How hard is A level maths?

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It's much easier than Chemistry and Physics imo. Also, the only person not doing maths in our class last year dropped physics fairly quickly.

I agree... Chemistry is probably the most difficult academic A Level :redface:

Reply 61

RebeccaS_23

Original post by hhh123

A big step up.
PERSONALLY I find it horrific and wish I had never taken it at A Level!

I agree worse choice of my life, C4 is sooo hard and all the intergration you do is pointless!!!

Reply 62

Anna-Jack-Hope

Just to throw out there I'm doing physics without maths and coping ok, I got an A* at GCSE maths. Everyone I know doing maths pretty much hates it! (But I am the only physics kid not doing maths, so I ask them if I really get stuck with anything mathematical...how I got an A* is beyond the comprehension of my maths teacher!)

Reply 63

hhh123

Original post by RebeccaS_23

I agree worse choice of my life, C4 is sooo hard and all the intergration you do is pointless!!!

C3 and M1 were disgusting.
I haven't attended any C4 lessons YET. I just cannot face it.

Reply 64

a05aafzul

I went from like 2 marks off an a* at GCSE to a low D at A-level, and don't say I didnt put the work in because I got AAB in my other subjects... some people can compute it, and some can't... everybody's different, but it is no doubt one of the hardest A-levels out there..

Reply 65

RebeccaS_23

Original post by hhh123

C3 and M1 were disgusting.
I haven't attended any C4 lessons YET. I just cannot face it.

Dont even start me on M1 hated it to. Shall be resitting it for the 3rd time in June I can just sense it. I agree also C3 is disgusting, like you think at AS it cant get any worse but it does. Even if you work hard youll just scrap a C.
LOL C4 may just be the death of you, you will want to kill your teacher.

Reply 66

itsmehello

Original post by Harolinho

Oh God.

I don't suppose going through all of the mymaths tasks will help?

I use mymaths :biggrin:

It's useful but I don't think mymaths fully covers each topic just the basics of each topic

Reply 67

hhh123

Original post by RebeccaS_23

I did M1 for the first time this Jan, and I can sense I failed.
I also re took C1 for the 3rd time. Lol.

Thank goodness I don't need Maths for my university!

Reply 68

Harolinho

My main reservation with taking both is that I only plan to do 4 AS's, so if I do poorly in both then that only really leaves me with two A2s, on the condition that actually do well in those too. I think I am good at maths i'm just a bit behind, and sometimes I get really frustrated at it?

Reply 69

pahoeho

The step up from GCSE to AS was quite big in my opinion, especially compared to other subjects, but thanks to the predictability of the C1 (in fact all the papers) I did well. By the time C2 came along, I did actually understand what was going on. I think if you want an A, the predictability of the papers means that if you work and do the past papers, it is definitely achievable. The A* is more annoying and I actually think requires either natural ability or luck.

Having done all the sciences, geography and english at AS, I have to say english lit is harder than the sciences whilst geography is significantly easier. Again this goes down to predictability and knowing what you have to learn for the exam.

Reply 70

Slumpy

Original post by SparksInTheSky

And also check the A/A* rate stats. More people pass the arts (because you can pass basically by writing some nonsense) but less people get the top grades because its less clear cut what you need to know and more based on writing style etc.

Simiarly if you are not good at reading/writing, the arts will be harder, won't they?

They're different. It's pretty easy to get A* in maths and the like with the bare minimum of work if you have some talent, but arts tend to require some extra learning facts, whether you're good or not. So there are easier facets of both.

Original post by hassi94

Don't think that's too fair :tongue:

Most people who were unsure on 6th form altogether end up picking subjects like business, psychology and they end up failing.

And something like 60% of Further Maths students get As or better thanks to very few people attempting it without knowing they're good at maths (and schools being very apprehensive to suggesting students take it). Very few people who aren't passionate about maths will take maths for 2 A-levels :tongue:

It's as fair as any method for determining which A levels are easiest :wink:

For the record, FM is the easiest A level going :p:

Reply 71

balletlover

Original post by Harolinho

I'm doing already at GCSE, but really I just wanna know how hard A level is?

Heard a fair few failure stories. I'm looking at probably (hopefully) an A for GCSE, is Maths so much harder another step up? I wanna do physics so it could be useful.

I got an A with an A* in one of the modules at GCSE, and a U at AS. :frown:

to be fair I sort of gave up on it after about February as I knew I was dropping it and wanted to do well in my other subjects.
Not saying it's impossible just that it's a huge jump from GCSE

Reply 72

TheDefiniteArticle

Original post by Harolinho

Cheers, the problem is that I was a bit dozy for the best part of a year and so I'm pretty much at the bottom of the top set in maths (there are 4 on each side of the year), so I think if i'd listened all the way through I could be hitting better grades? So hopefully I can catch up, and think about A level maths. Would work well with economics too.

The thing about maths is that C1 is a piece of cake (it's essentially GCSE round II), and C2 is fairly easy too, but once you get onto C3 and 4 and more complex calculus, you have to step up and rely on being able to identify various forms of functions just by looking at them etc. - it's a huge difference from earlier exams where they hold your hand through problems. That said, as previous posters have said, if you work hard at it, you'll get it - and I think this is the stage at which natural mathematical intuition takes a background seat to hard work (although it's still important, of course).

If you're considering further maths too (and I highly recommend it, it makes core maths a whole lot easier), then the great thing is that you'll start finding maths a lot more fun - or at least I did. The maths itself in further (read: FP1 and FP2, and applied modules up to '3') isn't that hard, but the concepts are at times very detached from anything you've studied before, and it brings the realisation of how much maths there is, and how any given piece has the potential to be applied to any problem (for instance, one wouldn't think that the integral of (1-x^2)^(1/2) has anything to do with cos x at first glance, but you'd be surprised).

As for economics... ew. I'd say to avoid it like the plague, unless you are hell-bent on doing economics at university - and even then I'd say to do your own study of it, as it'll be more useful and more impressive. Maths has jack **** to do with A Level Economics (trust me, I did it), and you will get very annoyed with the over-simplification of many of the concepts. And the fact that they are giving marks for drawing dotted lines from intersections to the axes. You should do an essay subject, but I'd really recommend staying away from economics. And, from what I've heard, sociology. History or Law, or perhaps English Literature would be a better choice in my opinion.

Reply 73

JamezA60

Hey, would another who got a B/A at GCSE maths and is taking/taken it for A-Level please direct message me? :smile:

Reply 74

george2525

hey just saw this and thought id give a different perspective. Im 33 and failed my maths GCSE. I got an E. I worked minimum wage manual labour for all of my 20's and after struggling in hard jobs I realised that school is so much easier than manual labour. I took the A level maths papers in 2012 and got an A. I had no lessons. I used pirate bay videos and old maths books. I had to work hard but I did it all in one year.

I am not good at maths. i dont know my times tables and think I might fail a GCSE if I took it again. Here's the thing - theres a BIG difference between being good at maths and being able to get a good grade at A level. A level maths doesnt realy test your knowledge and understanding that much. All you have to do is do LOADS of old papers/learn the patterns and its not too bad. I studied a lot of older math texts and gained a good understanding of subjects like calculus and trigonometry. However when I saw the A level papers it was all irrelevant as they seem to focus on certain question patterns that mean you dont realy have to understand why the formulas work or anything!

my point is - anyone can do it if you make the effort. I am not a math person. I am not good at technical stuff. I just did it to prove a point to myself. You can do it. If you get crap GCSEs it doesnt matter. forget what your teachers say. you know if you have it in you to try hard. If you try try try you WILL succeed. Academia is a pile of crap realy. Its meaningless, yet useful if you want to impress shallow people who like CV's ;-) GOOD LUCK