually pays if you really like maths and just concentrate on it, but you have to risk it - if you don't concentrate on your a levels as much, and choose the hard maths route, then you'll have to get to atleast BMO2 + have fairly good a levels.

EDIT: Why do my posts always end up so long? :l
EDIT #2: Sorry for hi-jacking this thread

Lol yeah...so um, how'd you find the exam today?

Yh lol . Just for you, what did everyone write down for the pH question?

What did u guys put for the acid ph one?

tbh...I can't even remember a pH question :s ...but thanks for asking

I wasn't too sure with this. I wrote that the pH changes at a different rate to which the acid is used. Something like that, I think

* = easy
***** = very difficult
in my opinion:
C1 + C2: *

oh yh, just to put the stars rating system I just made up into perspective, GCSE maths is about this much (the red part):

1/6th of an asterix is obviously a slight exaggeration, but I hope it helps lol.

lol.. I found it alrite...I thought Chemistry was the hardest of the three..thanks for asking about the exam :P